I'm a huge, huge Marvel fan and so I was over the moon when I saw Steve Feasey was writing Mutant City - and even more overjoyed that they wanted me for the blog tour! For those of you who haven't had a chance to get their hands on MC yet (it's out TODAY: buy it now - you won't regret it!!), it's the perfect book for X-Men fans (like me) and I just can't recommend it enough! But, enough rambling from me. Steve has done us a post about Mutant City's inspirations - enjoy!! :DI’m often asked where I get my ideas from, so here’s the truth - I steal them. Alright, I don’t actually copy anyone’s ideas (plagiarism will only land you up in court surrounded by lawyers), but every book or article or short story I read, every movie or TV show I watch and every console or PC game I play might just be a little kernel of an idea that grows into something much bigger. That’s not really stealing, but sometimes it feels like it.
Mutant City was no different in this regard. I had an idea for a book about a boy with telekinesis – the ability to move matter with one’s mind – but the idea was a bit ‘sketchy’, and certainly not a story. It wasn’t until I thought about the type of books I’d like to write after my Changeling series, I wanted something with a science fiction feel to it, that I knew how the book could work. Two of my great loves when I was growing up were science fiction and fantasy books (I, like lots of fans of these genres, don’t like to lump them together) and I thought it would be great to merge some of my favourite aspects of these two genres to create a post-apocalyptic world in which a ruling elite, with all the power that advanced technology can give, ruthlessly oppresses their mutant neighbours. Into this mix are thrown five children with special mutant powers; powers that the ruthless President of the technocrats wants. Thus, the battle lines for Scorched Earth are drawn.
To pretend that comics like 2000AD, Spiderman and Marvel’s X-Men didn’t have an influence on Mutant City would be foolish. I adored, and still do love, these stories, and some of the most original story ideas ever have originated in the panel-and-bubble comic book format (you only have to look at some of the top-grossing movies of the last ten years to see how appealing these narrative and the ideas behind them are). Mutant City wasn’t any easy book to write. Some of the ‘bad science’ I had to employ to make the world and the societies in it jarred with me, and I’m already anticipating emails from people keen to point out various scientific anomalies I’ve included. Also, telling the book from multiple viewpoints was hard at times, and restricted my ability to really explore the characters in way I would have liked.
Having said all that, I think it is a good book, with the right mix of world-building and action. I really hope it sparks the imagination of the vast majority of readers, and leaves them wanting more.
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It's definitely left me wanting more - I can't wait for Mutant City 2! Thank you so much for stopping by, Steve - I hope you all enjoyed the post! And that everyone picks up a copy of Mutant City!! Oh, and take the Mutant City quiz and discover what your Mutant power would be!
I'm having a bit of trouble with Goodreads at the moment, but you can check Mutant City out on Amazon, check out Steve Feasey on his Site and Blog and on Twitter.
Mutant City is out today so support the Mutants and pick up a copy now! #StayMutant!