Dan Wells, author of Partials

Posted 03/14/2012 by alicemarvels in Author Interview

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Category: Author Interview

Today we’re chatting with Dan Wells, author of the thrilling sci-fi novel PARTIALS.

It’s Hunger Games meets Battlestar Galactica meets Children of Men, so it’s no surprise that we’re huge fans.

Dan was kind enough to answer questions on everything from his likelihood of surviving a Partial war to what we can expect in the next PARTIALS installment in the interview below.

by alicemarvels

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1) How do you think you would fare in a humans vs. Partials war? Would you rather be a human or a Partial?

Assuming I was immune to the virus, I like to think I’d do pretty well in the Partial War–I’m kind of a loner anyway, so when everyone’s gone and the world is empty I’d just move into a bookstore and have the best personal library ever. On the other hand, I’m also an avid boardgamer, so I’d need to find some other suvivors if only to play 7 Wonders with them. As for which I’d rather be, that’s a tough question: Partials can do some really cool stuff, what with their custom-made genes and all, but on the other hand they–I’d better stop there. I don’t want to spoil anything for people who haven’t read it yet.

2) Kira’s battle against the RM virus was so entertaining to read about, even though I have no medical background whatsoever. How did you come up with the RM virus and its complicated evolution?

I started with the basic premise of the book–artificial beings release a super-disease that kills everyone, and one girl has to try to cure it–and then started brainstorming all the pieces I’d need to make that premise work. I didn’t want the cure to be too easy, and I didn’t want to just gloss over it; I didn’t want to have to write “and then Kira did some science and cured the disease, the end.” That meant I had to figure out exactly how it worked, which meant I had to study a ton of viral pathology and genetics, and as I got deeper and deeper I realized it could be so much more than just a plague. The RM virus ended up being the key that holds the whole series together, and the book is a lot stronger for it. And I’m delighted to hear that you enjoyed reading it–I worked hard to keep it all understandable to people who hadn’t done all the research, so that’s great to hear that it worked.

3) What has been the single most influential work (book/tv/movie/gaming, etc.) in your writing life?

That is a tough one to answer, but I I’m going to say the Christopher Robin poems by A.A. Milne–I’ve worn out two copies of that book over the course of my life, reading and rereading every little poem. Milne wasn’t just writing, he was playing with words, and reading his work showed me how fun playing with words could really be. At some point I just said, “yep, this is what I want to do with my life,” and I’ve been reading and writing ever since.

4) Can you recommend any YA books that you’ve enjoyed that fans of PARTIALS would also enjoy reading?

I just finished an incredible new paranormal book called Vodnik, which comes out sometime in late March/early April. It’s kind of a classic “teen boy learns magic and saves the world” story, but based on Slovakian folklore rather than the typical vampires and werewolves. It has a really distinct flair, and the voice is just wonderful. I think any fan of fantasy or paranormal would absolutely love it.

5) I would LOVE to see a PARTIALS movie. If you had to play casting director, which actors/actresses would you choose for Kira, Marcus, Jayden, Xochi, Mkele, Haru, Madison and Samm?

I agree–a PARTIALS movie would be awesome. There are a lot of scenes that I saw in my head as I wrote them, so it’s pretty cinematic already. Who would I cast in it? I have no idea. This is why I would make such a terrible casting director.

6) PARTIALS ends on such an exciting note with so many new and tantalizing questions to be answered. Can you give us any hints about what we can expect from the next book?

The world is a very big place, and so far we’ve only seen a small part of it. As Kira goes out looking for answers, we start to learn a lot more about what happened when the world ended, and who (and what) is hiding in the ruins we leave behind.

7) Do you have any post-PARTIALS series books in the works?

I’m about halfway done with another SF book, about cloning this time, which is currently on hold while I finish PARTIALS 2–as soon as I’m done I’m going right back to it. It’s got some of the same themes as PARTIALS, but with a twist: instead of seeing what happens after the end of the world, we’re actually going to watch it end.

That sounds amazing, I can’t wait to read it!

Thanks for stopping by Dan!

About Partials

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with partials–engineered organic beings identical to humans–has decimated the world’s population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. The threat of the partials is still imminent, but, worse, no baby has been born immune to the disease in over a decade. Humanity’s time is running out.

When sixteen-year-old Kira learns of her best friend’s pregnancy, she’s determined to find a solution. Then one rash decision forces Kira to flee her community with the unlikeliest of allies. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that the survival of both humans and partials rests in her attempts to answer questions of the war’s origin that she never knew to ask.

Combining the fast-paced action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes ofBattlestar Galactica, Partials is a pulse-pounding journey into a world where the very concept of what it means to be human is in question–one where our sense of humanity is both our greatest liability, and our only hope for survival.

About Dan Wells

In addition to Partials, Dan Wells is the acclaimed author of the John Cleaver series: I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, and I Don’t Want to Kill You. He has been nominated for both the Hugo and the Campbell Award and has won two Parsec Awards for his podcast Writing Excuses.

Catch up with Dan on: website | twitter | goodreads