Semester of Graduation
Spring 2026
Degree
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
English
Document Type
Thesis
Abstract
Reconstruction: A Novel is a work of speculative fiction. Set in an alternate history which diverges from our own upon the development of terraformed cities in the upper atmosphere, Reconstruction considers the relationship between technology, race, and national identity. Reconstruction marks a critical examination of the twining of slavery and industry, and between federal and local power in the late nineteenth century.
Reconstruction is set in New Coast, an atmospheric territory above South Carolina that has remade slavery in a new name. Less than a month before the formal end of federal reconstruction, a US Navy Ship attacks the primary port of New Coast, killing and injury hundreds and risking the integrity of the city’s structures. Captain Tomás Serrano Hernandez is sent to New Coast to investigate what seems to be a hijacked naval commission. He is thrown into the path of the abstruse Commodore Macleish and the powerful, convoluted Milton family. He finds attraction and danger in Rose Milton – a formerly enslaved seamstress who holds more secrets and power than nearly any other member of the family. Rose Milton has found herself thrown into close quarters with her terrorizer and former enslaver, Samuel Milton III, in the wake of the naval attack. She traverses the rapidly changing dynamic at 584 Milton Place between her sometimes ally and estranged wife of Samuel Milton, Annabelle. Her attention and obligations are split between her daughter, Ashley, her alliance with Annabelle, and the newly arrived Captain Serrano. Serrano and Milton must work together to protect themselves, those they love, and the future of the city from those hoping to reconstruct New Coast in their own image.
Date
3-26-2026
Recommended Citation
Carter, Kyler P., "Reconstruction: A Novel" (2026). LSU Master's Theses. 6374.
https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/6374
Committee Chair
Jennifer S. Davis
LSU Acknowledgement
1
LSU Accessibility Acknowledgment
1