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  • Bones of the Past

Bones of the Past

Villains' Code #2 / 4
by Drew Hayes
Bones of the Past (Villains' Code #2) by Drew Hayes
Unrated

After her apprenticeship was done and a place in the guild of villains secured, Tori’s life was supposed to get simpler. Unfortunately, a poorly timed errand sees Tori caught in the debut of a new team of capes, one wearing an all-too-familiar name.

Thrust into the spotlight, Tori will have to navigate her unwanted fame as well as the suspiciously superheroic new neighbors down the hall, all while keeping up with her own villainous enterprises. With the guild no longer a secret, Hephaestus needs to grow as strong as possible to face her mounting threats.

Ambitious gangs, battling against mechanized traps, and brawling with capes are only the beginning. Behind the scenes, a hidden enemy works to settle an old score, one that has burned for decades. This secret scheme will not only endanger Tori, her friends, and the guild, but the very world itself.

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FantasySuperheroes
Release date: December 23, 2020

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Drew Hayes

Drew Hayes

In the wild, often absurd corners of genre fiction, few voices strike the balance between sharp wit and sincere heart quite like Drew Hayes. Whether he’s sending up the tropes of superhero sagas in Super Powereds, crafting morally flexible adventuring parties in NPCs, or guiding reluctant vampire accountants through supernatural bureaucracy in Fred, the Vampire Accountant, Hayes brings a uniquely comedic lens to the fantastic and the far-fetched.

His stories rarely unfold in the expected way—and that’s the point. Hayes thrives in the gray areas: where power doesn’t always make you a hero, and side characters are anything but secondary. His humor isn’t just clever; it’s often quietly subversive, inviting readers to question the scaffolding of genre norms while still enjoying every beat of the ride. One minute you’re laughing at a deadpan joke about dungeon politics, the next you’re unexpectedly moved by a character’s growth or ethical dilemma. It’s satire, sure, but never without soul.

Read more ...

Originally from Texas, Hayes didn’t march into the writing world with a polished MFA or a predictable literary path. Instead, he hustled his way in—self-publishing his earliest work and slowly building a fiercely loyal fanbase through sheer storytelling tenacity. His background in improv comedy and podcasting shines through in his dialogue, which often crackles with timing that feels too alive to be rehearsed. There’s a reason readers keep coming back: it’s not just about the plot, it’s about spending time with characters who feel as flawed, funny, and unpredictable as the people we know in real life.

While traditional accolades have started catching up with his influence, it’s Hayes’s impact on readers—especially within indie and self-publishing circles—that tells the real story. He’s carved out space for unconventional heroes, proving that the best genre fiction doesn’t have to color inside the lines. With an ever-expanding universe of stories under his belt, Drew Hayes continues to surprise—not by reinventing fantasy, urban fiction, or superhero tales from the ground up, but by nudging them sideways with a smirk and seeing what shakes loose.

Villains' Code

In most superhero stories, the rules are simple, heroes save the day and villains exist to be stopped. Villains' Code takes that familiar structure and quietly rewrites it, shifting the focus to the systems behind the spectacle and the people who learn to survive within them. Through the lens of Drew Hayes, the genre becomes less about flashy battles and more about power, reputation, and the uneasy balance that keeps the world from tipping too far in either direction.

Read more ...

At the center is a reluctant entrant into the world of organized villainy, where chaos isn’t encouraged, it’s regulated. There are rules, expectations, and consequences, and understanding them matters more than raw strength. What unfolds is part coming-of-age story, part slow-burn character study, as ambition, loyalty, and identity begin to blur in a world where labels like “hero” and “villain” feel increasingly transactional.

The setting expands gradually, revealing a layered superhuman society built on alliances, rivalries, and quiet agreements that rarely make it into the headlines. It’s a place where strategy often outweighs brute force, where mentorship can come from unexpected places, and where every action feeds into a larger, carefully maintained equilibrium. The world-building leans into structured power systems and progression, making it especially appealing for readers drawn to character-driven superhero fiction and long-form narrative growth.

There’s a distinct tone running through the series, dry humor threaded through tension, sharp dialogue breaking up moments of introspection, and a steady awareness that even the most powerful individuals are still navigating systems bigger than themselves. As the story unfolds, the scale widens, but it never loses sight of the personal stakes, the quiet decisions that shape who someone becomes when they stop pretending the world is simple.

Over time, it has built a strong following among readers looking for something a little different from traditional caped narratives, blending superhero fiction with moral ambiguity, found-family dynamics, and a focus on how power is managed rather than merely used. It doesn’t discard the genre’s appeal, it reframes it, inviting readers to look past the surface and consider who really benefits from the rules, and who learns to bend them.


Villains' Code consists of three books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

Forging Hephaestus (Villains' Code #1)
Unrated
Bones of the Past (Villains' Code #2)
Unrated
Chilling Reflections (Villains' Code #3)
⧗ 8.00 / 1
Villains' Code Book 4 (Villains' Code #4)
⧗ 9.50 / 4


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