Cover Illustration: Ken Hunt

A century has passed since the fall of the Martians and half again as long since men recovered the secret strength in their blood. A changed world begins to yield up its mysteries at the dawn of a new age of heroes, monsters, and legends. It is an Age of Resurgent Myth.

The Ascension Epoch is a shared universe of heroic adventure fiction. Combining original material with the vast treasure of public domain fiction, released under Creative Commons, and meant to be developed collaboratively, it is a world of fiction quite different from what you’re used to.

Our background is an alternate history where human beings with extraordinary supernatural abilities, called Talents, began to (re)appear around the middle of the 19th century. The course of world history is then altered irrevocably by the Martian invasion of 1898, laying the ground work for a 20th and 21st century substantially different from our own. But unbeknownst to most, the epoch-making War of the Worlds was only the most recent skirmish in a desperate, aeons-long war between the forces of good and evil, a war whose primary battleground is the planet Earth.

Our perspective is unapologetically Christian and libertarian. We are partisans of Western Civilization and all that is conducive to human flourishing. We conscientiously reject the tedium and nihilistic tendencies of postmodern fiction such as deconstruction and decompression. Our heroes act heroically, even though they are every bit as flawed as you or I. And while our primary goal is entertainment, we also know that great stories contribute to beauty in the world and can turn men’s minds to higher things.

HeroicAdventureFiction.com is a repository for our artistic efforts. Here you will find serialized short stories and novels, artwork, character profiles, setting details, sandbox adventures for RPGs and wargames, podcasts, and more. While anyone can buy our books (and we certainly appreciate that!), this site is intended for newcomers to get their first tastes of these amazing stories and characters. Eventually, we will also have exclusive, members-only content for patrons, but for now, we invite you to enjoy all we have to offer for free.

Meet the Creators

While Ascension Epoch is open for collaborative development, the initial groundwork was done by the husband and wife creative team of Michael and Shell ‘Presto’ DiBaggio.

Michael A. DiBaggio
Mike is the main author and chief worldbuilder of the Ascension Epoch. A lover of history, superhero comics, 19th century literature, and high strangeness, he spends as much time as possible cobbling together these varied influences into a fantastical, yet coherent world.

When not working or writing, Mike enjoys Game Mastering tabletop role playing games, miniature wargames, collecting action figures, and building miniature terrain. His video channel, Attention Span Labs, chronicles these other interests. One day, he hopes to earn a living as a writer so he can stop being a software engineer.

His favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Tim Powers, and Manly Wade Wellman.

Shell ‘Presto’ DiBaggio
Shell does most of Ascension Epoch’s artwork, some of the writing responsibilities, and a good chunk of the editing. That is, when she’s not being a full-time mother and homemaker.

Shell’s other interests include watching anime; reading comic books; and reading a mix of classic and new indie sci-fi, fantasy, or horror stories. Before she started pouring most of her time into Ascension Epoch, she was an avid video gamer, tearing through Capcom fighters and any RPG with the word “Fantasy” or “Phantasy” in the title.

Shell’s favorite authors are Richard Matheson, Anthony Burgess, and Mary Shelley. Her favorite artists are John Byrne, Chris Bachalo, Charles Schulz, Ai Yazawa, and Yasuhiro Nightow.

Mike and Shell live in Pennsylvania with their growing family.