A Black nerd coming-of-age novel set in 1970s Boston about a boy who struggles to learn the truth behind his mother’s claims of otherworldly origins in the smoldering aftermath of the Civil Rights... Read More
Description
A Black nerd coming-of-age novel set in 1970s Boston about a boy who struggles to learn the truth behind his mother’s claims of otherworldly origins in the smoldering aftermath of the Civil Rights era and COINTELPRO's dying breaths.
Sean’s mother, Sojourner, consistently claims otherworldly origins—Saturn, specifically. A story he’s heard his entire life and never considered that it might be true until strange men intrude on his family’s lives. Complicating matters, his father, David, and his mother, were part of a Civil Rights era Black power group that captured the attention of the FBI.
A literal bombing put an exclamation point to the end of the organization. But as soon as Sean could read on his own, he immersed himself in science fiction, fantasy, and comic books, while largely ignoring the history of his people. That ignorance morphs into a disturbing proposition and learning the truth of his parents’ pasts could prove deadly.
Sean’s exploration introduces him to music, girls, delusions of privilege, and the thrills of revolution, all while becoming an adult. The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile marries golden age sci-fi with the nostalgia of roller skates, funk, and first love.
Details
- Price: $17.95
- Pages: 180
- Carton Quantity: 3
- Publisher: CLASH Books
- Imprint: CLASH Books
- Publication Date: 22nd April 2025
- Trim Size: 5 x 8 in
- ISBN: 9781960988621
- Format: Paperback
- BISACs:
FICTION / Literary
FICTION / Coming of Age
FICTION / African American / Historical
FICTION / Science Fiction / General
Reviews
"An eclectic science fiction novel." —Foreword Reviews
"The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile is a beautiful, messy, and profound coming of age novel, deftly exploring the joys and dangers of growing up Black in 1970s Boston. Part The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Fortress of Solitude, and a comic book-style origin story, Errick Nunnally has penned a marvel. One that—in a fair universe—will put him on the radar of readers everywhere." —Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts
"Errick Nunnally is a voice and storyteller you do not want to sleep on. This heartfelt novella gives you a deep experience of the otherworldly and the reality of being a black youth and man in America. Every moment of this book touched me in different ways, but I loved it all the same." —V. Castro, author of The Haunting of Alejandra and Goddess of Filth
“It’s a 1970s coming-of-age story unlike anything I’ve read, focused on a 12-into-13 year old whose parents were involved in a group similar to the Black Panther party. The mother is an artist who indulges her son’s love of fantasy, SF, and comics and who maintains a fantastical story about being the dethroned queen of Saturn. She calls her son ‘my prince.’ It’s a beautiful, elegant fantasy in a life where growing up Black in Boston is sometimes frightening and even dangerous, especially with the enemies his parents made a decade before. But when his first sexual experiences are truly bizarre, and strange white men begin to spy on his family, the newly teenaged Sean is forced to wonder if there’s more truth to his mother’s fantasy than he could ever have imagined.” —Christopher Golden, author of Road of Bones
"Drawn with wintry, coming-of-age affection, Errick Nunnally’s The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile is an intimate tale of personal sovereignty reclaimed and birthright restored. Here at the kitchen table, the love and deeply rooted energy of Black liberation is shared from mother to son. With this story at our fingertips and before the violences of our world, we are all invited as sojourners and witnesses to this realm." —L. E. Daniels, Bram Stoker Award® finalist, author of Serpent’s Wake: A Tale for the Bitten
“Nunnally masterfully draws us into this mesmerizing coming of age story of a Black child whose mother tells him she’s from another planet, while seamlessly folding in the struggle against discrimination. I couldn’t stop reading as the mystery of his mother is unveiled at the same time as the horrific impact of racism wrecks their lives.” —Linda D. Addison, award-winning author, HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and SFPA Grand Master
"Errick Nunnally has established himself as a powerful voice within the Afrofuturism canon and gifted us with an emotionally charged, uniquely American coming of age story. I can't recommend this book enough." —Michelle Renee Lane, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Invisible Chains
"Gods, monsters, and comic books of 1970s America, and a family in the scope of the powers that be—I was instantly enthralled. Nunnally is a real talent." —Laird Barron, author of Not a Speck of Light
"Endlessly inventive and blisteringly paced, Errick Nunnally's The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile is like nothing else you’ll read this year. A triumphant genre mashup with an unwavering undercurrent of heart, fans of the subversiveness of Victor LaValle and the ingenuity of David Wong/Jason Pargin will want to scoop this one right up.” —Christa Carmen, Bram Stoker Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island
"There's not a Black person in the USA who hasn't felt like an alien or simply been alienated. This sharp story helps us remember why Stevie Wonder sang he was going back to Saturn." —Zig Zag Claybourne, author of Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe
"Part daring SciFi, part meditation of Black teenager-hood during a turbulent time in Boston history, this book will challenge the reader while delivering an exciting and fresh take on family and friend dynamics. The extraordinary collides with the everyday in ways that intrigue and keep the reader going." —Zin E Rocklyn, author of Flowers for the Sea
Author Bio
A Black nerd coming-of-age novel set in 1970s Boston about a boy who struggles to learn the truth behind his mother’s claims of otherworldly origins in the smoldering aftermath of the Civil Rights era and COINTELPRO's dying breaths.
Sean’s mother, Sojourner, consistently claims otherworldly origins—Saturn, specifically. A story he’s heard his entire life and never considered that it might be true until strange men intrude on his family’s lives. Complicating matters, his father, David, and his mother, were part of a Civil Rights era Black power group that captured the attention of the FBI.
A literal bombing put an exclamation point to the end of the organization. But as soon as Sean could read on his own, he immersed himself in science fiction, fantasy, and comic books, while largely ignoring the history of his people. That ignorance morphs into a disturbing proposition and learning the truth of his parents’ pasts could prove deadly.
Sean’s exploration introduces him to music, girls, delusions of privilege, and the thrills of revolution, all while becoming an adult. The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile marries golden age sci-fi with the nostalgia of roller skates, funk, and first love.
- Price: $17.95
- Pages: 180
- Carton Quantity: 3
- Publisher: CLASH Books
- Imprint: CLASH Books
- Publication Date: 22nd April 2025
- Trim Size: 5 x 8 in
- ISBN: 9781960988621
- Format: Paperback
- BISACs:
FICTION / Literary
FICTION / Coming of Age
FICTION / African American / Historical
FICTION / Science Fiction / General
"An eclectic science fiction novel." —Foreword Reviews
"The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile is a beautiful, messy, and profound coming of age novel, deftly exploring the joys and dangers of growing up Black in 1970s Boston. Part The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Fortress of Solitude, and a comic book-style origin story, Errick Nunnally has penned a marvel. One that—in a fair universe—will put him on the radar of readers everywhere." —Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and A Head Full of Ghosts
"Errick Nunnally is a voice and storyteller you do not want to sleep on. This heartfelt novella gives you a deep experience of the otherworldly and the reality of being a black youth and man in America. Every moment of this book touched me in different ways, but I loved it all the same." —V. Castro, author of The Haunting of Alejandra and Goddess of Filth
“It’s a 1970s coming-of-age story unlike anything I’ve read, focused on a 12-into-13 year old whose parents were involved in a group similar to the Black Panther party. The mother is an artist who indulges her son’s love of fantasy, SF, and comics and who maintains a fantastical story about being the dethroned queen of Saturn. She calls her son ‘my prince.’ It’s a beautiful, elegant fantasy in a life where growing up Black in Boston is sometimes frightening and even dangerous, especially with the enemies his parents made a decade before. But when his first sexual experiences are truly bizarre, and strange white men begin to spy on his family, the newly teenaged Sean is forced to wonder if there’s more truth to his mother’s fantasy than he could ever have imagined.” —Christopher Golden, author of Road of Bones
"Drawn with wintry, coming-of-age affection, Errick Nunnally’s The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile is an intimate tale of personal sovereignty reclaimed and birthright restored. Here at the kitchen table, the love and deeply rooted energy of Black liberation is shared from mother to son. With this story at our fingertips and before the violences of our world, we are all invited as sojourners and witnesses to this realm." —L. E. Daniels, Bram Stoker Award® finalist, author of Serpent’s Wake: A Tale for the Bitten
“Nunnally masterfully draws us into this mesmerizing coming of age story of a Black child whose mother tells him she’s from another planet, while seamlessly folding in the struggle against discrimination. I couldn’t stop reading as the mystery of his mother is unveiled at the same time as the horrific impact of racism wrecks their lives.” —Linda D. Addison, award-winning author, HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, and SFPA Grand Master
"Errick Nunnally has established himself as a powerful voice within the Afrofuturism canon and gifted us with an emotionally charged, uniquely American coming of age story. I can't recommend this book enough." —Michelle Renee Lane, Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of Invisible Chains
"Gods, monsters, and comic books of 1970s America, and a family in the scope of the powers that be—I was instantly enthralled. Nunnally is a real talent." —Laird Barron, author of Not a Speck of Light
"Endlessly inventive and blisteringly paced, Errick Nunnally's The Queen of Saturn and the Prince in Exile is like nothing else you’ll read this year. A triumphant genre mashup with an unwavering undercurrent of heart, fans of the subversiveness of Victor LaValle and the ingenuity of David Wong/Jason Pargin will want to scoop this one right up.” —Christa Carmen, Bram Stoker Award-winning and Shirley Jackson Award-nominated author of The Daughters of Block Island
"There's not a Black person in the USA who hasn't felt like an alien or simply been alienated. This sharp story helps us remember why Stevie Wonder sang he was going back to Saturn." —Zig Zag Claybourne, author of Afro Puffs Are the Antennae of the Universe
"Part daring SciFi, part meditation of Black teenager-hood during a turbulent time in Boston history, this book will challenge the reader while delivering an exciting and fresh take on family and friend dynamics. The extraordinary collides with the everyday in ways that intrigue and keep the reader going." —Zin E Rocklyn, author of Flowers for the Sea