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Interview – K.C. Finn
The Hungry Monster got the opportunity to interview K.C. Finn, author of Atomic Circus, and ask her a few questions about her book and the series future. (She’s the one on the right, not the guy with the awsome mustache, or at least…. I assume so.)
The Atomic Circus is a detective story. Are detective stories your favorite genre of book is that why you ended up writing a detective novel?
“No, not at all. I am not a fan of modern crime stories, but I did enjoy the old masters like Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I am very much a science-fiction and fantasy fan so that was always going to be my main focus. I never meant to start writing The Atomic Circus at all, actually, but this black-cloaked detective was wandering around in my thoughts and I wanted to let him loose on a smog infested wasteland and see what he would do!”
In the Atomic Circus there’s a chemical mix that people use to give them different abilities. The idea of super powers is not original but I think you approach it in a unique way. How did you come around to this idea of chemical mixes for super powers?
“I hadn’t really thought of them as super powers until you put it like that. I think for me it’s just an extension of the idea of things like steroids now and a projection of how that abuse of substances might continue into the future as chemical development improves! What interested me much more than the physical powers was the idea of the drugs that alter your mood and mental state. I developed those concepts first and then came around to the idea of physically-altering drugs later on, which turned out pretty handy for the plot in the end!”
The protagonist in Atomic Circus is named Caecilius (KAI-KILL-EE-USS) Rex. It’s an interesting name and there was an emphasis in the story for the readers to pronounce his name correctly. Where did you get the name?
“I felt the audience would need a little push after so many beta readers getting it wrong in all different kinds of ways! I for one hate it if I find a complex name in a book with no discernible guidance on how to say it, so the hints are there if people want to take them, or you can just keep it simple and call him Cae. It is actually a Roman name and there is a purpose to it, a back-story involving Cae’s parents that will be revealed in the fourth part of his story, Lachrymosa, coming February 2014.”
Atomic Circus is the first book in the Caecilius Rex series. What can readers expect through the rest of series?
There are four parts altogether, the first three are all out now (The Atomic Circus, Counterclockwise and The Face) with Lachrymosa out in about two months’ time. There will be an anthology release of all four books on March 9th 2014, so people who have never read any of it before will be able to get the complete set.
As the series continues you’ll see Cae and Kendra’s pasts revealed as they take on more mysteries and adventures in new settings. There’s plenty more murder and mystery going on, but slowly you will also get glimpses of how and why the world around them became the way it is, with the full exposition of the state of the world revealed in the very last book. I promise you that every story gets bigger and better with a conclusion that you won’t want to miss!”
Find out more about K.C. Finn at her website www.KCFinn.com
Review: The Atomic Cicrus by K.C. Finn
Caecilius Rex is a detective in a post apocalyptic future where the drug of choice for criminals is a chemical mix that gives them super powers. It’s sold at a secret venue called the Atomic Circus where you have to be invited to get in. It’s a place where you can buy body parts, weapons, and drugs; it’s a veritable criminal’s bazaar where you could buy all manner of illicit goods. There’s a new drug available at the circus that’s gaining popularity. It’s a chemical mixture that gives you super powers; it can make you stronger, faster, or even fly, but it’s killing people, and one of those people lands at Rex’s feet. To solve the murder, Rex needs to be one of those special people that get invited to the Atomic Circus so he can find out where these drugs are coming from. While his expert detective skills get him in, he’ll be threatened at gunpoint every time he’s in there. To survive the circus, Rex teams up with his ex-military neighbor Kendra. Together they unravel a plot to kill Rex and find out that powerful people need him out of the way so that bigger plans can be set in motion.
Atomic Circus is a detective story at its core and succeeds at telling a straightforward story that inspires the imagination with little effort on the reader’s part. I found the writing to be simple and straightforward in the best possible way allowing me to just sit back and enjoy the story instead of dissecting the language or adjusting to the writing style. As for world building, I understood the places the characters were in; the police station, the circus, Rex’s house, but they all felt disjointed, connected only by the characters and not by a larger world. The only piece of the story that hints at building a larger world is the toxic smog that fills the world; which requires everyone to wear a gas mask whenever they go outside. The idea of the chemicals giving the characters super powers is an intriguing idea. I was afraid at first that this would quickly turn into an X-Men knockoff and everyone was going to be throwing each other through building, but I was happy to find that this was not the case. The effects on the body seem to be duplicitous. Example: while giving you the ability to fly, it doesn’t actually turn you into Superman. You simply float until it wears off and then you come crashing back down to Earth. This gives the chemical mix sort of a nefarious plausibility. Atomic Circus is a quick and fun ride and I look forward to more world building and character development in future novels.
Print Length: 172 pages
ASIN: B00BRHU5YQ
LITERARY TITAN 