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Giving this a pick because I love the world!
Set in an alternative now, where the US is broken into smaller countries -- Five Civilized Tribes, which is a conglomeration of US Indian/Native American tribes (I believe), the industrialized Tejas and puppet state of Albion, among others -- the story follows a Jamaican secret agent, Desmond Coke, who has smuggled a young boy from Jamaica in hopes of keeping him safe from a variety of nefarious forces. It sounds awesome but fell so flat for me.
Fascinating and a smidgen confusing. I think it's set in the 1990s -- but it has the ambiance of 19th century Westerns mixed with steampunk. Jamaican liberation, sovereignty (national and personal), and loyalty are a few threads. Halfway through.