Delirium (Debt Collector 1)

Delirium by Susan Kaye Quinn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Susan Kaye Quinn has come up with a unique idea for her Debt Collection books. Lirium is a "debt collector". We never learn how a character learns how to collect this kind of debt.

We start out in the hospital with Lirium coming to "collect" Mr. Henry's debt. His debt is the remainder of his life force.

I would assume this takes place in the future with single payer health care firmly in place and some bean counter has calculated that the amount of life force remaining in Mr. Henry exceeds the cost of his medical bills, and any other debt he may owe. He's reached a negative balance that the bean counters presume Mr. Henry could never repay. In this health care plan, someone better able to contribute to society gets Mr. Henry's life force debt.


Lirium is very professional about this "life force debt" collection. He asks if Mr. Henry has family, and treats him with great respect before taking his remaining life force.

Naturally the book proceeds as one would expect when a genetics wizard gets his "boost" just before a meeting for more grant money for his research.

As we follow Lirium we learn his role in this exchange has some benefits and some tragic soul damaging consequences. Lirium's life skills coping management regarding the effect of his employment isn't prescribed by Tony Robbins or any religious book. It's simply booze and hookers.

In this civilized world he copes with his life's traumas by entertaining sex workers while drunk and paranoid. After his self prescribed alcoholic medicine his additional "fix" arrives and he is set to proceed with his rut… er... daily routine -- until he realizes the agency he hired to keep him supplied with interesting company hasn't played by his rules.

Part of the deal routinely includes a bit of the life source he retained as payment for his services to his clients. He pays for part of his sex worker "fix" with a portion of his 15% "commission" for collection and distribution of the life force job concluded earlier. When his worker doesn't accept his offer of payment before sex, he becomes very suspicious. When she suggest he instead give it to her sick sister he sees nothing but a set up.

Lirium knows all the many ways debt collectors get taken advantage of, and it never ends well for the debt collector. Usually it results with the collector missing body parts or worse.

Lirium is already hunting for a new apartment in his mind as he tries to remember who recommended Anastazja's to supply his sex workers.

I found this a rewarding story as it is much like old fables that teach great lessons like "The Dog and the Shadow: Be happy With What You Have", or "The Tortoise and the Hare: Never Give Up!" By the end of the story, Lirium must escape from this altruistic sex worker if he is going to be able to stay alive.

I believe if the world learned what Lirium learned it would not end as badly as it would for Lirium.

I believe it is a three and a half star story. Since the ending seemed so pleasantly fable-like when I thought of it, I'm glad there are no half stars.



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