Tales of the Underdogs will, in time, be an anthology of short stories which take place in the Underdogs universe, with each character having a story of their own.
The stories written so far have been released as exclusive bonus content as a thank you to those who pre-ordered various Underdogs books, thus bringing them to life via Unbound – Ewan, Jack and McCormick’s stories for those who ordered Tooth and Nail, Roth, Lorraine and the Christmas Special for those who ordered Acceleration, and (so far) Kate’s plus the Christmas special again for Uprising.
All links on this page open in new tabs.
Tales of the Underdogs
Available stories:
Ewan West Goes To Oakenfold – the story of Ewan’s first day at his last chance saloon, following his exclusion from six mainstream schools. The story also features a few other familiar Underdog faces, as well as appearances from Ewan’s oft-mentioned parents.
Jack Hopper Talks To Dad – a rather intense one-scene story, about the time Jack had a conversation with his father following his first suicide attempt. As painful as it was to write (largely because I love Jack so much), it had a nicer ending than I thought it would.
Joseph McCormick Fights Alone – McCormick does his best to survive the days after his wife finally passes away. Provides extra context surrounding his story as described in the main series.
Christmas Day At Spitfire’s Rise – otherwise known as the “Underdogs Christmas special”, and the only story to date set after the events of Takeover Day. Ewan struggles to cope with a wartime Christmas celebration. (Originally open to Acceleration backers, this story is also available to Uprising backers here.)
Oliver Roth Comes To Power – The “origin story” of New London’s most feared assassin, detailing how an unconfident red-haired 12-year-old came to be hand-picked for Marshall-Pearce Solutions’ training programme.
Lorraine Shepherd Has A Change Of Heart – Following a tragedy that shakes her to the core, a much younger Lorraine decides to leave her job as a teaching assistant and fight through her demons to become a nurse.
Kate Arrowsmith Goes To A Party – Kate, driven by her love for her disabled brother James, faces off against her anxiety to attend his 18th birthday party.
Shannon Grant Tries Three Times – The story with the biggest range of trigger warnings, Shannon goes to extreme lengths to seek help from her father.
Stories yet to be written or released:
Alex Ginelli’s Taekwondo Showdown – After twenty years of being the son of his taekwondo instructor, Alex and his father have a final confrontation that comes to define their relationship.
Charlie Coleman Gets The Blame – The bullies deliberately push Charlie into having a meltdown, forcing him to lash out. Guess who’s held responsible?
Gracie Freeman Faces The Facts – After lying to her schoolfriends about being pregnant, Gracie discovers the consequences of telling recreational lies.
Mark Gunnarsson Fights Back – The story of how Mark ended up in the youth offenders’ institute after an altercation with his abusive father.
Raj Singh Misses The Signs – Thanks to severe dyslexia, Raj wanders straight past a warning sign into perilous danger. Thankfully, he has the brains to get himself out again.
Simon Young Stops Existing – Simon attends a dinner with his extended family, to find many of his relatives pretending he’s not there.
Thomas Foster Celebrates Christmas – just before his eighth birthday, Thomas has one last Christmas before his parents break up forever.
–