James O'Neal's Human Disguise: Crime Novelist Writes Potential SF Blockbuster
Gritty crime novelist and long-time law-enforcement officer James O. Born, writing as James O'Neal, has just had The Human Disguise released by Tor Books. It's a departure for Born--the novel's set in a post-apocalyptic Miami, with the United States in ruins. Not only is a secret race living amongst us about to reveal themselves, but there's a spaceship entering the solar system, headed for Earth. Against this backdrop, police officer Tom Wilner stumbles into an investigation that will impact the coming collision between the mysterious aliens coming to Earth and the beings already here. Born as O'Neal brings the same visceral realism to The Human Disguise found in his crime thrillers. We've seen some of these SFnal elements before, but the "mix" is new, and the result is a fast-paced and provocative novel.
How will SF fans and reviewers react to the novel, let alone Born's core mystery fans? So far so good, with a starred review in Publishers Weekly which reads in part "O'Neal's self-assured, hard-edged writing style, solid characters, and wildly entertaining thriller plot will keep readers enthralled." That "wildly entertaining thriller plot" is what makes me predict that Hollywood will be picking up the movie rights to this one post-haste.
We'll check in with Born/O'Neal in a couple of months to get more of his observations about going from crime fiction to science fiction. But for now, here's a short interview conducted just this past week, as the novel became available to readers.
Amazon.com: What drew you to this particular story after writing contemporary crime thrillers or mysteries?
James O'Neal: I read science fiction and love the post apocalyptic stuff. As a native Floridian who has studied our state’s history I thought I could frame the future in a unique way. I also stuck to what I know, police work. It is a simple police story: a cop with woman troubles, who is treated poorly at work, gets fixated on a case. It’s the plot of eighty-five percent of crime fiction. I just added the twists I always wanted to.
Amazon.com: Do you read a lot of science fiction?
O'Neal: I read everything but have a certain love for Robert Heinlein, Phillip K. Dick, Ben Bova, Orson Scott Card and Ray Bradbury. In the last few years I’ve found that I really like John Scalzi, Jay Lake, and the short story tastes of Gardner Dozois and Ellen Datlow.
Amazon.com: So far, what do you think the differences are between the mystery community and the SF community, both in terms of the writers and the fans?
O'Neal: I’ve only been out in the SF community officially for a few days now but the fans I’ve met have all been top notch. I notice that when I blog about my love of science fiction I get a lot of e-mail from new fans. The mystery community has always been great to me. I act as a technical advisor to a number of writers and they like to hear stories from my police career. As far as writers in both genres, I’ve found writers are like any group. Some you like, some you avoid. I gravitate toward funny, easy-going people and have found plenty in the mystery community. The few writers I’ve met in the science fiction community have all be great. I look forward to my first SF conference.
Amazon.com: Is this the beginning of a series?
O'Neal: Yes. The Human Disguise lays the framework for the series in terms of the world-building and the characters. The sequel, The Double Human, comes out next year. It follows Tom Wilner as he searches for Florida’s first serial killer in years. Along the way he once again learns some disturbing truths. I have plots worked out for several more if all works out well.
Amazon.com: What difficulties, if any, did you run into writing a story set in the future?
O'Neal: I did research on what some of the innovations might be, but everyone has a different opinion. I had to revise some of the scenes as the technology became clear in my mind later in the novel. My crime novels are easy in the sense that I just follow what my instincts as a cop would be in the any given investigation. I tried to apply that principal with The Human Disguise. But there are some differences. For instance, Tom Wilner’s estranged wife is involved with one of the bad guys he is investigating. In real terms that would be strictly forbidden. But in the future, his boss, looking at no funding and little manpower, tells him that, “Conflict of interest is no longer valid. Just find out who did the shooting, who died and clear this shit up.” It relieves me of some of the onus of following procedure so closely so I don’t get angry letters from other cops.
Amazon.com: Thanks, and we'll check back in a couple months...
Steven Klotz on June 05, 2009 at 10:15 AM
Interesting. I love Richard Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs novels. This sounds like it might scratch a similar itch.