novels
Hard Times
From Emmy Award-winning, Grammy-nominated performer Wayne Brady and acclaimed Afrofuturist Maurice Broaddus, a time-bending, near-future, sci-fi thriller about a father fighting to free his son trapped in a prison beyond time—and the brutal legacy it represents—for readers of Chain Gang All-Stars and Octavia Butler’s Kindred.
A vanished son. A prison outside time. A father with everything to lose.
Nazareth Anthony Scott the Second—divorced, former PI, and retired Marine—never saw eye-to-eye with his son, Jalen. Estranged, Jalen never measured up to his expectations, especially after getting kicked out of boot camp for mouthing off. And Jalen thinks Naz is nothing but a corporate cog, working as Head of Security at VesMet, a top-tier research and development firm.
But after a mysterious email from Jalen arrives containing his case against VesMet, followed by a frantic call from Jalen’s girlfriend that he’s gone missing in North Carolina, Naz knows that he must head south to find his son. But things aren’t what they seem in Maysville: Naz learns Jalen was part of a community protest against VesMet’s proposed AI data center, and he disappeared while investigating the whereabouts of several local Black men.
Meanwhile, Jalen wakes up on “The Farm,” not knowing how he got there. His life and those of the incarcerated are ruled by the heartless whip of warden and monitored by the red-eyed gaze of robotic guards. Jalen feels like he’s been trapped outside of time, defending himself from the cruelties of a prison seemingly drawn from history books and science fiction alike.
Meanwhile, Naz must fight to break out his son before he becomes lost forever. But soon each man learns that The Farm’s location lies beyond time itself. Somehow, father and son must find a way back to each other, but breaking out—or in—will test everything Naz and Jalen have ever known.
Adrenaline-charged and culturally timely, HARD TIMES takes on the history of incarceration in the United States, and sets it to a hip-hop beat, shaking up the idea of how past injustices permeate into our present—and how we can stop them from becoming a threat to all of our futures.
A City Dreaming
The third and final book in a trilogy where the futuristic technology of Black Panther meets the scale of The Expanse and the intricate political maneuverings of Game of Thrones.
“Not to be missed.”—Washington Post on Sweep of Stars
Maurice Broaddus returns with A City Dreaming, the third book in his Astra Black trilogy, which explores the struggles of an empire. Epic in scope and intimate in voice, it follows members of the Muungano Empire—a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretches from Earth to Titan and beyond—as it faces renewed threats to its progress.
We received a signal. Everything has changed.
The Interstellar Alliance are coming.
A new empire approaches and the Muungano, already facing foes much closer to home, will have to contend with what it means for their future. Across the solar system, from Earth to Mars and Titan, beyond the Orun Gate, and across time and space itself a battle will rage.
Their soldiers, scientists, diplomats and leaders will all have a role to play if their empire is to live on.
The Astra Black series:
Sweep of Stars
Breath of Oblivion
A City Dreaming
Breath Of Oblivion
The second book in a trilogy where the futuristic technology of Black Panther meets the scale of The Expanse and the intricate political maneuverings of Game of Thrones.
“Not to be missed.”—Washington Post on Sweep of Stars
Maurice Broaddus returns with Breath of Oblivion, the second book in his Astra Black trilogy, which explores the struggles of an empire. Epic in scope and intimate in voice, it follows members of the Muungano Empire—a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretches from Earth to Titan and beyond—as it faces renewed threats to its progress.
Beyond the Orun Gate, Epyc Ro and her elite soldiers are stranded. Capturing an alien ship and searching for a way home, they discover a stowaway who may be the key to overcoming the alien forces swarming all around them.
On board the Cypher, Captain Stacia Chikeke is struggling to keep her ship and its fractured crew together. But the discovery of an interstellar phenomenon and the opportunity to explore unites them in a singular purpose, for now.
In the slums of Indianapolis, Wachiru Adisa works to free the children of the diaspora detained in Old Earth facilities, only to be captured and sent to a nightmarish criminal justice facility, the Panopticon.
On Old Earth, Ishant Sangsuwangul is the newly assigned liaison to the corporate entity running the government there. He feels like a prisoner, but must find a way to stem the tide of conflict as animosity toward his people grows.
In the Badlands of Mars, Amachi Adisa and her new teacher Nehanda begin her training to learn from her past, chart her future, and unlock the power that is her birthright.
In the Dreaming City, the lunar heart of Muungano power, Maulana Buhari struggles with how to lead his people. Is now the time for isolation or aggression?
Together they, and all of Muungano, will guide the empire forward by any means necessary, as enemies of old and new extraterrestrial threats mount.
The Astra Black series:
Sweep of Stars
Breath of Oblivion
A City Dreaming
Sweep of Stars
“Not to be missed.”—Washington Post on Sweep of Stars
Maurice Broaddus's Sweep of Stars is the first in the Astra Black trilogy that explores the struggles of an empire. Epic in scope and intimate in voice, it follows members of the Muungano empire - a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretches from O.E. (original Earth) to Titan - as it faces an escalating series of threats.
"The beauty in blackness is its ability to transform. Like energy we are neither created nor destroyed, though many try."--West African Proverb
The Muungano empire strived and struggled to form a utopia when they split away from old earth. Freeing themselves from the endless wars and oppression of their home planet in order to shape their own futures and create a far-reaching coalition of city-states that stretched from Earth and Mars to Titan.
With the wisdom of their ancestors, the leadership of their elders, the power and vision of their scientists and warriors they charted a course to a better future. But the old powers could not allow them to thrive and have now set in motion new plots to destroy all that they've built.
In the fire to come they will face down their greatest struggle yet.
Amachi Adisa and other young leaders will contend with each other for the power to galvanize their people and chart the next course for the empire.
Fela Buhari and her elite unit will take the fight to regions not seen by human eyes, but no training will be enough to bring them all home.
Stacia Chikeke, captain of the starship Cypher, will face down enemies across the stars, and within her own vessel, as she searches for the answers that could save them all.
The only way is forward
The Astra Black series:
Sweep of Stars
Breath of Oblivion
A City Dreaming
Black Panther: T'Challa Declassified
He’s a king, a hero, a loving brother and son, a husband to a goddess. The orphan king—the Haramu-Fal—and the Damisa-Sarki. And a man facing his doubts, his failures, and his destiny.
Revisit the life of one of Marvel Comics’ most iconic and inspiring characters via in-world interviews, journal entries, newspaper articles, and intelligence briefings from S.H.I.E.L.D. and other agencies.
Black Panther: T'Challa Declassified draws on more than half a century of classic tales to present an insightful, completely unique—and completely personal—take on one of the most talked-about heroes of all time.
Featuring the perspectives of T’Challa’s most important allies and enemies, including Shuri, Queen-Mother Ramonda, Ororo Munroe aka Storm, Everett K. Ross, Erik Killmonger, and the White Wolf, and accounts of some of Marvel Comics’ most memorable moments, this first-of-its-kind archival collection is a must-read for fans of all ages.
Unfadeable
A Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club Pick!
Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Kelly Yang, readers will love this heartfelt and genuine story about building community, finding family, and the power of Black girl magic.
Bella “Unfadeable” Fades is determined to stay out of trouble. A wiser-than-her-years graffiti artist known for tagging walls and bridges in her Indianapolis neighborhood, the Land, Bella plans to spend her summer break laying low and steering clear of anyone who might tip off to social services that she’s living on her own.
But keeping a low profile is all but impossible when Bella discovers people in high places are trying to defund the Land. She has to find a way to fight back.
Getting involved will mean putting herself out there—making connections with unlikely friends and attracting potential enemies. But if Bella doesn’t put her trust in her neighbors and learn how to bring her community together, her home—and her future—will never be the same.
The Usual Suspects
Fans of Jason Reynolds and Sharon M. Draper will love this oh-so-honest middle grade novel from writer and educator Maurice Broaddus.
Thelonius Mitchell is tired of being labeled. He’s in special ed, separated from the “normal” kids at school who don’t have any “issues.” That’s enough to make all the teachers and students look at him and his friends with a constant side-eye. (Although his disruptive antics and pranks have given him a rep too.)
When a gun is found at a neighborhood hangout, Thelonius and his pals become instant suspects. Thelonius may be guilty of pulling crazy stunts at school, but a criminal? T isn’t about to let that label stick.
Pimp My Airship
Warning: Don't Believe the Hype!
All the poet called Sleepy wants to do is spit his verses, smoke chiba, and stay off the COP's radar-all of which becomes impossible once he encounters a professional protestor known as (120 Degrees of) Knowledge Allah. They soon find themselves on the wrong side of local authorities and have to elude the powers that be.
When young heiress Sophine Jefferson's father is murdered, the careful life she'd been constructing for herself tumbles around her. She's quickly drawn into a web of intrigue, politics and airships, joining with Sleepy and Knowledge Allah in a fight for their freedom. Chased from one end of a retro-fitted Indianapolis to the other, they encounter outlaws, the occasional circus, possibly a medium, and more outlaws. They find themselves in a battle much larger than they imagined: a battle for control of the country and the soul of their people.
The revolution will not be televised!
Buffalo Soldier
Read the steampunk adventure the New York Times called a "wild, satisfying ride."
Having stumbled onto a plot within his homeland of Jamaica, former espionage agent, Desmond Coke, finds himself caught between warring religious and political factions, all vying for control of a mysterious boy named Lij Tafari.
Wanting the boy to have a chance to live a free life, Desmond assumes responsibility for him and they flee. But a dogged enemy agent remains ever on their heels, desperate to obtain the secrets held within Lij for her employer alone.
Assassins, intrigue, and steammen stand between Desmond and Lij as they search for a place to call home in a North America that could have been.
Buffalo Soldier is a steampunk adventure from Maurice Broaddus.
The Voices of Martyrs
From visionary Afrofuturist Maurice Broaddus comes the re-release of this seminal collection, with an all-new introduction and notes from the author. Fourteen stories meld history, folktales, horror, fantasy, and science fiction into electric moments scattered through ten centuries of Black experience.
We are a collection of voices, the assembled history of the many voices that have spoken into our lives and shaped us.
Voices of the past, voices of the present, and voices of the future.
There is an African proverb, "Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi," which translates as "It is not wrong to go back for that which you have forgotten." This is why we continue to remember the tales of struggle and tales of perseverance, even as we look to tales of hope.
What a people choose to remember about its past, the stories they pass down, informs who they are and sets the boundaries of their identity.
We remember the pain of our past to mourn, to heal, and to learn.
Only in that way can we ensure the same mistakes are not repeated.
The voices make up our stories.
The stories make up who we are.
A collected voice.
(Originally Published by Rosarium Publishing February 28, 2017)