In My Defense

A teenage mechanic must battle nightmarish creatures and create formidable weapons to defend his new home from dark forces in this thrilling portal fantasy. When Ryan Kotes awakens on an alien planet, his mind is a complete mess. But even with his memories ground into a fine paste, he's pretty sure he would remember having a metal arm . . . not to mention the flashing messages that keep playing across his vision.

Coming off his first victory over the Scourge, Ryan Kotes is a bona fide hero to the people of Eclipse. But the war is far from over. The zombifying infection is still festering throughout Ralqir, and Ryan won't quit until he beats every last bit of it to a pulp. Joined by some unlikely allies—including a pair of dragonkin sisters, a carbine-wielding fox, and a hulking lion hybrid—there should be nothing standing in his way. Unfortunately, the ragtag group is soon confronted by a painful truth. It seems the latest outbreak on Ralqir is tied directly to Ryan's own arrival on the planet.

After saving Ralqir from the plague known as the Scourge, Ryan Kotes returns home a bona fide Exotic. But instead of being welcomed with joyous fanfare, he's met with suspicion and a cold, dark cell. The powerful Marshal family, wary of Ryan's new supernatural abilities—as well as his level-0 status—don't know what makes him so remarkable, and they're intent on keeping a close eye on him until they can figure it out. When a legal loophole stipulates that Ryan must attend Sabium, an academy for the most elite of Exotics across the galaxies, he's able to escape the Marshals' torturous clutches.