Byron Starr

Insurrection Byron Starr

Insurrection is the very first novel set in the Moreauvia universe. This alternate historical fiction gives us the human-like animals of H. G. Wells' classic, The "Island of Dr Moreau" not only exist, but have become common. In the early 1800s these 'animals' are used as laborers, slaves really, to solve America's slave problem, preventing the dark crisis of the Civil War and thrusting America into the role of an aggressive world power much earlier than in our own history. In the early 1870s, instead of suffering through the Reconstruction era, America is ready to define her own destiny in a war with England over Canada, one she will surely win. However all is not as well as it seems. In rural Arkansas a small uprising among the 'animal' slaves begins to grow. After the Arkansas militia is soundly trounced by the beasts, the governor is forced to call on the federal government for help. The answer comes as a shock when a U. S. Colored Regiment, made up of soldiers who were slaves themselves less than a generation ago, is sent to help put down the revolt. In this story we find common soldiers who are torn between doing their duty as a soldier and doing what they feel is right. There are heroes, and there are villains as well. Insurrection is a dark, serious tale, with a meaning that gets deeper the more you look at it.