Book Name: The Balance
Series: The Eternal Dungeon
Book: Three
Can be read as a standalone
Release
Date: April 11, 2016 (reissue)
Blurb:
"'The
Eternal Dungeon is my home now,' the High Seeker said. But as he spoke, he lifted
his face and looked at the Vovimian carving, as a man might look at a beloved
he must leave forever."
The
Seekers (torturers) in the Eternal Dungeon have always expressed contempt
toward the Hidden Dungeon in the neighboring kingdom of Vovim, whose torturers
abuse prisoners without restraint. But the balance between mercy and hell is
not so clear as might be thought in either dungeon, and now that balance is
about to tip. Only the strength of love and integrity will determine the paths
of two Seekers whose fortunes are bound together.
A
winner of the 2011 Rainbow Awards (within the "Eternal Dungeon"
omnibus), this tale of love and adventure can be read on its own or as the
third volume in The Eternal Dungeon, a speculative fiction series set in a nineteenth-century
prison where the psychologists wield whips.
The
Eternal Dungeon series is part of Turn-of-the-Century Toughs, a cycle of
alternate history series (Young Toughs, Waterman, Life Prison, Commando,
Michael's House, The Eternal Dungeon, and Dark Light) about adults and youths
on the margins of society, and the people who love them. Set in the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries, the novels and stories take place in an alternative
version of America that was settled by inhabitants of the Old World in ancient
times. As a result, the New World retains certain classical and medieval
customs.
Pages or Words: 90,000 words
Categories: Alternate Universe, Gay
Fiction, Historical, Adventure, Queergender
Excerpt:
He
had awoken, on that day after, to find himself lying alone in bed.
It
had all been a dreaming, then: the promise of everlasting love, the passion
that had followed upon that promise, the warmth of Elsdon's body – and more
importantly, the warmth of his companionship. Layle had expected it to happen
one day: his dreamings had become so real that he had begun to believe them.
The
bedsprings creaked.
He
reacted automatically, which meant he reacted violently. Reaching toward the
only loose object at hand – the night-table next to the bed – he grasped it by
its leg, wrenched it from the floor, and had begun to swing it toward the
intruder before he checked himself in time.
He
opened his eyes. Elsdon, fully clothed and hooded but with his face-cloth
raised, sat beside him. He looked, Layle realized with amazement, more amused
than fearful.
"By
all that is sacred," Elsdon said, speaking the mildest of oaths, "is
this how you always greet your love-mates upon awakening?"
Layle
slowly lowered the night-table, feeling the blood thunder within his body.
"I've never had a love-mate before who slept with me."
"I
can see why, if this is how you wake from your sleep."
Layle
slowly raised himself into a sitting position. Elsdon was still smiling, he
noted with growing incredulity. The Seeker-in-Training had made a joke
about the fact that Layle was a killer born.
Meet the author:
Honored
in the Rainbow Awards, Dusk Peterson writes historical adventure tales that are
speculative fiction: alternate history, historical fantasy, and retrofuture
science fiction, including lgbtq novels and young adult fiction. Friendship,
family affection, faithful service, and romance often occur in the stories. A
resident of Maryland, Mx. Peterson lives with an apprentice and several
thousand books.
Where to find the author:
Publisher: Love In Dark
Settings Press
Cover
Artist: Dusk Peterson
Tour Dates & Stops:
Parker Williams, Divine Magazine, A.M.
Leibowitz,
Wake Up Your Wild Side, Full Moon Dreaming, Bayou Book Junkie, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue
Words,
My Fiction Nook, Jessie G. Books, MM Good Book Reviews, Happily Ever Chapter, Charley
Descoteaux,
MM Book Escape, Bonkers About Books, Velvet
Panic,
The Hat Party, Outrageous Heroes, Open
Skye Book Reviews
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Prize: An e-copy of “Life Prison.”
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