New publishing company Sydney Lane Press has inked a deal with Stephen and Ross Lawhead to publish the "Hero" trilogy, a retelling of the gospel story set in a chilling, dystopian future America.

The project was conceived through the Lawheads' collaboration with GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and performer Eddie DeGarmo. DeGarmo and co-writer Bob Farrell created Hero: The Rock Opera. The live event opened with Michael Tait, Mark Stuart and Rebecca St. James in lead roles. Hero was performed theatrically 21 times, and the opera's best-selling soundtrack won two Dove Awards.

DeGarmo turned to the Lawheads, who have garnered numerous literary awards and sold millions of books, to bring Hero to life in book form. The three books in the series imaginatively capture the coming of the Messiah in an age controlled by a one-world government that parallels the brutal Roman world of Jesus’ life and ministry.

DeGarmo explained the creative decisions underpinning Hero.

“We wanted to reintroduce the incredible power of the Gospel narrative by placing it in a world of danger and intrigue the modern reader will immediately relate to,” DeGarmo said. “There was no one better than the Lawheads to pull off that incredible writing feat. The storyline they created from our musical still amazes me.”

Stephen and Ross Lawhead commented on their role in reimagining the story.

“I’ve always loved to write about real and imaginary worlds that are steeped in meaning,” said Stephen Lawhead. “To faithfully retell the gospel in a future where truth and life are dictated by a tyrannical bureaucracy was a challenge, a delight and a labor of love.”

Ross Lawhead said he was "honored" to work on Hero. 

"Eddie originally approached me to illustrate a graphic novel with my dad writing the script," Ross said. "I couldn't help pitching my own ideas, and so I became co-author. It was a thrill to then be asked to co-author the novels, which allowed us to fully expand the story's themes, plots and characters. The gospel is truly the greatest story ever told—I believe we've managed to put an exciting spin on it in retelling it this way.”

Mark Gilroy, president and publisher of Sydney Lane Press, compared Stephen Lawhead to other significant Christian writers.

“I was introduced to Stephen Lawhead’s writings with 'The Pendragon Cycle,'” Gilroy said. “There is a reason Stephen’s works are compared to those of literary giants like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The parallels Stephen and Ross draw to the four Gospels are brilliant. We are pleased and proud to publish this amazing work.”

The first book, City of Dreams, releases in August. Fans of the Lawheads will be pleased to learn that the next two books, Rogue Nation and World Without End, will follow in four-month intervals.

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