New mother and climate refugee Aileen Dupree has been abandoned by her partner in post-industrial Detroit. Her neighbor, Virgil, comes to her rescue, bringing useful cast-offs and much needed friendship. Virgil is Aileen’s only connection to the outside world, a refuge for an insomniac newcomer who is overwhelmed by the turn her life has taken. But then Virgil borrows Aileen’s prized possession — a chrome and leather, royal blue fourteen-speed bike — and disappears. Aileen doesn’t know if Virgil’s disappearance is an accident or another abandonment.
When she ventures out to look for answers, Aileen hears strange stories of the Elf, a timeless being that has always fought the colonizers and capitalists of Detroit, and now leads the Night Roll on a frantic race through the city’s disintegrating streets. It is up to Aileen to bring Virgil back to his friends and family. But what can the Elf teach her about her new life? And what must she pay for that knowledge?
Click to read an excerpt of Night Roll.
Reviews
“DeLuca debuts with a surreal ride through the supernatural history of the city of Detroit and the strange territory of new parenthood. Aileen is a recent transplant to Detroit and a single mother of a newborn. Her neighbor Virgil is the only person she’s grown close to since the move, so when he asks to borrow her bicycle so he can participate in a semimythical monthly bike ride called the Night Roll, a riff on the folkloric Wild Hunt, she feels obligated to say yes. When Virgil doesn’t return, Aileen becomes desperate enough to venture out to find him, bringing baby Christian with her—and stumbles into a small but generous community of Detroit locals. In the process of earning their trust, Aileen gets many lessons on local history, learning about the Rebellion (also known as the ’67 riots) and the Elf, the ageless trickster who leads the Night Roll. The odd, lyrical story meanders, propelled only by the force of Aileen’s determination to take control of her life—a determination that culminates in the reality-bending Halloween Night Roll. The result is a hypnotic near-future novella that will captivate literary and genre readers alike. “
— Publishers Weekly Review (link)
“DeLuca’s deft, poetic eye keeps hope right where it needs to be, not as magic, but as imperative, creative power.”
— ZZ Claybourne, author of THE BROTHERS JETSTREAM: LEVIATHAN
“Michael DeLuca’s NIGHT ROLL is one of the most vivid and captivating works of near future fiction I have read in a long time. The story of a woman left alone with her newborn in a collapsing Detroit, it follows her journey of discovery into the new communities that emerge from our slow-burn apocalypse, germinating the seeds of a more hopeful tomorrow firmly rooted in a sober assessment of the now and the deeper colonial and ecological history of North America. DeLuca’s gifts for drawing out the pockets of wild nature resurgent within the concrete canyons of the city are enough to hold my attention throughout, but the fresh authenticity of voice and vulnerable but committed charisma of his characters are what keep you turning the pages of this compelling novella.”
— Christopher Brown, Campbell and World Fantasy Award-nominated author of TROPIC OF KANSAS and RULE OF CAPTURE (link)
“It is a poetic look into the searing, tumultuous heart of Detroit. Fans of urban fantasy and cli-fi, as well as literary fiction will appreciate reading this novella. It is a work that can be read aloud, for the poetry of its prose, or enjoyed with an organic smoothie while you rock in a chair on your front porch on a summer evening.”
— Sonia Sulaiman, The Future Fire Reviews (link)
“Quite an engrossing story of a new single mother trying to form a life in future Detroit. A magical story with appealing characters, Night Roll also brings in references to Detriot’s history … [and] made me want to learn more about the city.”
— Christi Nogle, author of “Resilience” and ““The Best of Our Past, The Worst of Our Future” among others
Michael J. DeLuca’s short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex, Mythic Delirium, and lots of other places. He is the publisher of Reckoning, a journal of creative writing on environmental justice. You can find DeLuca on Twitter @MichaelJDeLuca. and at The Mossy Skull.