"Now you must do something much scarier. You must dare to be yourself. Live as you!"
Detention is a character-driven ensemble novel about fighting for freedom against the tyranny of law. 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.
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.
Based on real life.
