NOVA: The Seven

NOVA: The Seven is the first book in the Mutacene Chronicles by B.J. Buechler. It was released in the United States on November 3, 2008.

NOVA: The Seven focuses on the story of seven boys, who develop strange powers following a government warning concerning a disease the government is trying to treat. When the young men go in for testing, they find themselves wrapped up in a world of spies, secrets, and assassins, and have to come together to save the world from a sinister man plotting domination and conquest.

Setting and characters
NOVA: The Seven follows Abe Powers, Alex Winters, Dominic DePardeaux, Elliot Lincoln, Jin Sato, Johnny Blake, and Marcus Blake, who are all in their late teens, and are otherwise unassuming young men. The novel takes place mostly in modern-day America, starting on the west coast, moving to the east coast, and with a showdown in eastern Europe.

Plot summary
NOVA: The Seven Opens with the main characters getting ready for and attending their various schools across the west coast. They are each forced to attend an assembly, where a video from the government is played, warning them of a chemical being carried by disease, called Mutacene. A list of symptoms is given, which is vague enough to make nearly anything seem to be a symptom, and require screening. The boys are all screened, and are found to be Mutacene Positive. They are all relocated to a government facility in Seattle, Washington, supposedly for treatment.

The boys quickly find out that the 'treatment' they were promised comes at the cost of using their new-found powers for the government. They are put through therapy, given access to video games, and forced to socialize with one another. Behind the scenes of the government facility, General Fires leads a team, consisting of their psychologist Dr. Hart, their computer expert Ryan Cohen, and the mysterious Brian Burns, as well as other military personnel and scientists. Brian Burns explains how dangerous the seven are, himself a Mutacene infected with a power similar to precognition. The training of the seven culminates with a maze they must navigate, first on their own, and along the way, with each other.

After completing their task, they are told of another Mutacene Positive soldier, who went AWOL in New York City. They are given the duty to find him, and terminate him. The government believes him to be inside Carter Tower, near Central Park. The boys all go, and split up, each trying to find their own way into the tower.

Once they are all inside, they are shown the true nature of the tower. The top levels are a school for the Mutacene infected, and secretly home to a group of superheroes known as NOVA. They meet their target, and realize he only defected because he was being used as a pawn, just as the seven now are. The boys decide to follow suit, and remain in the tower to learn more about their abilities in an environment with others like themselves.

The government, upon finding out that the boys have abandoned their mission, attempts to kidnap their parents, in an effort to force the boys back into service. The students of the school attempt to assist the seven in keeping their parents safe, but ultimately fail, in part, due to the interference of a flock of ravens. That night, crows and ravens around the world caw in unison, as a message echoes forth seeming only heard by the Mutacene infected, calling them to a castle in eastern Europe. The voice belongs to Baron Rook, who claims the world will accept the Mutacene infected as its leaders. The announcement forces the leader of NOVA, Jared Carter, to confess that he is infected, and able to travel in time. He admits that the reason he traveled back in time and formed NOVA was because, in his original timeline, Baron Rook had declared war on the non-infected, and won. At nearly that same time, the students and faculty track down the ravens, and the seven and other students mount a rescue attempt. When they reach the warehouse the ravens vanished into, they are forced into a confrontation with a new government team, who attack them. The students of NOVA and the seven rescue the captive Winters family, but are tricked by a traitor in their midst, and taken to a secret facility run by Brian Burns.

Burns collects blood samples from them, and appears to have his own agenda, outside that of the government, Baron Rook, or NOVA, but still seems to be working for both Baron Rook and the government. The seven finally escape, and return to the tower to plan their next move.

Upon returning to the tower, Mr. Carter pulls them aside, and reveals why they are important to the Mutacene infected. They are each the offspring of Mutacene infected, the second generation of the infected, proving that eventually, the infection will spread further. He reveals letters from each of their infected parents, none of which they truly knew, and told they have to face Baron Rook. The other students in the tower mount rescue attempts on different facilities around the country, reclaiming the parents of the seven, while the seven themselves go to Castle Lykova in eastern Europe to face off against the Baron.

After defeating the government team, which was waiting for them at the castle, and making it past Brian Burns who was guarding Baron Rook, the seven are drawn into a mental combat, where they find out that Baron Rook has partners aiding him in his plot for world domination. They defeat the Baron, who escapes in disgrace, and return to the tower, happy to have their parents back, and ready to stand guard against future threats.

Promotion and release
The book was released on November 3, 2008, in limited edition. Due to an editing error, production on the book was halted, and resumed with fixed copies being printed in April 2009. The second edition also altered the dedication page, from seven friends of the author, to the memory of his grandfather, who passed away between the first and second printings. The book is available exclusively through Target.com and Amazon.com, as well as through the publisher's website.