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.

Guest Post & Giveaway: Debt Collector, by Susan Kaye Quinn

Hey guys :) Today I am part of the book blitz for Susan Kaye Quinn's New Adult future noir serial Debt Collector. Don't know what the heck future noir is? Never fear, just scroll down to Susan's guest post and let her explain it to you ;) There's also a tourwide giveaway of episode 1-3 at the very bottom. Unfortunately it's US only, BUT there's also a second, international giveaway for episode 1.

Synopsis:
EPISODES 1-3 (Delirium, Agony, Ecstasy) of the Debt Collector serial. Contains mature content and themes. For young-adult-appropriate thrills, see Susan's bestselling Mindjack series.

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.

The first three episodes of the Debt Collector serial are collectively the length of a short novel, or 152 pages. These are the first three 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. Episode 4, Broken, releases 4/17/13. For more about the Debt Collector serial, see DebtCollectorSeries.com

Goodreads     Amazon     B & N

GUEST POST

Future-Noir or Why Retro Science Fiction is Awesome by Susan Kaye Quinn

Apparently, I write strange science fiction. This comes up whenever I try to classify my stories to readers, bloggers, the lady at the checkout stand, my mother, or Amazon (who insists that I need a "category" in which to place my books; I insist I need about five). Apparently I write novels that mash together all kinds of genres in an indiscriminate cross-pollenation that would have Isaac Asimov turning in his grave... if he hadn't done the same sort of thing himself as a young man (winking at you, Isaac!).

Seriously, if you want to see a good bar brawl among literary types, just ask them what's the genre of Hunger Games or Time Traveler's Wife or any Nicolas Sparks novel, and watch the rhetoric fly! I personally have a very laizzez-faire approach toward genre definitions, which is sure to infuriate genre-disciplinarians. (I don't mention my east-indian-influenced steampunk fantasy romance to genre-afficianados. I don't want them to rupture something.)

I figure the story comes first; people can decide what genre it is after it's written. So no one was more surprised than me when I ended up writing a future-noir.

 On a long car ride, just me and my Muse...

Muse: The Debt Collector.
Me: Er, what? Who are you?  
Muse: When people's debts exceed their future potential contributions to society, he cashes them out.
Me: Whoa. Tell me more.  
Muse: He extracts their life energy and transfers it to a "high potential" - someone who can use it to make greater contributions to the world.
Me: Holy... that's a great idea.
Muse: He's a good man with bad power. And it's future-noir.  
Me: Future-noir! Cool! Uh, what is that exactly?

Muse: Dark. Gritty. Futuristic but retro at the same time.  
Me: Oh... like Blade Runner... Holy cats, this is awesome.
Muse: You're welcome.

I ran (well, okay, drove) home and wrote the first episode. It was dark, gritty. Lots of low light, shady characters, set in a futuristic LA where the smog pooled at the impoverished feet of the city and the wealthy high-potentials lived above it all in the clean, clear air, taking their life-energy-hits courtesy of the titular Debt Collectors. The fashion was retro-sexy. The feel was future-dystopian. Did I mention it's gritty? And dark? I send it off to my critique partner...

My Crit Partner: Hey, your new Debt Collector story reminds me of Looper!
Me: Well, it is future noir. *acts like I know what I'm talking about*
My Crit Partner: Seriously. I totally see Lirium as a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt! And it totally reads like noir. You know, like Double Indemnity!  
Me: Double what? That's not one of those old black-n-white films, is it?  
My Crit Partner: All those noir films were black-n-white.

Me: Right! I knew that. (Sure.) Anyway, I think of Lirium more as James McAvoy in a trenchcoat.
My Crit Parnter: I can work with that.
*we both drool on the picture*
 Wait, what was I saying?

Right. Future-noir. Gritty retro feel - where the men wear trenchcoats and slick suits and the women wear bright red lipstick and carry a mini-revolver under their skirts - only it's a futuristic story with time-travel (Looper) or berzerker androids (Blade Runner) or life-energy transfers (Debt Collector) that change the landscape. It's raw. It's sexy. It's awesome.

It looks something like this.

Nice Blogger Lady: What genre is that?

Me: Future-noir.

NBL: What's future-noir?

Me: It's a science fictiony, mystery type of story. Sort of a mix between urban fantasy and noir, with a thriller twist. There could be romance in there too. Like Blade Runner. Or Looper!

NBL: I'll just call it science fiction.

Me: Works for me. :)

Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling YA SF Mindjack series. Her new Debt Collector serial is her more grown-up SF that she likes to call future-noir. Her steampunk fantasy romance is temporarily on hold while she madly writes episodes to keep Lirium (the titular Debt Collector) happy. Plus she needs to leave time to play on Facebook. Susan has a lot of degrees in engineering, which come in handy when dreaming up dangerous mind powers, future dystopias, and slightly plausible steampunk inventions. Mostly she sits around in her pajamas in awe that she gets make stuff up full-time. You can find her at www.susankayequinn.com

THE GIVEAWAYS

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Book Blast & Giveaway: The Immortal Circus, by A.R. Kahler

Hello lovelies! I'm really happy to be part of the book blast for A.R. Kahler's The Immortal Circus.  I've been following his way to publication via twitter & his blog for about a year and I can't wait to finally read his book! Below you will find an introduction, as well as an explanation of the serial kindle publication & competition between four blogs, representing the two courts in the novel. I'm really curious to see how this will all play out! At the bottom of the post you will also find a giveaway for 10 kindle ebooks.

***

Ladies and gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you a show unlike any you've seen before.

Within the walls of THE IMMORTAL CIRCUS, you'll be amazed by acts of tragic romance, seductive magic, and maybe even a little murder.

After all, loves, nothing is what it seems under this big top. Not even your innocent little heroine, Vivienne.

Released every two weeks through the Kindle Serials program, we'll be sure to keep you on the edge of your seat, right up to the breathtaking conclusion that will have you begging for more. But don't worry, loves—you'll delight in the anticipation.

I personally guarantee it.

Follow our spectacle across four blogs representing the two Faerie Courts. There will be exclusive interviews and artwork, backstage reviews and more from the author, A.R. Kahler—and trust me when I say, he knows the circus well. Pick a side, promote the show, and compete for your chance to win a spectacular prize of circus goods.

And my eternal love, of course.

Trust me when I say, when the final curtain falls, no one and no thing will ever be the same. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The show's just beginning.

Are you ready to run away forever?

~Mab

Ringleader, Fashionista, and Queen of the Winter Court

Choose Your Court...

***

About THE IMMORTAL CIRCUS

Murdered contortionists aren’t exactly what Vivienne signed up for when she ran away to join the circus. But like most things under the big top, nothing is what it seems. With a past she can't quite remember, Vivienne finds that running away forever might not be as appealing as it once sounded—especially not when she realizes the devilishly attractive ringleader Mab is the Faerie Queen of legend…and that she and the rest of the troupe are locked in an age-old rivalry between the otherworldly Courts.

Aided by her friends Kingston—a feisty stage magician whose magic is quickly stealing her heart—and his smart-ass assistant Melody, Vivienne finds herself racing against the clock to discover the culprit behind a series of deaths that should be impossible. However, the answer she seeks might reveal more about her own bloody past—and future—than she bargains for.

The show's just beginning.

 GOODREADS    AMAZON    FACEBOOK    WEBSITE

About A.R. Kahler

Most little boys dream of running away to join the circus. Alex didn't just dream it: he did it. But then, he rarely lets a good dream pass him by.

In the past six years he's toured and trained across America and Europe. He's performed in Amsterdam, taught trapeze in Madrid, studied in Glasgow and even had a stint as assistant to Holly Black and Cassandra Clare in New England. He's constantly on the lookout for new places to explore and new worlds to invent. He's a Sagittarius fueled by full moons and espresso. The way to his heart is a latte and fan art. Just for the record.

THE IMMORTAL CIRCUS is his first New Adult novel, and is being released exclusively through the Amazon Kindle e-Serials program by 47North. It will be available in print and audio when the episodes are complete.

MARTYR the first book in his post-apocalyptic fantasy, will be published by Spencer Hill Press in October 2014

Find him: 

TWITTER as @ARKahler    TWITTER as @ImmortalCircus    WEBSITE

• There are 10 Kindle eBook serial copies of THE IMMORTAL CIRCUS up for grabs.
• The giveaway is 3 days ONLY and it’s open to anyone 13 and older who can receive gifted Kindle books.
• The winners will be announced within 24 hours after the giveaway closes in the Rafflecopter form.
• All giveaway rules are listed in the Rafflecopter.

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