Detention

"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 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.