Rob and Frida’s Battalion Zero has vanquished Dr. Dirt, but Dirt’s accomplice, Lady Craven, has risen to power to finish what Dirt started: control of every biome boundary to rule the Overworld. The balance of day and night has shifted, and the mobs keep the villagers at bay, making them work ever harder during the day to replace what monsters destroy at night. Battalion Zero has suffered some losses and must regroup and recoup their resources and power.

Rob, Frida, Jools, and Stormie are now outcasts who must search the most desolate spaces for plunder as they attempt to gather new recruits who share their cause. Once a legitimate rancher, Rob reluctantly turns to rustling to provide horses to trade and to mount his company of defenders. The four friends become ever bolder and more desperate in their nightly raids against the mobs, and soon they bolster their ranks with outlaws De Vries and Crash, two shape-shifters who might get close enough to Lady Craven’s inner circle to bring them down.

But artifice and deception can go too far. As Battalion Zero adopts the enemy's tactics, their very humanity hangs in the balance. Now the only soul that Captain Rob can trust is his honest steed, Saber. Can the two lead their cavalry cohorts back to the side of justice in time to retake the Overworld? Will Rob be able to resume his journey home? Or will they all remain in Overworld orbit forever, banished to the Far Lands to live or die? Saddle up for the next daring advance by Rob and company, Defenders of the Overworld!

Sky Pony Press, with our Good Books, Racehorse and Arcade imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of books for young readers—picture books for small children, chapter books, books for middle grade readers, and novels for young adults. Our list includes bestsellers for children who love to play Minecraft; stories told with LEGO bricks; books that teach lessons about tolerance, patience, and the environment, and much more. In particular, this adventure series is created especially for readers who love the fight of good vs. evil, magical academies like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter saga, and games like Minecraft, Terraria, and Pokemon GO. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Nancy Osa is a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a graduate of Reed College who now writes for clients around the globe. Her book Cuba 15 earned the Delacorte Press Prize for First Young Adult Novel and was recognized for excellence by the American Library Association and Booklist. Nancy resides in Portland, Oregon.