Stacking the Shelves: Delirium and Fever visit the Carnival of Assassins to hunt Serial Killers

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to showcase all the books we got in the past week. Those can be bought, won, gifted, for review, borrowed, print or ebooks... no matter, just share what you got :)


This week was great for me in terms of books, which I'm really glad about because otherwise it wasn't so awesome. I couldn't find a new apartment in time (Zurich is terrible like that) so I have to temporarily move back in with my parents (definitely not in Zurich. Think village with 700 people). That means we had to move allll my furniture, books, and other stuff, which was rather stressful and, for me, painful. So when I wasn't hauling around stuff or boxing stuff, I was reading a lot to forget about everything.

Netgalley:

Delirium (Debt Collector episode 1), by Susan Kaye Quinn
Carniepunk, by Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, et al

After participating in the book blitz for Delirium, I was really curious so I snagged it on Netgalley when it showed up. You can read my review here or click the banner in the left sidebar to win it :)
Carniepunk I've been hoping would show up on Netgalley for a really long time, so I'm beyond happy that I got accepted ^^ I love anthologies!


Bought in print:

Faefever, by Karen Marie Moning
Fever, by Lauren DeStefano
I Hunt Killers, by Barry Lyga
Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers

After reading Darkfever and Bloodfever I had to have Faefever right away! I even went to buy it at the bookstore even though I cost almost twice as much as ordering online. I've already read it. Same goes for Fever, which unfortunately I didn't love as much as Wither :(
I've been drooling after I Hunt Killers and Grave Mercy for months and can't wait to get around to them!


Ebook:

Don't Hate the Player... Hate the Game, by Katie Ashley

After reading a review and then the kindle sample, I was so hooked by Noah's voice and the narration that I spontaneously bought it :) It was only about a dollar, but I don't know if that's still the case.


So that's it form me... I had a great bookish week if nothing else and can't wait to get started on those I haven't read yet! I also have a couple giveaways going on, just click the covers on the left sidebar, and I was part of a tour yesterday for Darkness of Light. You can check out my review plus an international giveaway here.
What do you think of my haul? Have you read any of these books? And what new pretties did you get this week?

Review: Delirium (Debt Collector Episode 1), by Susan Kaye Quinn

Release date: March 20, 2013
Format: Kindle serial, 48 pages (ca. 12,000 words)

Goodreads description:
What’s your life worth on the open market?
A debt collector can tell you precisely.

Lirium plays the part of the grim reaper well, with his dark trenchcoat, jackboots, and the black marks on his soul that every debt collector carries. He’s just in it for his cut, the ten percent of the life energy he collects before he transfers it on to the high potentials, the people who will make the world a better place with their brains, their work, and their lives. That hit of life energy, a bottle of vodka, and a visit from one of Madam Anastazja’s sex workers keep him alive, stable, and mostly sane… until he collects again. But when his recovery ritual is disrupted by a sex worker who isn’t what she seems, he has to choose between doing an illegal hit for a girl whose story has more holes than his soul or facing the bottle alone—a dark pit he’s not sure he’ll be able to climb out of again.

Contains mature content and themes. For YA-appropriate thrills, see Susan’s Mindjack series.

Delirium is approximately 12,000 words or 48 pages, and is one of nine episodes in the first season of The Debt Collector serial. This dark and gritty future-noir is about a world where your life-worth is tabulated on the open market and going into debt risks a lot more than your credit rating. For more about the Debt Collector serial, see www.DebtCollectorSeries.com


The following review is based on a copy I got via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.


Review:
Thanks to having participated in the book blitz for the Debt Collector serial, I knew quite well what I signed up for when I requested this first episode on NetGalley. Delirium is every bit as gritty as I’d expected, and I devoured the whole episode in one go. I would have read more if I’d had it! I really enjoy these serialized chunks of stories though because the format means you can squeeze it in anywhere and read it all at once, fully immerse yourself.

Although I can’t say I’d want to live in the world of Debt Collector myself, I can already tell from the short glimpse I had that I do not at all mind spending my fictional time there! Susan Kaye Quinn really has come up with a unique world I can’t wait to experience in more detail. The story is set in the future, but not so far removed that the reader has no point of identification. The world building is brought in unobtrusively, just as much as is needed at the time. There is no info-dumpy dialogue or inner monologue, but you still gather enough to follow the story.

Delirium, or Lirium as he calls himself for short, is an intriguing and complicated character. Though not much is known of his background yet, I think he is torn between opposites. At only twenty years old, he works as a debt collector, a person trained to collect the life-force of those people whose burden on society outweighs their potential future use to it. Often, that means elderly, sick people who have no chance of getting better and only a few weeks left to live. After drawing their life force, the collector gets a high off it, but must pass it on to a person deemed more deserving of it, keeping only a 10% share. As you can guess, there are downsides to the job.

Another person I’d like to know more about is Elena, the girl who disrupts Lirium’s usual way of dealing with the aftermath of the debt transfer. She has her own share of secrets. She’s trouble in a pretty package. She makes him question things.

If you’re looking for something unique that combines sci-fi with the atmosphere of an old noir film and overall dark themes, narrated by a character with a wry sort of humor – here you go. The writing is instantly gripping and will keep swirling through your head even after you finish the story. Personally, I can’t wait to see where this serial is headed!


What do you think of the premise of the series? Have you checked it out? If not, click here to be taken to a guest post where Susan explains her genre. There are also two giveaways, one for the package of episode 1-3 (US only) and an international one for this first episode.