Stephen D. Strobel
Novelist and World Builder
About ME
Stephen D. Strobel
I'm a New York-based author who weaves science-fiction and fantasy into thrilling, character-driven narratives. I write for readers who crave the adrenaline of dystopian cyberpunk mixed with the whimsy of fantasy.My debut novel: "Splintered Signals" is currently in the beta-reading stage.
This book is the first entry in the alternate-future series entitled "Legacy of the Vanguard." The manuscript is roughly 425 pages in length!Legacy of the Vanguard will be a series of novels in which advanced cybernetics, ancient cosmic mysteries, and global conspiracies collide. When I'm not crafting character psychology or defining the anomalous power systems of my universe, you can find me researching cutting-edge tech or exploring the sci-fi giants that came before me.Splintered Signals to be released in late 2026...
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Some cures cost more than the disease.
Simon Pierce mends broken minds. In a world addicted to chrome and shadowed by buried history, he lives by one rule: do no harm. Then a catastrophe alters him down to the blood, and a veiled organization pulls him into its ranks. That same organization is the reason he keeps his distance from the people he loves. It's the only way he knows to keep them safe.They call themselves vanguards. Guardians of a forgotten technology too dangerous for the world to remember. But they've forgotten their true purpose. Now it's an institution that spends its own agents like ammunition and deems innocent lives acceptable losses.Simon sets out to dismantle it from the inside. And he refuses to spill a drop of blood to do so. Moving quietly and patiently to subvert his new handlers, he tells himself there's always a cleaner way, people worth saving, lines he'll never cross.But the deeper he cuts into the rot, the more Doctor Pierce learns the sobering truth: some people would rather burn it all down than let a good man win.Splintered Signals is the first book in Legacy of the Vanguard, a dark science-fantasy thriller of conviction, grief, and the lies we tell ourselves to remain the hero of our story.
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Want to be a beta reader?
Picture the rebellious spirit and found family of Red Rising, set against the genre-fusion and conspiracy-soaked atmosphere of Shadowrun. Dragons and cybernetic technology collide on a richly-built alternate Earth.
The story is about Simon Pierce, a bio-neurologist, behavioral psychologist, and a "Verdant"—someone who rejects cybernetic augmentation in a world defined by it. When a medical mystery pulls him into contact with ancient, reality-bending technology, he's thrust into the middle of a conspiracy that spans corrupt institutions, secretive agencies, and beings from beyond his own world. At its core, this novel delves into the cost of secrecy, and how easily good intentions curdle into self-justification when someone's handed real power.I'm looking for beta readers willing to read the full manuscript (~120,000 words) and share honest, specific impressions. I'm especially interested in how the story felt to read—where the tension gripped you, where the humor landed (or didn't), which characters you connected with and why, what dragged, and what made you laugh or cry. It's already been line-edited, so I'm looking for impressions from avid readers.Apply below!