Truancy (novel)

Last updated
Truancy
Truancy (Isamu Fukui novel - cover art).jpg
Cover Art
Author Isamu Fukui
Cover artistJupiterImages
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Dystopian, Science fiction
Publisher Tor Books
Publication date
March 4, 2008
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages432
ISBN 978-0-7653-1767-4
OCLC 166378205
LC Class PZ7.F951538 Tru 2008
Preceded byTruancy Origins 
Followed byTruancy City 

Truancy is a dystopian novel written by Isamu Fukui, a New York City student in Stuyvesant High School, when he was 15 years old. [1] Set in a totalitarian city ruled by its Mayor and Educators, it follows the story of a fifteen-year-old student named Tack, and a student rebellion calling itself the Truancy. The story takes a critical look at the institution of school, [2] and is dedicated "to everyone that has ever suffered in the name of education".

Contents

Synopsis

The book starts out with 15-year old Tack trying to survive a ruthless high school where any infraction means expulsion, and expulsion means death. After a run in with some bullies, Tack escapes into abandoned District 19, where he meets Umasi. Umasi pays Tack to do menial chores like sorting through salt and pepper, and trains him in several fighting ways. On a routine inspection of Tack's school, his little sister Suzie takes the blame for her friend Melissa for throwing a stink bomb at the Disciplinary Officer. Suzie is expelled on the spot and is taken away from the school. Tack immediately follows and leaves the school just in time to see a firebomb fly into the car killing Suzie and the Disciplinary Officer. As he holds his sister's dead body, he sees the person who killed Suzie, calling her "collateral damage". Tack runs away and passes out on a dock. When he wakes up he is found by two members of the Truancy, which is a group of children trying to overthrow the City. He joins the Truancy under the name Takan, thinking that he can find the one who killed Suzie if he does.

He eventually finds Suzie's killer, whose name is Zyid, but he is the leader of the Truancy. Tack sympathizes with the Truancy and feels he cannot kill their leader. He eventually replaces a girl named Noni as Zyid's favorite because of his fighting skills taught by Umasi. During his time with Zyid, he feels wary of his killing and Zyid's brutality to both traitors and enemies. Tack eventually falls in love with Noni. The Mayor hires one of Umasi's former pupils named Edward and appoints him as the Chief Enforcer and leader of the "student Militia", which are students who were promised instant graduation if they fought the Truancy. Zyid confronts Umasi and tells him that he must correct his mistake and kill Edward. Umasi doesn't want to, as he has become a pacifist and has never killed before. Umasi eventually agrees to do it, and finds and kills Edward that night.

The next day, Zyid tells Tack that the war will end that night, and asks Tack to join him to "plead their case to the city" by breaking into a radio tower and setting a tape to loop constantly. After they do this, Zyid reveals that he knows who Tack is and says "killing me won't bring her back". They agree to a duel to the death. Right before the duel, Zyid reveals that his real name is Zen, his brother is Umasi, and both of them are the adoptive twin sons of the Mayor. What follows is a lengthy duel between the two that gets interrupted several times. Tack eventually wins by kicking Zyid off of the top of his old school. Umasi comes and stays with Zyid as he dies. Zyid asks Umasi to promise to help Tack.

The story ends with Tack becoming the leader of the Truancy under the name Takan.

Publication details

Translations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albus Dumbledore</span> Fictional character from Harry Potter

Prof. Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. For most of the series, he is the headmaster of the wizarding school Hogwarts. As part of his backstory, it is revealed that he is the founder and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, an organisation dedicated to fighting Lord Voldemort, the main antagonist of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dooku</span> Fictional character in Star Wars

Count Dooku of Serenno, also known by his Sith name Darth Tyranus, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, created by George Lucas. He is an antagonist in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, appearing in both Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), played by Christopher Lee, as well as associated media, such as books, comics, video games, and television series. Actor Corey Burton has voiced Dooku in most of his animated and video game appearances, most notably Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–2005), Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee reprised the role in the 2008 animated film that launched The Clone Wars series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death Eater</span> Fictional villainous characters in the Harry Potter series of novels and films

The Death Eaters are characters featured in the Harry Potter series of novels and films. They are a radical group of wizards and witches, led by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who seek to purify the wizarding community by eliminating wizards and witches born to non-magical parents. They attempt to create a new order within the Ministry of Magic by spreading fear through the wizarding community and murdering those who speak out against them. Their primary opposition is the Order of the Phoenix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sasaki Kojirō</span> 16/17th-century Japanese swordsman; killed in a duel with Miyamoto Musashi

Sasaki Kojirō was a Japanese swordsman who may have lived during the Azuchi–Momoyama and early Edo periods and is known primarily for the story of his duel with Miyamoto Musashi in 1612, where Sasaki was killed. Although suffering from defeat as well as death at the hands of Musashi, he is a revered and respected warrior in Japanese history and culture. Later Miyamoto proclaimed that Sasaki Kojirō was the strongest opponent he faced in his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School discipline</span> Types of disciplinary actions used by schools against students

School discipline relates to actions taken by teachers or school organizations toward students when their behavior disrupts the ongoing educational activity or breaks a rule created by the school. Discipline can guide the children's behavior or set limits to help them learn to take better care of themselves, other people and the world around them.

<i>Rage</i> (King novel) 1977 Stephen King novel

Rage is a psychological thriller novel by American writer Stephen King, the first he published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It was published in 1977 and then it was collected in the 1985 hardcover omnibus The Bachman Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Potter (character)</span> Protagonist of the Harry Potter literature series

Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the titular protagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of eponymous novels. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Harry, who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard. Thus, he attends Hogwarts to practise magic under the guidance of the kindly headmaster Albus Dumbledore and other school professors along with his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry also discovers that he is already famous throughout the novel's magical community, and that his fate is tied with that of Lord Voldemort – the internationally feared Dark Wizard and murderer of his parents, James and Lily Potter. The book and film series revolve around Harry's struggle to adapt to the wizarding world and defeat Voldemort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inigo Montoya</span> Fictional character

Inigo Montoya is a fictional character in William Goldman's 1973 novel The Princess Bride. In Rob Reiner's 1987 film adaptation, he was portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. In both the book and the movie, he was originally from Spain and resided in the fictional country of Florin.

<i>Tōshō Daimos</i> Japanese anime television series

Tōshō Daimos is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Company and animated by Nippon Sunrise, directed by Tadao Nagahama as his last work. It is the third and final installment of the Robot Romance Trilogy, following Chōdenji Robo Combattler V and Chōdenji Machine Voltes V. It aired on TV Asahi and its affiliates from April 1, 1978 to January 27, 1979, consisting of 44 episodes.

Expulsion, also known as dismissal, withdrawal, or permanent exclusion, is the permanent removal or banning of a student from a school, school district, college, university, or TAFE due to persistent violation of that institution's rules, or in extreme cases, for a single offense of marked severity. Colloquialisms for expulsion include being kicked out of school or sent down. Laws and procedures regarding expulsion vary between countries and states.

<i>Crying Freeman</i> Japanese manga series and its adaptations

Crying Freeman is a Japanese manga series written by Kazuo Koike and illustrated by Ryoichi Ikegami. Crying Freeman follows a Japanese assassin hypnotized and trained by the Chinese mafia to serve as its agent and covered in a vast and complex dragon tattoo. A quiet but complicated killer, Freeman reflexively sheds tears after every killing as a sign of regret.

Hyman G. Neill, better known as Hoodoo Brown, was the leader of the Dodge City Gang in Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1879 and early 1880. According to Harold Thatcher, curator of the Rough Rider Museum in Las Vegas, Hoodoo was "the baddest cowboy of them all". He was described as tall and thin, with light hair, a rakish look, and a small moustache.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sith</span> Organization in the Star Wars series

The Sith are the main antagonists of many works in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark side of the Force and use it to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder; their ultimate goals are to destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant and the First Order all originated, with the Sith. Sith, known individually as Sith Lords, are, by nature, ruthless. At any point a single individual assumes absolute authority amongst their kind and is granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is based on perpetual treachery and betrayal. The fate of Sith Lords is, typically, to be murdered and replaced by their own apprentices. Sith teach their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force, to give full reign to aggressive emotions such as rage and hatred, and to believe that others are expendable in the pursuit of power, it makes the Lords' demise inevitable.

"Ender's Game" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Orson Scott Card. It first appeared in the August 1977 issue of Analog magazine and was later expanded into the 1985 novel Ender's Game. Although it serves as the foundation of the Ender's Game series, the novelette is not considered to be properly a part of the Ender's Game universe, as there are many discrepancies in continuity between it and the novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darth Maul</span> Star Wars character

Darth Maul, later known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a powerful Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Though seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, Darth Maul returned in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the resurrected Maul to serve as the main antagonist of the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were abandoned when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The character nonetheless reappeared in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, voiced again by Witwer; Park physically reprised the role in Solo. Since his initial defeat in The Phantom Menace, Maul has become an independent criminal mastermind and endured as Obi-Wan's archenemy.

<i>Roots</i> (2016 miniseries) 2016 American miniseries

Roots is a 2016 American miniseries and a remake of the 1977 miniseries with the same name, based on Alex Haley's 1976 novel, Roots: The Saga of an American Family, which follows an African man who is shipped to North America as a slave and his descendants. It first aired on May 30, 2016 and stars Malachi Kirby, Forest Whitaker, Anna Paquin, Laurence Fishburne, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anika Noni Rose, T.I. and South African actress Nokuthula Ledwaba. It was produced on a budget of $50 million.

References