The Delphi Effect
Rysa Walker
(The Delphi Trilogy, #1)
Published by: Skyscape
Publication date: October 11th 2016
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
In this thrilling new series from Rysa Walker, the award-winning and best-selling author of Timebound, a teen psychic is the key to stopping a government conspiracy.
It’s never wise to talk to strangers . . . and that goes double when they’re dead. Unfortunately, seventeen-year-old Anna Morgan has no choice. Resting on a park bench, touching the turnstile at the Metro station—she never knows where she’ll encounter a ghost. These mental hitchhikers are the reason Anna has been tossed from one foster home and psychiatric institution to the next for most of her life.
When a chance touch leads her to pick up the insistent spirit of a girl who was brutally murdered, Anna is pulled headlong into a deadly conspiracy that extends to the highest levels of government. Facing the forces behind her new hitcher’s death will challenge the barriers, both good and bad, that Anna has erected over the years and shed light on her power’s origins. And when the covert organization seeking to recruit her crosses the line by kidnapping her friend, it will discover just how far Anna is willing to go to bring it down.
Ten Characters (Real and Fictional) Who Influenced The Delphi Effect
When I think back through the many books, movies, and television shows that I’ve loved over the years, there are dozens–maybe even hundreds–of characters whose personalities and attributes linger in my mind. Sometimes, it’s because the character reminds me of people I’ve known in real life. Other times, it’s because some aspect of the character resonates with elements of my own personality.
So when I saw this guest post topic, I knew I’d need to narrow it down a bit, especially since there are so many historical figures I could choose from for my CHRONOS Files series.. The following characters are, therefore, ones who in some way influenced either the story or key characters in my upcoming Delphi Trilogy.
Fiver from Richard Adams’s Watership Down
This is one of my very favorite books. Adams does a wonderful job of making the characters in this bo ok real and engaging, and that can be difficult to do when your characters are all rabbits. Fiver is the smallest of the main characters, and rather fragile due both to his size and his psychic abilities. His visions are similar to those of a character that we meet in The Delphi Effect, Jaden Park, although I’d argue that Fiver’s type of prophecy is a little more useful to those around him.
Echo from Dollhouse
I’m a huge fan of Joss Whedon’s work, but I somehow missed Dollhouse when it first aired. I finally binge watched it last year, and while I think it kind of fell apart at the very end, it occurred to me that there are some similarities between Echo and Anna. Echo is programmed with different lives as part of her work at The Dollhouse, and while she’s not supposed to keep those memories, she does end up with certain echoes (which I’m guessing is one reason for her name) from their past. Those echoes combine, in some sense, to form her personality. In much the same way, Anna’s memories from her various hitchers have shaped her, almost to the point where she’s not sure what elements of her personality are inherently her own.
Johnny Smith from Stephen King’s The Dead Zone
I love the struggle that Johnny faces as he’s deciding whether to commit an immoral act (murder) in order to stop a madman who could potentially kill millions. It’s essentially the classic question of whether one would kill Hitler, given the chance. Anna will have a similar dilemma in The Delphi Trilogy, and I’m still not sure what she’ll do when faced with that final choice.
Cole Sear from The Sixth Sense
Like Cole, the kid from the M.Night Shyamalan movie, Anna is connected to dead people. Unlike Cole, however, she doesn’t see them, aside from the occasional brief and ghostly glimpse in the mirror. They’re just passengers in her head, until she can figure out what will help them move on to whatever lies beyond.
Shawn Spencer from Psych
In Psych, one of my favorite shows from a few years back, Shawn is an exceptionally observant individual who bills himself as a psychic. As Anna mentions in The Delphi Effect, Aaro n Quinn is pretty much the reverse. He actually gets psychic vibes, but his grandfather tells clients that Aaron is just very, very observant. And unlike Shawn’s outgoing personality, Aaron prefers to stay in the background. It’s not exactly easy being in a crowd when you pick up on every impulse to “go medieval.”
Spiderman
Okay, Aaron’s not exactly like Spiderman. He can’t swing from building to building and was never bitten by a radioactive spider. But his vibes are very similar to Peter Parker’s “spidey sense,” something that Anna teases him about from time to time.
Prince
Deo, Anna’s foster brother, has a penchant for monochromatic clothing and his gender identity is definitely fluid, much like the late singer-song writer. And he’d totally want that jacket.
Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood and Doctor Who
In the Whovian universe, Captain Jack will do the one thing that Doctor will not — he’ll kill people if he feels it must be done to prevent a greater evil. There’s a bit of Jack in Deo, although we’ll see that element of his personality a bit more clearly in the upcoming books of the trilogy.
John Casey from Chuck
Daniel Quinn, Aaron’s older brother, has a very by-the-book personality and he can be a real pain in the ass. But like NSA Agent John Casey, he’s willing to bend the rules to protect friends and family when the chips are down.
Hannibal Lecter from Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs
Graham Cregg doesn’t slurp up people’s organs with a nice chianti and fava beans, but he is somewhat similar to Hannibal in his urbane calm, even while doing some really awful things. Unlike Hannibal, however, Cregg would argue that his actions serve the greater good.
Author Bio:
Rysa Walker is the author of the bestselling CHRONOS Files series. Timebound, the first book in the series, was the Young Adult and Grand Prize winner of the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Rysa grew up on a cattle ranch in the South, where
she was a voracious reader. On the rare occasions when she gained control of the television, she watched Star Trek and imagined living in the future, on distant planets, or at least in a town big enough to have a stoplight. She currently lives in North Carolina, where she is working on the next installment in The Delphi Trilogy. If you see her on social media, please tell her to get back to her Writing Cave.
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it sounds great book to read.
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Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
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Thanks for being on the tour! 🙂
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It’s really interesting to see who inspired you in the Delphi Effect. Just from that list, I’m looking forward to reading this!
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Thanks, Rachel! It’s funny how the subconscious works, because before I sat down to really think about the characters who shaped the story, some of these would never have occurred to me!
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Such a great article- you don’t get to see the behind the scenes thoughts usually & this was awesome
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Thanks, Liz! I’m sometimes not sure exactly what I’m thinking until I see it in print, so it’s probably a good exercise to use in the future. 😉
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Sounds like a good read.
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Thanks, Kim! That’s very nice to hear right now since launch day is tomorrow and I’m on pins and needles!!
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Thanks so much for sharing some of your muses with us. This sounds like a great read!
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Thanks, Bea! A lot of people talk about having trouble finding their muse, and that’s never really the issue for me. There are plenty of them out there — the trick is just to get them to stick around long enough to be useful! 😉
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I loved Psych! This sounds like a very good book!
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I love the phrase mental hitchhikers. Love paranormal reads, this sounds great.
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The Delphi Effect sounds like an exciting read ♡ Thank you
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Thank you for sharing this book with us.
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Sounds like a really interesting story. Can’t wait to read it!
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Anna must have an extremely difficult life.
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It sounds great .Thanks for sharing.
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Enjoyed reading the post. Sounds like a good story.
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The synopsis sounds so intriguing! Love the cover as well.
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This sounds like a n exciting and interesting read. Thanks for the giveaway.
Marilyn
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This is sounding real intriguing. Looking forward to reading more.
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I love the colors used on the cover.
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This sounds like a very good plot. I can’t wait to read it. Thanks!
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congrats on the tour and it sounds like a really good read. Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
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I really enjoy reading science fiction. This sounds great!
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Interesting blurb. I always like reading about psychics.
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I first heard about this book from YA Books Central. It sounds really fascinating. I like paranormal stories.
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This blog is really interesting. I have bookmarked it. Do you allow guest posting on your page
? I can provide high quality posts for you. Let me
know.
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I really enjoyed reading the entire post today. This is a new author for me so thank you for the reveal!
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I like it! As for my thoughts, they are too bizarre to mention.
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Sounds like a great read. Thank you
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Haven’t read it..but Lisa definitely sounds interesting..so her works must be also
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It’s always cool to see shared favorite characters and how they influenced a favorite author’s newest work!!
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This sounds like a very good read.
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