I found out this weekend that Walter Mosley’s novel, 47, is a Prometheus Award nominee. I believe the final cut of five books is just around the corner, but this is the first time I’ve heard about the novel. A brief description from Amazon.com (School Library Journal review) goes like this:

The intense, personal slave narrative of 14-year-old Forty-seven becomes allegorical when a mysterious runaway slave shows up at the Corinthian Plantation. Tall John, who believes there are no masters and no slaves, and who carries a yellow carpet bag of magical healing potions and futuristic devices, is both an inspiration and an enigma. He claims he has crossed galaxies and centuries and arrived by Sun Ship on Earth in 1832 to find the one chosen to continue the fight against the evil Calash. The brutal white overseer and the cruel slave owner are disguised Calash who must be defeated. Tall John inserts himself into Forty-seven’s daily life and gradually cedes to him immortality and the power, confidence, and courage to confront the Calash to break the chains of slavery. With confidence, determination, and craft, Tall John becomes Forty-seven’s alter ego, challenging him and inspiring him to see beyond slavery and fight for freedom.

I’m hoping to run a review of the novel in the Summer issue of Prometheus, as the Spring issue pretty much is set at the moment, even with an increase in page count to 20.