Mutant City - 3D Review - Steve Feasey - Author Interview

What was your favourite children’s book as a child?

There are two or three books that really stick in my mind as having a profound effect on me. The first would be The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall. Westall is a wonderful storyteller, and the book is, in my opinion, his best work. The main protagonist, Chas McGill, appealed to me in a way few others had until that point, and I strongly connected with the children in the book, all of whom because of the war are largely forced to live independently of the adults around them. The other two books that really stick out in my mind as firm favourites were The Hobbit by Tolkien and Call of the Wild by Jack London.

What is your favourite children’s book as an adult?

I love To Kill a Mockingbird, but I don’t really consider that to be a children’s book, despite the fact that it appeals to children every bit as much as adults. I think the children’s book I most admire as an adult is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak – it’s perfectly written and perfectly illustrated, and you can’t help but love it.

What do you think makes children’s books so inspirational?

The books we read as children and young adults often stick with us throughout life in a way adult books don’t. They help us to shape the way we see things, allow us to experience things we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise, and they can help us to decide how we might react in similar situations to the characters that we have invested in.

Why did you start writing for children?

For all of the reasons I’ve listed in the previous qy local library’s ‘Fantasy and Sci-Fi’ section. Books by Moorcock, Harrison, Eddings and Asimov appealed to me like no other, and it created a love of science in me that’s stuck with me throughout my life.

After the Changeling books, I wanted to write something that reflected my early love of this genre (or genres – some sci-fi fans don’t appreciate fantasy being lumped in with their works), so I set about writing a book that had both strong sci-fi and fantasy elements.

What is your favourite aspect of writing for children?

The enthusiasm that readers show for your work. Even when the writing process isn’t going so well, you can be lifted by a review or an email from a young reader saying how much they loved your books. I also love their honesty – if something doesn’t work for them, they’re not afraid to let you know!

What made you want to write this book?

As a teenager I devoured everything I could get my hands on from my local library’s ‘Fantasy and Sci-Fi’ section. Books by Moorcock, Harrison, Eddings and Asimov appealed to me like no other, and it created a love of science in me that’s stuck with me throughout my life.

After the Changeling books, I wanted to write something that reflected my early love of this genre (or genres – some sci-fi fans don’t appreciate fantasy being lumped in with their works), so I set about writing a book that had both strong sci-fi and fantasy elements. 

There is a lot of world building in Mutant City, was this challenging to get right?

It was. The problem with writing a book in which you’re creating an alternative view of the world is that it can very quickly become ‘unwieldy’. You want to let the reader experience exactly what it is to live in this new place: the environment, the socioeconomics, the ethics, the power balance etc., but you have to be aware that you’re not writing an epic like Game of Thrones. Giving enough for the reader’s imagination to get a hold of, but not becoming too wordy is a tricky balancing act.

Book two, Mutant Rising, is due for publication next year, can you give us some hints as what to expect?

The children with the superpowers have become rebels; seen as terrorists by the Pure living in the Cities. There’s a price on their heads, and they have to hide from those sent out to capture them. Meanwhile, President Melk’s rise to power has made him unstable, and his ideas on how to solve the ‘mutant problem’ are becoming more and more extreme. Things come to a head when the children accidentally discover what his latest plan is, and decide they must put a stop to it. (No spoilers there.)

Mutant City - 3D Review - Reviews - Steve Feasey

Adult Review

Book covers, are so tricky to get right, but the acid green cover of Mutant City is a perfect fit for the book, and attract the target readers, let me tell you how I know this…

Imagine me (somewhat older than the target readership) reading the book whilst in the waiting room at the local gymnastic academy waiting for my son to finish his training when, I get the eerie feeling I’m being watched. I look up to see too 12/13 year old boys staring at me, I look behind me and there’s no one there, so it must be me that has caught their attention, so I smile.

“What’s that book?” asks one. So I tell them the pitch, and they both consider this for a moment and then ask more and more questions, only stopping when the trainer called them back to training.

This is the FIRST time I have ever had teenage boys enquire about what I’m reading. And I think this is a real testament to both the illustrator and book designers.

Now, the story between the cover is also very very good. The pitch gives you a real indication of what to expect: Mad Max meets X-Men! Like both this books hits the ground running and doesn’t let up the pace until you’ve finished.

The book is set in a post-apocalyptic word, in the aftermath of war that has created a two tear society, the humans that sheltered away from the radioactive battles, and the post-human mutants that were genetically altered by it. The human’s live in civilised comfort within walled city’s, built to keep the mutants out. The mutants live on the fringes in poverty within the wasteland or the sprawling shanty towns.

It starts with five children being rescued from a genetic research facility called The Farm, and then fast forward thirteen years to the five experiments, not pure human, not total mutants as their shelter words unravel, as their creator and Burnt Earths ruler Principal Melk, discovers they are still alive and try to recapture them.

The book is fast paced with action throughout as it follows all five, the healer, The shape-shifter, the decelerator, the mind-controller and the telekinetic, as they journey to the capital City Four to reconvene. The characters are all well realised and has a force of personality which makes them sympathetic and strong, with enough flaws to make them believable. The settings are all well envisioned with an authentic Science Fiction feel.

Like all good books, especially of the Science Fiction genre Mutant City pays homage to what has come before with recognisable elements of films and literature going back to the Grandfather of Sci-Fi, HG Well, making the book richer.

Mutant City is a gripping read, making you feel like you’re on a wild ride yet not at the expense of plot; it is intelligent, absorbing, and entertaining. This does what every science fiction book should, takes you to another world.

Teenager Review by Jack aged 13

"Mutant City" written by Steve Feasey, describes a society that was destroyed by chemical warfare 50 years ago. The aftermath left two societies: mutants and the pure.

The story starts with a raid on a top-secret experimentation facility where five "mutants" with special powers are rescued and are taken in by separate people. The story picks up 13 years later when in a dream one of the mutants is told to make his way to city four. The story describes the events and discoveries he makes along his way.

The book is fun and fast paced and packed with lots of adventure and reasonably believable characters that you would like to root for, they are quite confusing at the start of the book but the book is gripping once you get into it.

I found the book is very descriptive, particularly during any action. The book ended on a frustrating but great cliff-hanger that has set up the next book in the series very well.

This book is for anyone around the age of 12 years old that likes likes well written science-fiction with lots of adventure.