THE FALL Book 1 in the God Slayers Trilogy
Except he sees things differently now; he falls in love and makes a friend in a member of the Felum, a vicious human/cat hybrid tribe. He doesn't want responsibility. Only he might have it thrust upon him when he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to kill the gods; a plot that could lead everyone he loves into mortal danger...
~About the Author~
I am a writer of many things; young adult fantasy books and science fiction and anything that takes my fancy. I've been a writer for most of my life. When most kids wanted to go outside and play I wanted to sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and write fantastical stories. The Fall, my dystopian YA book, is my baby. I have other stuff on Amazon that have rubbish sales but that hasn't deterred me. Writing is my passion. My favorite authors are Terry Pratchett, Stephen King and Derek Landy. Yes, a very diverse mix, but they're all writers with gigantic imaginations. So they're just like me."
I want to thank David for taking the time to do this with me! I know I have been a bit of a bugger but I have so enjoyed getting to talk with him. Despite what he says, he is truly an interesting and great person! David has written several other books, one of which has been bumped up in my TBR pile, The Book of Fire.
You can view The Fall and his other works on his Goodreads page, ( HERE ) as well as his author page on (AMAZON). He also has a lovely blog, so make sure you check it out!
~Interview with the Author~
Q: Tell us a little about yourself.
A: There isn't much to me aside from writing, which probably makes me sound boring. I like the theatre (especially musicals) and I'm a severe TV addict. I'm also a sci-fi fan, a comic book fan and I love playing on third person shooters on my X-Box.
Q: What gave you your start as a writer, have you always known you wanted to write?
A: I think I was about seven or eight. My teacher at the time was telling us all about Greek myths. The legends of Hercules and the maze and furies and the gods instantly caught my imagination and so I started writing stories about them. I haven't stopped writing since. You can probably tell from The Fall and some of my other stuff that gods and powerful humans appear frequently, so I suppose those Greek myths still influence me.
Q:The Fall seems to traverse several genres, if you had to pick just one what would it be and why?
A:It's pure science fiction really when you think about it. It may seem like fantasy but everything has a scientific basis behind it (even if it isn't explained in the first book).
Q: What was your greatest inspiration for your post apocalyptic world?
A: Literary wise my inspiration was Stephen King's The Stand. I've never read or seen a better example of a post apocalyptic world. The world he creates is simply terrifying. He made me want to create something just as complex and dangerous. My local shopping mall was an inspiration too. It was that, and a dream I had, that started the whole story off.
Q:What job/position would you want to hold in your house?
A: I wouldn't want to be Mayor, that's too much responsibility. I think I'd like to be the keeper of the library, which Ben's mother does. It must be exciting to see new books come in that were thought destroyed and know things about the world long dead.
Q: Did you plan for Ben's character to be gay or did he evolve that way on his own?
A: He was always going to be gay. Aside from my desire to write something post apocalyptic I wanted to write a young adult book where the main character was gay and not just a best friend or peripheral character. He's someone gay teens can identify with (even if he does live 600 years in the future).
Q: Did you have concerns about your reader's reactions to a gay main character?
A: At the back of my mind I knew there'd be people who wouldn't read it because the main character was gay but that's their problem. I wrote this because I wanted to write it and thought it needed to be written. So far I haven't had any hate mail but that's probably because nobody's buying it.
Q: I am interested to know if Skye's character was based off of anyone particular? Ben's character?
A: Skye is a cross between a five year old on LSD and a woman in her forties with bi-polar. She's not based on anyone in particular but some of her mannerisms come from my brother, who has obsessive compulsive disorder quite bad. As for Ben, like I said earlier, he's based on myself, though he's a lot braver than I'll ever be.
Q: What can you tell us about the upcoming books in the trilogy?
A: The next two books are going to be quite different in tone. The second one is like a quest book; Ben and Skye have to get to London across a broken Britain. The dangers they face range from armies of psychotic Brothers and Sisters from the Order of Power, more Felum and the abyss sea, which is a giant chasm that splits the country in half and is now a brand new ocean. They'll also face some quite dark emotional problems too. Ben will find someone who lives him back, and Skye will grow increasingly unstable when her tragic past is revealed. There are some new characters as well, including Aimee, who Ben saves from being repurposed by the Order of Power. The third book has a premise that will spoil the ending of book 2 but it will also be more unashamedly science fiction than the rest. There may be spaceships involved. There may be robots. And there might possibly be more gods as well.
Q: Is there any insight you can give us into the evolution/ background of the Felum?
A: They do have quite an interesting secret history but I'm afraid that won't be revealed until books 2 and 3. As River Song says, "Spoilers, sweetie!" Well, alright, one spoiler; Kar is a main character in the next two books.
Q: Out of the books you have written what is special about this one to you?
A: Ben is seventy percent me. He's gone through a lot of what I have; falling in love with someone who doesn't love you back; the depression and self harm. It was sort of cathartic for myself to write this book which is why the character feels real to me and why the book is special.
Q: What is your favorite character from science fiction?
A: It's got to be Doctor Who. He can go anywhere and do anything and I think that's what we all want to do in our hearts. I've watched him on TV since I was three years old and I've loved him ever since. After Doctor Who i'd probably say Data from Star Trek The Next Generation. As Spock would say I find him fascinating.
~What I Thought~
I have given this book a 5 star rating. I do not usually give out 5 stars but this story definitely deserved it.The Fall was so well rounded. Full of everything a good book needs!
It had action, romance, a dynamic plot and characters and of course an intriguing take on a dystopian society.
In fact, I think Dawson's take on life after the end of the world is one of the better ones I have read yet.
The concepts of the ancient world and the Gods was well executed and interwoven with the present time.
The fact that their fights caused the catastrophic events on earth made this a well thought out and believable dystopian novel.
Dawson has created a charming, lovable main character full of emotion and courage.
Ben, a gay young man just coming of age, lives in a post apocalyptic world where Gods rage in continuous battle. He is confronted with the loss of his family and the abruptness of becoming a man. He is taken on a roller coaster ride of emotions as he struggles to find his true place in the world and face the destiny that has been dropped at his feet.
I loved how connected I was to Ben and the other characters in the story. When he experienced the rejection of his first love I was swept up in his reaction and emotions.
I enjoyed the slight twists in the plot which kept the story moving along quite nicely for me. The progression and build up of the characters and their place in the story made this a great first installment for the trilogy.
In my opinion the fantasy aspects of the story were delightfully placed. The concept of other species, such as the Felum, brought some great questions about this new world to the surface. All though Ben's relationship with Kar, a felum, is not a focal point of this book, I have to hope that it is covered in more detail later on in the trilogy.
When I saw that The Fall was categorized under M/M, gay fiction I was worried about how predominate that would be to the plot. However, in the case of this book, I really enjoyed that aspect. It seemed almost natural for the story and gives it something that really makes it stand out from others in it's genre.
I can't wait to see Ben's character grow in the upcoming books and look forward to following both him and Skye on their journey to save their world.
This book is a wonderful read for any lovers of young adult and science fiction novels.
Nice interview ...
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