The Return of the Flame

*This novel is not yet published.

Slates, the infinite death of books, have devoured the tattered pages of the past. With the tap of a screen, these ubiquitous personal devices repurpose the old by generating slatestories, extinguishing human creation.

Aedan, a quiet boy with a dormant flame, holds a physical book for the first time in class. This awakening begins an unlikely bond with his teacher, Alice, who hopes, year after year, for even one student to break free from the mindless surrender of slates. She guides Aedan towards the Old Library, where every book in existence is preserved and watched over by a librarian who would do anything to protect them.

Confronted by the end of human storytelling, Aedan secretly burns books through the fire in his hands, absorbing the words into his mind. Once discovered, he must decide whether to give in to his selfish hunger or give up all that he has come to know—whether humanity will struggle for the Flame once more or lose itself entirely.