Sonic Revolution Act I (2023 Fanfiction Novelization)

Sonic Revolution Act I is a 2023 science fiction fantasy romance fanfiction novel written by Casey McGregor and published by SenpaiCasey Literature, based on characters and elements from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise by Sega.
The novel is the first instalment in the Sonic Revolution series, kicking off the "Shadow Arc".
The plot of the novel, serving as a hard reboot of the franchise, follows three main protagonists in Sonny "Sonic" Hedgehog, Shadow the Hedgehog and Amy Rose, as their lives intertwine in the wake of a conspiracy threatening war between the two neighbouring nations of Mobotropolis and Acorn.
The novel began releasing in August 2023, and was officially completed on December 31, 2023. A direct sequel, Sonic Revolution Act II, began serializing in January 2024, to be followed by Sonic Revolution Act III in late 2024.
== Synopsis ==
50 years after a deadly incident on the Space Colony ARK, wanted fugitive Shadow the Hedgehog arrives in Mobotropolis in search of Maria Robotnik, his former girlfriend aboard the Space Colony ARK, who was reported to be alive and imprisoned by renowned news reporter Delina Rose. In the process of searching, Shadow encounters a group of young anthropomorphs, including Sonny Hedgehog, a high school outcast trying to piece his life together, and Amy Rose, Delina's daughter and Sonny's girlfriend, quickly developing a bond with the two fellow hedgehogs and their friends and family. However, when G.U.N., the national military of Mobotropolis, and Dr Julian Robotnik, Maria's older brother and famed roboticist in leagues with the autocratic president of Mobotropolis, David King, come after Shadow, he and his new friends are forced to flee to the Kingdom of Acorn for refuge.
== Development and Concepts ==
Author Casey McGregor, a long time fan of the Sonic series, first conceptualized the earliest form of Sonic Revolution in high school in 2018, while brainstorming potential Sonic fangame ideas for future use, originally conceptualizing a crossover game titled Sonic Legacy, which would later serve as the foundation for the ensemble character roster seen in the story.
While the original concept lent itself as a crossover connected to the Modern Sonic continuity, Casey later decided to spin off these concepts into a hard rebooted story, then later deciding to feature the story within a darker and more realistic continuity, loosely inspired by the tones and themes of the Ken Penders-helmed period of the Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series by Archie Comics. This decision later evolved into concepts for a politically driven story with the character of Shadow the Hedgehog used as a foundation.
An earlier but now abandoned draft, simply titled Sonic Revolution was and is still available on the Google Play Store, due to Casey having lost access to the account and therefore being unable to remove the draft.
== Characters ==
=== Main Characters ===
* Sonny Hedgehog - Titular Main Protagonist
* Shadow the Hedgehog - Main Protagonist
* Amy Rose - Main Protagonist
* President David King of Mobotropolis - Primary Antagonist
* Dr Julian Robotnik - Sonny's Antagonist
* Commander Abraham Tower of G.U.N. - Shadow's Antagonist
* Beverly Tower - Amy's Antagonist/Abraham's elder sister
=== Other Characters ===
==== Secondary Heroes ====
* Sonia Hedgehog - Sonny's elder sister/middle child/Amy's best friend
* Manic Hedgehog - Sonny and Sonia's elder brother/eldest child
* Vanilla the Rabbit - Shadow's companion
* Delphi the Dolphin - Shadow's companion/princess of the Dolphin Kingdom
* Miles Prower - Sonny's best friend/child prodigy
* Aleena Hedgehog - Sonny, Sonia and Manic's mother
* Mina Mongoose - Amy's friend/Miles' love interest
* Honey Florina the Cat - Amy's friend/Sonia's love interest
* Knuckles Glidar the Echidna - School Jock
* Rouge Gothix the Bat - English teacher/Knuckles' secret girlfriend
* Rosemary Prower - Miles' mother
* Vector Chaotix the Crocodile - Law teacher/hopeful detective
* Delina Rose - Famous news reporter/Amy's mother
* Mighty the Armadillo - Vector's friend
* Ray the Flying Squirrel - Mighty's best friend
==== Secondary Antagonists ====
* Nickolas the Jerboa - Bounty Hunter/boss of the Hooligans/father of Nack and Nicolette
* Nack the Jerboa/Fang the Hunter - Bounty Hunter/team leader of the Hooligans
* Nicolette the Jerboa - Bounty Hunter/team leader of the Hooligans
* Bark the Polar Bear - Bounty Hunter/member of the Hooligans
* Bean the Duck - Bounty Hunter/member of the Hooligans
* Sleuth "Doggy" Dawg - Nicolette's love interest/member of the Hooligans
==== Temporary/Non-recurring Characters ====
* Tyrone the Jackal - Head of the Lightning Bolt Society/Shadow's archnemesis (appears in Chapters 1-2)
* Sticks the Badger - Shadow's fangirl/Seaside Island citizen (appears in Chapters 1-3, 6 & 7)
* Fiona Fox - Tyrone's girlfriend/second in command of the Lightning Bolt Society (appears in Chapters 1-2)
* Professor Gerald Robotnik - Shadow's creator/former enemy of the state (deceased, appears in Prologue only)
* Maria Robotnik - Gerald's granddaughter turned hedgehog/Julian's younger sister/Shadow's girlfriend (appears in Prologue and Epilogue only)
== Future ==
Sonic Revolution Act I is the first instalment in the Sonic Revolution series, which author Casey McGregor has envisioned as being poised to become "the biggest and most ambitious fanfiction continuity in the history of literature", with the vision of a shared universe taking form through plans for spin off mini series and full length novels under the Sonic Revolution Universe label, which officially started with the spin-off series Adventures of Sticks the Badger in 2024, and will be followed by a two-part Shadow storyline, with the first part, Shadow the Hedgehog: Messiah of the New World, being a prequel, and the second, Shadow the Hedgehog: Warrior of the New World, being an epilogue taking place after the events of Sonic Revolution Act III and finalizing story arcs set up in Adventures of Sticks the Badger.
In November 2023, Casey announced the SonicVerse initiative, aimed to create a coalition of Sonic fan work creators for the potential of multiverse style crossovers between different fan made continuities.
Casey has also expressed interest in one day pushing to acquire Sega's parent company, SegaSammy Holdings, in addition to purchasing characters owned by former writer of the Sonic comics by Archie Comics, Ken Penders, with the goal of "unifying the Sonic brand" and increasing franchise output from fans through an expanded SonicVerse initiative.
== Where to Read Online ==
Sonic Revolution Act I is available on Wattpad and Archive Of Our Own. A full manuscript of the novel is available to download for free on the author's website.