Title: The Slum Queen (an Outlier prequel novella)
Author: Daryl Banner
Cover & Interior Design: Daryl Banner
Urban Photography: Jan Behrens
*** A prequel/companion short story to the Outlier series. ***
*** Featured as a short story in "Moments In Time", a charity anthology.
Also released as a standalone prequel novella. ***
In the Last City Of Atlas, there lived a girl from the slums named Atricia Sunsong who became Queen with one little lie.
Underneath the selfishness and riches and countless young men who shared her bed was a lonely woman desperately trying to fill the hole in her heart left by a certain slum boy from her childhood.
When an uprising threatens to take away her throne and all that she has gained, she must do the unthinkable to save her Queenship before it is too late.
OTHER WORKS
There's something wrong with him, but he doesn't know what. His peace at college is disrupted by the unique people he meets throughout the school year, including a Psychology professor who seems to pull out the very best and the very worst in him. When his "worst" becomes too much to handle, he finds himself facing the demon of his sex addiction head-on, and everything is at stake.
*BOOK #1 IN THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD TRILOGY*
*It is recommended to read this series in order*
THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD (#1)
DEAD OF WINTER (#2)
ALMOST ALIVE (#3)
She’s dead.
In fact, the whole world’s dead. Every single person, apparently. Unburied and reimagined into a beautiful living-dead woman called Winter, she is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in a quaint, peaceful city with no hunger, no sickness and no bills to pay. Her Second Life is perfect in every way possible.
So why is she so bent on destroying it all?
After angering the mayor, befriending rebel headless teenagers and igniting romance with a dark and brooding neighbor, she finds herself wrestling madly with a First Life she cannot remember and this Second Life she cannot accept. Not to mention the maniacal army of rotting corpses who want her dead. Again.
But none of that matters in comparison to an even worse problem. There’s a guest in her house. A rude, good-looking man on the run ... a man with a heartbeat.
*It is recommended to read this series in order*
THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD (#1)
DEAD OF WINTER (#2)
ALMOST ALIVE (#3)
She’s dead.
In fact, the whole world’s dead. Every single person, apparently. Unburied and reimagined into a beautiful living-dead woman called Winter, she is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in a quaint, peaceful city with no hunger, no sickness and no bills to pay. Her Second Life is perfect in every way possible.
So why is she so bent on destroying it all?
After angering the mayor, befriending rebel headless teenagers and igniting romance with a dark and brooding neighbor, she finds herself wrestling madly with a First Life she cannot remember and this Second Life she cannot accept. Not to mention the maniacal army of rotting corpses who want her dead. Again.
But none of that matters in comparison to an even worse problem. There’s a guest in her house. A rude, good-looking man on the run ... a man with a heartbeat.
 |
| Cover model: Nick Duffy |
*BOOK #2 IN THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD TRILOGY*
*It is recommended to read this series in order*
THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD (#1)
DEAD OF WINTER (#2)
ALMOST ALIVE (#3)
No one said being an Undead is easy.
Winter’s Second Life became a lot more complicated when the Living moved into her hometown of Trenton. Undead neighbors fight with their Breathing ones. Food is sparse. And, worst of all, the season is taking a change for the colder.
A desperate plea for help to a neighboring city turns deadly and soon Winter finds herself facing an old friend from her past whose plot to annihilate all life on the planet may have everything to do with her.
And what about the man-with-the-heartbeat in her house? Is there even room for love in such a ruined, unforgiving world?
New friends are made. Others are lost forever. In the dead of winter, no one is safe.
*It is recommended to read this series in order*
THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD (#1)
DEAD OF WINTER (#2)
ALMOST ALIVE (#3)
No one said being an Undead is easy.
Winter’s Second Life became a lot more complicated when the Living moved into her hometown of Trenton. Undead neighbors fight with their Breathing ones. Food is sparse. And, worst of all, the season is taking a change for the colder.
A desperate plea for help to a neighboring city turns deadly and soon Winter finds herself facing an old friend from her past whose plot to annihilate all life on the planet may have everything to do with her.
And what about the man-with-the-heartbeat in her house? Is there even room for love in such a ruined, unforgiving world?
New friends are made. Others are lost forever. In the dead of winter, no one is safe.
 |
| Cover model: Joe Delaney |
*BOOK #1 IN THE OUTLIER SERIES*
*It is recommended to read this series in order*
*Some portions of book end in cliffhangers*
OUTLIER: REBELLION (#1)
OUTLIER: LEGACY (#2)
OUTLIER: REIGN OF MADNESS (#3)
OUTLIER: OBLIVION (#4)
OUTLIER: FIVE KINGS (#5)
“Those in power will do whatever they can to get away with everything they can.”
Every citizen in Atlas, the last city on the planet, is born with a unique, special ability, and no one sleeps past the age of two.
Except for Wick Lesser who, at seventeen, still sleeps. Hiding this rare ability from the world, his father, who can calculate futures, trains him in self-defense and combat while his healing-gifted mother works an unglamorous job in the muds and keeps his secret safe with the help of Wick’s older brothers. The Lesser family of the ninth ward slums manages to keep afloat, suffering under the corrupt, greed-driven Kingship of the Lifted City.
But not for long.
In the first installment of the Outlier series, Wick’s unassuming slumborn life soon explodes into a full-speed adventure of danger, betrayal, and self-discovery when he secretly joins an underground rebel movement working to take down the oppressive ruling power. But the task is far from easy, and there are more adversaries than Wick can count. Not to mention the complication of an intense, unplanned attraction ... to someone on the wrong side of the rebellion.
Powerful forces are gathering to put an end to the uprising, including the city’s elite crew of law-enforcers called Guardian, of which Wick’s own two eldest brothers are sworn members, and all corners of the slums grow ever restless: a lustful boy with blackened eyes leads a violent street gang, with Wick’s younger brother as his newest recruit. A cunning orphaned girl whose ability is to be unseen, sees everything. And high up in the Lifted City, a privileged and wealthy boy yearns for an exciting new life in the slums.
Their world is at a precipice of great change. No one is safe. The rebellion has begun.
*** Contains adult themes, M/F and M/M sexuality, and violence.
*It is recommended to read this series in order*
*Some portions of book end in cliffhangers*
OUTLIER: REBELLION (#1)
OUTLIER: LEGACY (#2)
OUTLIER: REIGN OF MADNESS (#3)
OUTLIER: OBLIVION (#4)
OUTLIER: FIVE KINGS (#5)
“Those in power will do whatever they can to get away with everything they can.”
Every citizen in Atlas, the last city on the planet, is born with a unique, special ability, and no one sleeps past the age of two.
Except for Wick Lesser who, at seventeen, still sleeps. Hiding this rare ability from the world, his father, who can calculate futures, trains him in self-defense and combat while his healing-gifted mother works an unglamorous job in the muds and keeps his secret safe with the help of Wick’s older brothers. The Lesser family of the ninth ward slums manages to keep afloat, suffering under the corrupt, greed-driven Kingship of the Lifted City.
But not for long.
In the first installment of the Outlier series, Wick’s unassuming slumborn life soon explodes into a full-speed adventure of danger, betrayal, and self-discovery when he secretly joins an underground rebel movement working to take down the oppressive ruling power. But the task is far from easy, and there are more adversaries than Wick can count. Not to mention the complication of an intense, unplanned attraction ... to someone on the wrong side of the rebellion.
Powerful forces are gathering to put an end to the uprising, including the city’s elite crew of law-enforcers called Guardian, of which Wick’s own two eldest brothers are sworn members, and all corners of the slums grow ever restless: a lustful boy with blackened eyes leads a violent street gang, with Wick’s younger brother as his newest recruit. A cunning orphaned girl whose ability is to be unseen, sees everything. And high up in the Lifted City, a privileged and wealthy boy yearns for an exciting new life in the slums.
Their world is at a precipice of great change. No one is safe. The rebellion has begun.
*** Contains adult themes, M/F and M/M sexuality, and violence.
 |
| Cover model: Nick Duffy |
*** Each novella in The Brazen Boys series is a standalone M/M romance. They can be read in any order. ***
Andrew is the muscular dream boy from Intro to Psych. Michael is the lonely kid desperate for a new roommate. When a class project - and one very reckless decision - forces them together, an unstoppable game of teasing, torment, and pleasure begins.
Michael will soon learn that Andrew’s sexual interests are far from ordinary ...
***Contains: M/M sexuality and adult language.
Andrew is the muscular dream boy from Intro to Psych. Michael is the lonely kid desperate for a new roommate. When a class project - and one very reckless decision - forces them together, an unstoppable game of teasing, torment, and pleasure begins.
Michael will soon learn that Andrew’s sexual interests are far from ordinary ...
***Contains: M/M sexuality and adult language.
Daryl Banner is a writer and composer who graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Theatre and Psychology.
He does not write in any single genre, as his stories tend to span several. He is most inspired by the smart and unlikely hero, but urges you (the reader) not to fall in love with them; they may deceive you with their innocence. He is thrilled by putting his characters in terrible situations where they must face choices and challenges that seem impossible to overcome.Daryl Banner writes contemporary fiction, sci-fi/fantasy (both in medieval and futuristic senses), unique takes on the apocalypse and paranormal romance genre, as well as magic realism. He cannot wait to hear what you think about his stories and welcomes (and responds to!) all feedback.
Interesting tidbits: Daryl is also an obsessive piano player, video game enthusiast, and occasional actor. He's been remixing video game music for over fifteen years, and is a passionate Final Fantasy fan. You can feed your ears with many of his remixes (as well as his original music) on his YouTube page "www.youtube.com/DarylBanner". Also, he personally answers all emails he receives, so if you have some strange desire to write him, he may enjoy it. He currently resides in Texas.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I would classify this book as sci-fi. It could maybe also be classified as dystopian and urban fantasy. It takes place sometime in the future. Humans have evolved biologically. The world has changed geographically, theologically, pretty much in every way possible basically. The storyline is about the queen of this world.
This was my first time reading anything from this author. I had no idea what the story would be going into it. I had no expectations so I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it so much. I plan to look into more stories from this author.
The above review was from when I purchased this book as part of an anthology with other authors. I've reread the updated novella and it has added content. Definitely a great purchase for any lover of urban fantasy.
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