QSFer Kiersten Jackson has a new queer sci-fantasy book out (bi, gay, trans MTF): Insurgence: Book One.
Nineteen-year-old Huckleberry Honeybee doesn’t want to save humanity. He just wants his dad back. Unfortunately, Dad is one of the four most powerful warriors serving the alien ruler who conquered Earth.
Half human and half Apisen, Huckleberry has spent his life caught between two species in futuristic Tokyo. Then his mother reveals one hell of a family secret: his missing father is King Chavalier Balthazaar, Apisen royalty and a member of the Zentry—four devastatingly powerful enforcers serving Lord Zog.
Huckleberry decides he’s getting his father back, no matter how dangerous Chavalier has become.
Then Aegon appears in his bedroom with an equally terrible plan. His older brother, Albatros, is Zentry too. Together, the pair launch a reckless mission to reclaim their families—one that sends them straight into Lord Zog’s palace and leaves Huckleberry staring down the blade of his own father’s sword.
So much for father-son bonding.
But Huckleberry refuses to quit. As he and Aegon dig deeper into the lives of the Zentry, their family rescue mission begins snowballing into an insurgency against the regime controlling Earth. And Huckleberry discovers that saving his father may be much more complicated than surviving Lord Zog.
Because Chavalier might not want to be rescued.
INSURGENCE is an illustrated adult science-fiction action-adventure featuring a Black protagonist, queer characters and romance, alien civilizations, dysfunctional families, rebellion, humor, and a whole lot of extraterrestrial trouble. It is the first installment of Huckleberry’s World, set within the interconnected science-fiction universe of Universe J.
Get It At Amazon | Publisher
Excerpt
“You can’t be.”
“N-No, I’m serious,” Huckleberry stammered. He reached for his bandana and started to unfasten it. “I even have your eye and everything—”
King Chavalier slashed at him. Huckleberry yelped in shock and barely dodged the attack. It almost cut the golden chain he wore around his neck. King Chavalier gave him a deadly and ferocious gaze.
“Next time I won’t miss,” King Chavalier threatened. “You leave this palace. Now. And I’ll let you escape with your life. Yes… that much should suffice for now.”
“Hold it!” Huckleberry snapped. “Don’t you want to hear me out? I-I’m risking everything just to see you.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” King Chavalier believed. “You have no business with me, son. Return from which you came.”
“I’m here for you!” Huckleberry shouted back. “Don’t you understand? I don’t want to fight you. I just want to talk—”
King Chavalier flew towards Huckleberry in a dash and swiped his sword. Huckleberry thought about his black and gold encrusted katana. It manifested in his hand through golden sparkles. He blocked King Chavalier’s attack. King Chavalier seemed stunned to see that Huckleberry managed to summon a blade under this pressure. Huckleberry gritted his teeth, fending off the weight of King Chavalier’s slash.
One thing was clear—
King Chavalier was strong.
“Impressive,” King Chavalier noted. “You’re able to summon a blade despite not wielding one formally. Only Apisen knights hailing from the House of Balthazaar can do such a thing.”
“Does that… convince you…?” Huckleberry asked through gritted teeth, struggling to withstand the pressure King Chavalier was applying with his blade. He was powerful.
“Of what?” King Chavalier asked.
“That I’m your son,” Huckleberry confronted. “And that you’re my dad!”
“No.” King Chavalier believed.
He whipped his blade back and smacked Huckleberry. Huckleberry coughed up saliva and flew into the wall ten feet behind him. It cratered. King Chavalier rushed towards him in flight. He stabbed him with his longsword. Huckleberry flipped out of the way before the Apisen king managed to complete his strike. The two entered a quickened battle of slashing their weapons.
“Listen to me!” Huckleberry screamed. “I need us to talk—”
“You’ve talked too much,” King Chavalier chastised. “Consider this grace. I’m surprised you’ve kept up with me for this long. Which Knight of Balthazar has trained you in swordsmanship?”
King Balthazaar flipped his blade in a circle and swung it against Huckleberry. Huckleberry staggered backward, sliding on his feet. His sword was cracked in places. He couldn’t believe the amount of strength that King Balthazaar possessed. He was only toying with him. But his eyes…
It was almost like he wanted more from Huckleberry.
“No one trained me,” Huckleberry confessed. “I just… know how to use a katana. I practice kenjutsu. But I’ve been this way since I was a kid. I haven’t been around any knights—”
King Chavalier rushed towards him.
Author Bio
Kiersten Jackson is currently pursuing a B.A. in Creative Writing with a concentration in Screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University. I am also the writer and illustrator behind Universe J, the original science-fiction universe in which INSURGENCE takes place.
| Author Website | http://kierstenswritinglair.tumblr.com |
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