1. You’ve mentioned that The City trilogy was originally a four-part series, with a prequel about Bill Casey and Paucar Wami to be published between Hell’s Horizon and City of the Snakes. What made you decide to make it a trilogy instead?
It was too dark! The City is a dark series overall, but the book about Bill and Paucar Wami went further than any of my other books ever ventured. It was a study of the destruction of innocence, of how good can be corrupted, of how even the best of people can be contaminated and led down a path of vileness and hurt. From my point of view, it was one of the most fascinating books I’ve ever worked on—but it was a difficult book to have as part of my life, and I think most readers would have been repelled by it. I’m still toying with the idea of one day releasing it, but since the key elements are described in City of the Snakes, I don’t deem it an essential release. If there is ever enough demand for it, I might revisit it and see what I think, but I’ve no current plans to return to it.
2. Do you have a favorite book from the trilogy?
City of the Snakes is my favorite, because I think it brings together the best elements of the first two books—the fantastical weirdness of Procession of the Dead and the detective style story of Hell’s Horizon—and adds even more to the mix. The first two books worked equally well, I feel, but in very different ways. The third brings both sides of the story together and takes it to a whole new level. It’s the most ambitious of the series, and for me the one that works the best.
3. In this story, we see deeper into the workings of the Incan priests and how their society is organized. How much, if any, of this is based in historical fact and how much comes from your imagination?
The names are all based on real Incan names, and certain elements are drawn from historical research, e.g., the Inti Watana stone. But most of it is imagined. Since the Incas were such mysterious figures, about whom we still know very little, I felt I had license to take them off in my own directions.
4. Did you ever envision the story arc with Al, Paucar, and Bill resolving in a different way?
No. By the time I got to City of the Snakes, I knew exactly how that thread was going to play out. Originally, when there were going to be four books, I referred to the series as The Paucar Wami Quartet. If the book about Bill and Paucar Wami had been released, it would have given the series a different overall feel—the series in that instance would have been very much more about what happened between Bill and Paucar Wami, and how it was to be resolved. Of course the Paucar Wami book wasn’t released, but for me it was still an integral part of the series, and it was important that we get to see closure for Bill, since he suffered so much in the past.
5. Once again, the topic of free will plays a central role in this novel. But this time, Ama and Capac seem to display a greater measure of free will than before, based on their choices at the end. Do you think the Ayumarcans become more human in this book?
Yes. The first book suggested that we are slaves of our destinies, that free will can play only a limited role in our lives. This theme was further explored in Hell’s Horizon, where Al is largely played by Bill and The Cardinal. While that notion fascinates me, I prefer to think of this as a universe where we get to decide our own fates. After the first two books, the interesting challenge for me was to try to undermine the pinnings of the society which I had created, to show that we can always exercise free will, even when it seems to have been taken away from us, even when it looks like there is no way for us to veer from the path of another’s choosing. As dark as the series is, I wanted to end on a hopeful note, and I see the latter half of City of the Snakes as a climb toward the light.
6. Now that the trilogy is complete, do you think you’ll ever return to the world of The City in a future book?
If I was to one day go back and work on the Paucar Wami book some more and release it, then yes. Otherwise, no. The books tell a story that perfectly fits the strange, surreal surroundings of The City, but I doubt I’ll come up with anything else that would suit it. Also, I like that fact that it ends with Al leaving The City behind and moving on with his life. The ending of City of the Snakes always made me smile whenever I came to edit it, because it’s about hope and change and leaving behind the millstones which would otherwise drag us down. I don’t think I’d enjoy returning to the world of The City. Al has moved on and I hope that I can too. I don’t want to end up chained to my past as Capac must!
7. What are you working on now?
A one-off thriller with a supernatural edge called Lady of the Shades. It’s a story about a writer who is working on a ghost story set in London. When he falls in love, his life starts to unravel and the ghosts of his past literally come back to haunt him.