CHARLES MANDRAKE AND THE RESONANCE ARRAY

Speculative Fiction / YA Contemporary Adventure

East Bay, Main: Eighteen-year-old Charles Mandrake seeks a quiet stability in a sleepy town, restoring an obsolete hilltop observatory. With his best friends, the analytical Anna and the practical Todd, they discover the facility hides secrets built by inventor Myles Pibbles, who vanished in 1969.

They work to decode the system’s complex innerworkings, but after a couple frustrating, unstable openings (holding briefly for ∼6 seconds), they make some headway.

They step through into Skelderheim, a coastal city under a dim sun. The mission instantly fails when Anna is recognized by the locals, linking her to an ancient society, a violent Daughters of Iron. The trio must secure their way home, but in doing so, they learn more about the world that has pulled them in.

They successfully execute a coordinated return, finding that only minutes have passed in East Bay. But upon immediately recrossing, the portal deposits them in an unfamiliar world, confronting new adversaries. Their fate now rests entirely on Anna’s shoulders.

A story about responsibility, quiet courage, and the trust of friends.