Captives of the Flame

In the thirty-fifth century, civilization clings to survival along the coastline and a single island, remnants of humanity after nuclear fire consumed the world. The kingdom that emerged from ashes is ruled by a royal family whose power crumbles even as their cruelty remains intact. When the son of a wealthy merchant becomes the target of their arbitrary wrath, he loses everything: his name, his standing, his world. Stripped of privilege, he must navigate a harsh new existence among the working class, discovering that survival demands a different kind of strength than the one his birth afforded him. An unlikely ally emerges in the form of a disaffected royal, equally disillusioned with the corruption and decay that define their dynasty. Together, they plot a path toward reclaiming what was taken, though the cost may be higher than either imagined. Delany's debut novel pulses with raw energy, class resentment, and the urgent question of what remains human when civilization has burned.