Detention

"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 philosophic, the plot gamelit, and the characters grimbright.

Based on real life.