1: Hidden Heritage II: The Scholars by DeeBee Great blend of action, suspense and character development. The first book is a little stronger because pain and sorrow make for sweeter success.
2: The Preacher Man by hammingbyrd7 This is better than most published stories I've read, and it stuck with me for years. The writing is good enough to characterize it as "literature" rather than "just fiction".
3: Under a Baleful Sky by Stultus Those of us who have that nagging feeling that we should have done (and be doing) more with our lives will relate to the first part of the story, which was originally written as a stand-alone story. It culminates with the ultimate humiliation.
"You're a wizard, Harry." is the dream of children to be special beyond they prosaic in their lives. Living under the staircase, Harry's life is lower than most children, and he transforms before their eyes into an important, magical powerful person.
This story is about the same transformation of a man. Over the course of the story, he goes from a lower that is lower than we can dread to being a great hero.
