Jack of East is my first and most complete published work. It explores a city that is only known as “The Sector”, which is cut off from its country when a wall is built around it. The children who remain in the city are forced to form into gangs and fight for their survival.
There is an e-book and a paperback version on Amazon. Both versions have the same content, but they have different covers. The e-book is slightly cheaper, especially considering shipping costs, and I actually make money when it is purchased. The physical copy, however, is nicer, but a little more expensive, and it allows you to purchase the e-book for only 2.99.
E-book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KTDP15K
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1072185857
Thematically, Jack of East is about fate. Do the circumstances we face control our actions? Do those who are oppressed have real agency to control their futures? These are questions Jack has as he tries to retain a sense of righteousness even as society crumbles around him.
Jack’s city, known only as the Sector, is cut off from the rest of the world. With a limited supply of food the ticking clock to its inhabitants’ fate, the gangs of the city become the new order. Sector leaders, as they become referred to, possess power and followers, and they seek to unite the whole Sector under one rule. But each Sector leader has their own philosophy.
Four main sections rise up: North, South, East, and West. Their leaders fight petty battles against each other, seeking opportunities to launch large invasions and conquer their rivals.
Jack is a Northerner, and he is mild-mannered. But he, too, has his own ideas about how to lead. For how long will he be able to deal with the rule of his leader he butts heads with?
While all this gang warfare is happening in the Sector, there are other forces at work. Some individuals have taken to serial killing, some to mercenary work. In the underground beneath the city, there are even rumors of a man-eating giant that stalks the sewer.
Is this a conflict between humans or monsters? Could the children ever help doing what they felt they had to do? When does a person’s evil actions make them into a monster, or is evil with a purpose justified? And if someone grows up abused, untaught, and unloved, are they innocent, and can they be loved?
Combine all this with a spin of Machiavellian leadership and strategy for a full dose of the Jack of East experience.
Stephen Knudsen 
You must be logged in to post a comment.