‘Shadow of a Dead Star’
Interview with author Michael Shean
Ready for a personalized science fiction experience? If so, join me in exploring one of the most eye catching SciFi crime thrillers of 2011. Released by Curiosity Quills Press, Michael Shean’s very dynamic novel captures the story of Thomas Walken, a detective who finds himself in the middle of a well concealed mystery. While doing his job, he has to take a plunge into the world that challenges his understanding of life and the order of things, and his own moral code. Will he remain steadfast and keep digging for the sake of the truth? There’s only one way to find out.
The novel takes the reader into a very finely detailed world of the near future – a pure unadulterated science fiction – yet with a subtle aroma of the 1950s US in its very fabric.
Today, Michael Shean makes an appearance on CSReview, talking about writing ‘Shadow of a Dead Star’ and his own interest in futuristic fiction.
CS: Welcome to CSReview, Michael. Let’s start with the basics. Why SciFi? Who and what in science fiction has been your greatest influence and why?
Michael Shean: Thanks for having me, Camilla. Science fiction allows you to talk about all manner of topics, however sensitive or profound, in a framework that is both accessible and fantastic enough to allow your message to be comfortably consumed. It’s hard to be subversive with anything too realistic, after all. My greatest influences in science fiction are William Gibson, George Orwell and Philip K. Dick.
CS: Your book, ‘Shadow of a Dead Star’, is a futuristic crime thriller, reflective, full of action and passion. Where is your seppuku in the novel?
Michael Shean: You find me most in the isolation that my protagonist feels. I’ve felt distanced from many people since I was growing up, thanks to things that happened in my childhood; the mood of Shadow reflects this. Writing that certainly brings a lot of these feelings to light, and it’s never easy to do so.
CS: Your characters are recognizable, tangible. Are you Thomas Walken? Bobbi? Are you an observer, a commentator or a participant?
Michael Shean: I’m all over the place in this one. I’d already talked about Walken’s sense of isolation and how that pertains to me, but I do show up in Bobbi somewhat and in other characters. Mostly it’s the other parts of my personality telling my isolated half to cheer up and get over itself, but that’s clearly not always what needs to happen!
CS: Every reader will draw their own conclusions and messages from your novel, but perhaps you, the writer, could share your own perspective – what is it you are telling the world in ‘Shadow of a Dead Star’? In your opinion, has the end product succeeded in letting your original message across?
Michael Shean: I think the biggest message I wanted to send when writing this first book is that we are all corrupted creatures to some degree or another, and how simple it is to jump off the proverbial cliff where that’s concerned. Taking its futuristic elements away, the world of the Wonderland Cycle isn’t at all outrageous or impossible; we see it coming day by day. I know that this sort of message comes up time and time again in stories, but I don’t think it can be told enough. It’s universal, the same as the problems which it tries to address.
CS: Thank you for sharing your thoughts on writing in the genre of science fiction with us, Michael! Much luck to you with your current and upcoming books!
Shadow of the Dead Star for Kindle on Curiosity Quills
Shadow of a Dead Star for EPUB/PDF on Smashwords
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