Inspired by a true story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide, this stirring coming-of-age novel is a parable of courage and impossible choices in the midst of unimaginable horror.
The government wants them dead.
Fourteen-year-old Suren Simonian, an Armenian, lives as most boys his age do in the city of Van, eastern Anatolia. He goes to school, gawks at boys’ fistfights and does his best to avoid the Turkish gendarmes. Most days, he spends with his Turkish best friend, Hamza.
But in spring 1915, rumors spread through Van of Turkish massacres of Armenian villages. Now, Turkish troops have massed outside Van with one goal—to exterminate the city’s Armenians.
As Suren struggles to understand what it means to be a man, he knows one thing for sure: When everything you’ve known and loved is at stake, the only answer is to fight back. You can never hide from the devil.
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Praise for the book
“Heart-wrenching, thought-provoking and painfully timely.” — Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“The horrors perpetrators commit are only half the story of genocide. The other half is the resistance of its victims. N.T. McQueen delivers a powerful novel of courage and defiance in the face of annihilation.” — Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Columbia University, author of The Resistance Network
“Written with short and compelling chapters, this novel plunges the reader with authenticity into this little-known act of defiance during the 20th century’s first genocide.” — Marsha Skrypuch, author of Making Bombs for Hitler and the Kidnapped from Ukraine trilogy
“Through the eyes of a young boy, McQueen crafts a devastating and unforgettable portrait of the 1915 Defense of Van—a story of resilience against impossible odds that delivers the history of the Armenian Genocide to a new generation.” — Eric Z. Weintraub, author of South of Sepharad
N.T. McQueen is an avid writer and dedicated college lecturer. With a master’s degree in fiction from California State University, Sacramento, McQueen has brought unique perspectives on human nature to readers in his captivating novels Never Hide from the Devil (Cennan, 2026), The Cry of Dry Bones (2021) and Between Lions and Lambs (2011). His writing has been featured in North American Review, Stonecoast Review, Entropy, Sunlight Press, Atticus Review, Dappled Things, Grief Digest Magazine and Foreword Magazine. He lives in California with his wife and daughters and enjoys fishing, traveling and a tasty cup of coffee.
The novel is now available from Cynren Press. Support IALA’s work by purchasing it at their Bookshop.org storefront.
