Milton Davis is an award winning Black Speculative fiction author and owner of MVmedia, LLC, a publishing company specializing in Science Fiction and Fantasy based on African/African Diaspora history, culture, and traditions. Milton is the author of twenty-six novels and short story collections and editor/coeditor of ten anthologies. His short stories have appeared in several anthologies and magazines, most notably Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, and Obsidian Literature and Arts in the African Diaspora. Milton was also nominated for the 2017 and 2020 British Science Fiction Association Award for Short Fiction He is a recipient of the 2022 East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Long Walk by Milton J. Davis

Patience de Verteuil left her home in Trinidad with her father for what she thought would be a short journey to America. Instead she finds herself embroiled in a struggle between powerful supernatural forces, in which an object in her possession means the difference between defeat or victory. The Long Walk is a Steamfunk tale that will stay with you long after the final words are read.

CURATOR'S NOTE

Milton J. Davis is a prolific author, publisher, and champion of Black Speculative Fiction, coining subgenres like "Steamfunk," "Cyberfunk," and "Spacefunk." In the spellbinding steamfunk adventure, The Long Walk, follow Patience de Verteuil and her father's journey from Trinidad to America while haunted by supernatural forces. – Zelda Knight

 

REVIEWS

  • "The Long Walk delivers a heartfelt action-adventure story of Patience as she takes a long walk to find Harriet Tubman. It is a robust action adventure, filled with battles, demons, and magic."

    – Nicole Givens Kurtz, owner of Mocha Memoirs Press

  • "The Long Walk by Milton Davis is a brilliant meld of fantasy. folklore and steamfunk. Set in an alternate 19th century America, this adventure tale centers around Patience, a 12 year old Trinidadian girl who travels to America carrying a gift intended for the famed Harriet Tubman . . . Kudos to Milton for adding another literary gem to an impressive body of work."

    – Ronald Jones, author

  • "Very entertaining read with a good mixture of folklore and history. Story was fast paced, detailed, action packed and fun."

    – DK Gaton, author
 

BOOK PREVIEW

Excerpt

Patience de Verteuil made the sign of the cross as the steamship Steebeth pulled away from Invaders Bay. She was leaving Trinidad behind, setting out on an unexpected journey sparked by a letter her father received from an old friend, Harriet Tubman. She looked up to her father standing beside her, searching his strong brown face for any signs of doubt but there were none. They were on their way to America, to a city she never heard of until a few weeks ago; Nicodemus, Kansas.

She tugged at her father's white cotton shirt, and he looked down on her with smiling eyes.

"What is it, cheri?" he asked.

"Are you sure about this, papa?"

He squatted before her then hugged her with his thick arms. Papa was a big man, dwarfing her despite the growth spurt that came with her twelfth birthday. Other things had come as well, things that papa had a hard time explaining to her. He took her instead to Sister Rosa. She wished mama could have told her such things, but mama had died so long ago, Patience barely remembered her. There was a painting of her in their old house that Patience would stare at and imagine them having conversations about flowers, food and sometimes boys. The thought made her smile as papa hugged her.

"I'm sure," he said. "Miss Tubman would not have sent for me if it wasn't important."

"So important that we must leave our home?"

Papa nodded. "Miss Tubman is a very special person. She has a great responsibility that she cannot bear alone. I and others must assist her."

"Are the others from Trinidad, too?"

"No. They live in America. You will meet them when we arrive at Nicodemus, if not before."

"Do they have children?"

He swept Patience into his arms then sat her on the bulwark.

"My little bird is always chirping. Your questions will be answered soon enough. But now we'll wave goodbye to our island and our friends!"

Patience waved with papa, but she could not act as if she was happy. She hoped that whatever papa had to do for this Miss Tubman would be over soon and they could return home. The wind tugged at her bonnet, so she waved with one hand.

"I'll be home soon," she whispered. "Very soon."