June Book of the Month: The Shushan Citadel

June for Environment and Refugees

In the month of June, World Environment Day is promoted on the 5th and Refugee Day on the 20th.

The Sushan Citadel is a fitting read this month because it transports the reader into societies that survive because of environmental nurturing, and thrive because of the hospitality they extend to strangers.

Refugees from the wastelands and forests drifted away from the coarse, violent company of the Lawless. They came in search of the security, advantages and comforts that ordered civilization provides.

Those seeking sanctuary at Noka were invited to create communities on the vast protected lands of the Aboriginal nation. There, they were able to re-establish themselves in peace. Although mostly left to their own devices, they were able to receive help from their First Nations hosts. Some were hired by the Native community to work in the gardens or help with the care of animals. In return, they received supplies, invaluable training to share with their families, and points towards the purchase of breeding stock.

Refugees also wandered to the eastern shores of the Bruce Peninsula across from monastery. There they waited expectantly to be ferried to the island by accommodating monks and were welcomed to live within the courtyard walls until they could build their own developments. Soon hamlets encircled the abbey, their residents interacting freely with each other and sharing resources amongst themselves. The Shushan Citadel

The Shushan Citadel

Situated along the Great Lakes, three subterranean cities designed to resist global terrorism survive a devastating planetary disaster: Shushan, corporate headquarters of an international communications network, Abbey Trádún, an island monastery, and DúndirkaNoka, an Aboriginal settlement.

After the Devastation, Shushan’s CEO builds a Citadel and arrogantly sets out to rule the land in the style of King Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther – harem and all.

Intelligence forces within the three cities plant a young Jewish woman in the Citadel to win the heart of the delusional dictator.

Genre: speculative fiction, romance, espionage

Available as paperback from Borealis Press Ottawa and through Indigo and local bookstores. Digital at iBook and Kobo.