"Now you must do something much scarier. You must dare to be yourself. ***Live as you!***"
Detention is a character-driven ensemble novel (90.5K words including 1 map and 7 illustrations) about fighting for freedom against tyrannical laws. Hugo Rank, an empathic detective who longs for epic tales, interrogates eight young outlaws, arrested for rioting:
- Sanchx, a gender-fluid con artist,
- Bastian, an irreverent flame-dancing juggler,
- Alexis, an animal-liberating aristocratic outlaw,
- GrrBob, a mystic gorilla of a mad god,
- Nyx, a gnome who thinks he's a great wizard,
- Prudence, a ferret familiar seeking a life of purpose,
- Hal, a romantic bard, and
- Lega, an irascible untouchable fleeing slavery.
Inspector Javos accuses the suspects of subverting the Restoration of Order - a rigid hierarchy of age, caste, gender, and species - by pretending to be what they are not. Only by becoming the roles they play can these young rebels escape from Schermer Jail. Thus begin The Trials of the Fastbraekers.
A novel for new adults about role playing and storytelling, Detention blends the band-of-outsiders camaraderie of a found family with the emotional introspection of literary fiction. The layered world-building is epic fantasy, the themes philosophical fantasy, the plot gamelit, and the characters grimbright.
This novel is part of The Tales of the Fastbraekers® and The Paetheon® series.
Based on real life.
