Wraith

Debt Collector #10

by Susan Kaye Quinn

Urban Fantasy with a Cyberpunk Twist
***first episode of the second season***
Recommended: start with Season One.

What’s your life worth on the open market?
In this gritty urban fantasy, debt collectors take your life energy and give it to someone more “worthy”… all while paying the price with black marks on their souls.

“Wraith is amazing and just as compelling as Lirium—once again I'm hooked!!”
“I loved being back in this world! Wraith has captivated me.”

Wraith is a shadow in the night, haunting the bedrooms of the rich "high potentials" who have stolen life energy from the desperate and dying. The justice and the sweet mercy hit that follow keep her from falling into her own personal abyss. Her secret nighttime work also keeps her on level for her real mission: carrying on her father's legacy of attempting to bring an end to debt collection as a whole. But when a mysterious debt collector interrupts her in the act and discovers her secret, everything Wraith loves may be destroyed by the one thing she can never fix-- the original sin of being a debt collector herself.

Contains mature content and themes.

OPTIONED FOR VIRTUAL REALITY BY IMMERSIVE ENTERTAINMENT
2014 Semi-Finalist in Science Fiction in the Kindle Book Awards

Wraith is approximately 17,000 words or 68 pages, and is the first of nine episodes in the second season of The Debt Collector serial.

It is recommended that you start with the first season, but each season is a complete story for that debt collector and can serve as an entry point to the series. There are five planned seasons in the Debt Collector series, the first four each from the perspective of a different debt collector with the fifth season bringing all four together.

READING ORDER

Season One – Lirium - COMPLETE
Episodes 1-9: Delirium, Agony, Ecstasy, Broken, Driven, Fallen, Promise, Ruthless, Passion

Season Two – Wraith
10 – Wraith (10.20)
11 – Specter (10.27)
12 – Menace (11.3)
13 – Temptation (11.10)
14 – Shattered (11.17)
15 – Penance (11.24)
16 – Judgment (12.1)
17 – Corruption (12.8)
18 – Atonement (12.15)
BOX SET (Vol 10-18) – (12.15)

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Ebooks

ebook

First published October 20, 2014

About the author

CLICK HERE for a FREE STORY

Susan Kaye Quinn has designed aircraft engines and researched global warming, but now she uses her PhD to invent cool stuff in books. Her works range from hopeful climate fiction to gritty cyberpunk. Sue believes being gentle and healing is radical and disruptive. Her short fiction can be found in Grist, Solarpunk Magazine, Reckoning, and all her novels and short stories can be found on her website. She is the host of the Bright Green Futures podcast.

SOLARPUNK
collections
Bright Green Futures: 2024 (edited by SKQ)
Halfway to Better

novels
Nothing is Promised series
When You Had Power
You Knew The Price
Of Kindness and Kilowatts
Yet You Cry When It Hurts

short stories
A Moon Goddess to Watch Over Me (Luna Station Quarterly) (hopepunk)
It's in the Blood (Reckoning 8)
Once and Future Kilowatts (Solarpunk Magazine)
Rewilding Indiana (Little Blue Marble)
Seven Sisters (Grist)
The Joy Fund (DreamForge Magazine)

SCI-FI
Singularity Novel Series
The Legacy Human
The Duality Bridge
The Illusory Prophet
The Last Mystic

Stories of Singularity
Restore
Containment
Augment
Awakening
Harvest
Defiance
Resistance

YA SF
Mindjack Series
Open Minds
Closed Hearts
Free Souls
Locked Tight
Cracked Open
Broken Wide
Mindjack Short Story Collection

WATCH the award-winning live-action Mindjack Book Trailer!

STEAMPUNK ROMANCE
Royals of Dharia
Third Daughter
Second Daughter
First Daughter

CYBERPUNK
Debt Collector
LIRIUM (Season One)
WRAITH (Season Two)

WATCH the Debt Collector Book Trailer

ANTHOLOGIES
Synchronic
Telepath Chronicles
AI Chronicles
Dark Beyond The Stars
Future Chronicles
Cyborg Chronicles
CLONES: The Anthology

MIDDLE GRADE FANTASY
Faery Swap

WATCH the Faery Swap Book Trailer

CONTACT SUSAN
Susan's Website | Sue on Bluesky | Sue on Mastodon
Susan's Email: sue@twistedspacepub.com

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I feel like I have been waiting forever for Quinn to start releasing the second season in this series. I so enjoyed the first, I wanted her to write the second one right away. But, alas, I had to wait. And I was not disappointed in the least.
I want to thank the author for sending me an early copy of this episode to read and give an honest review.
If anyone remember, I truly loved Lirium. So when Quinn said this pat of the serial would not be about him, I was disappointed. I wanted more. But then she introduces me to Wraith, and I'm floored.
I love the way this character is written so far. She's like two sides of a coin, each hidden from the other, separated by the fact that neither can see around the other side. And for Wraith, she has to keep her lives separate: the debt collector life versus her very public life as a well-known executive's daughter. But she walks a think line because the very company that has built her family up and made her father so famous, is the same one that threatens people like her. The push and pull and the tension it creates is palpable throughout the story. And the conflict it creates within Wraith herself is something you can taste.
I love how Quinn describes not only the energy collection process but also the pay out. I actually feel like I'm the one who is experiencing it, not the character herself. And the concept remains totally unique. Something I have not seen any other place.
I can't really go into much detail without giving things away, but let's say not only do we get thrown into the world from the first part of this serial (and yes, you'll meet some of your old favorite characters, although briefly), but Quinn is able to create a brand new world, one where there is some mystery and leaves me wanting that next episode right now!
And, gah, does Quinn know where to leave her story off? There is no way you can stop at just this episode. It's definitely like watching one of your favorite TV shows and not being able to wait until the next episode airs.
So if you're looking for a serial that pulls you in, twists you in circles, ties you in knots, and then leaves you wanting more, you've come to the right place. Wraith will keep you interested and on your toes. I can't wait to see where this leads!

[Sandy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 2014

What's your life worth on the open market?
A debt collector can tell you precisely.

Wraith is a shadow in the night, haunting the bedrooms of the rich "high potentials" who have stolen life energy from the desperate and dying. The justice and the sweet mercy hit that follow keep her from falling into her own personal abyss. Her secret nighttime work also keeps her on level for her real mission: carrying on her father's legacy of attempting to bring an end to debt collection as a whole. But when a mysterious debt collector interrupts her in the act and discovers her secret, everything Wraith loves may be destroyed by the one thing she can never fix-- the original sin of being a debt collector herself.

Contains mature content and themes.

Wraith is approximately 17,000 words or 68 pages, and is the first of nine episodes in the second season of The Debt Collector serial. This dark and gritty future-noir is about a world where your life-worth is tabulated on the open market and going into debt risks a lot more than your credit rating.

It is recommended that you start with the first season, but each season is a complete story for that debt collector and can serve as an entry point to the series. There are five planned seasons in the Debt Collector series, the first four each from the perspective of a different debt collector with the fifth season bringing all four together.


~~~~~~~


REVIEW: WRAITH is the first installment in Susan Kaye Quinn’s Season 2 Debt Collector-a serial format series focusing on a dystopian future where the debt you owe is paid with your life. This is Debt Collector Alexandra Sterling’s (aka Wraith) storyline. Wraith is a reluctant Debt Collector-she is the epitome of everything she hates and more- a supernatural human with the ability to pull the life essence out of your body.

WRAITH is the introductory storyline to Susan Kaye Quinn’s Season 2 Debt Collector series. Wraith is a woman whose abilities are known to very few and going it alone is all she ever wants. But her most recent ‘collection’ finds Wraith face to face with another debt collector-one who knows more about Wraith than could she could possibly imagine.

Reviewing a serial novella series is difficult without giving away too many spoilers. Each ‘episode’ reveals a little more information about the background and the characters but is not a complete storyline. With that in mind, WRAITH reveals some of the reasons our feisty, independent heroine is reluctant to reveal her ability and why she is determined to mete out revenge.


Susan Kaye Quinn does an amazing job continuing the world building in a dystopian future where if you have the money, you can buy just about anything you want-including a more younger-you.

Copy supplied by the author.

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited when I heard season two of the Debt Collector series was coming and I as soon as the first episode showed up in my inbox I decided I could put my current read on hold to read this episode first.

The first episode of season two certainly didn't disappoint. It has the same fast pace and high action feel as the first season and I am so happy to be back in this world! It's going to be a crazy 8 weeks, but I am going to read and review these as soon as I can get my hands on a copy, because I think this crazy style of reading fits this series and reminds me of how I read season one.

In this book we're introduced to the main character for this season, Wraith. I immediately liked her, she a feisty female who struggles with being a debt collector, while on the other hand using it to do some good. I also liked how she met Lirium in this episode already, it was nice to see a cameo appearance from him. There also is a nice twist towards the end, I am pretty sure we will hear more about that in the next episode.

While a lot of the world building has been done in season one, it's immediately clear there is even more to come in season two. New organizations and groups we've heard nothing about so far are introduced and even a mystery about someone's death. It immediately got me intrigued and hungry for more.

To conclude: season two hits the ground running with this fast paced and action filled episode. I liked Wraith as a main character and how she struggles with being a debt collector. I also liked the glimpse we get from more world building and new organizations that are probably going to play a big part in this season. All in all this episode was a great start of season two and leaves me hungry for the next episode!

[Amie McCracken · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for complete immersion into a world, for that feeling of being someplace else entirely, then Debt Collector is my definite recommendation. Susan Kaye Quinn is an incredible writer capable of building a world so complete and so intense that I didn't even remember I was sitting in this world at all. I felt her world around me, tasted the acrid pollution, saw the flashes of light when the collector gathered time. I never want to stop reading these serials.

My one issue with this new character, Wraith, is that near the middle of this issue she turned into a mix of Batman and Ironman. She has two characters near and dear to her that resemble those in Batman and Ironman. She's the rich orphan who has a genius making cool things for her. And she's the rich orphan who has an amazing assistant she doesn't entirely deserve. While those characters had their own personalities (which redeemed the story a little) and the main character is definitely not anything like Batman or Ironman in other ways, that similarity threw me off for a few pages. But then I just dove right back in.

The twists and turns are unexpected and surprising, which is exactly as it should be. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one...and the next...and the next...

[Monica Millard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wraith is the first installment of the second season of The Debt Collectors serial. I LOVED the first and have been not so patiently waiting for the second. I was not disappointed with this first installment. It holds up to the high standard Susan Kay Quinn set in the first season. I do miss Lirium from the first season, but I was pulled right into Wraith's world.

Wraith introduces us to Wraith aka Alexandra. She is a debt collector who appears to be off the grid. She is trying to make up for not only her own wrongs as a collector, but it seems she also feels like she has to make up for the wrongs of all debt collectors in general. She's trying to balance the cosmic tally sheet.

The first three chapters were a bit of her back story, but by the end of the episode it was moving at that fast paced, muscled tensed, eyes speeding over the screen, can't get the pages turning fast enough because you have to know what happens speed. Of course, now I'm drooling and twitching, waiting for the next episode.

We do see glimpses of characters from the first season, but this is her story and I'm excited to see where it goes.

[Norm Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story, as short as it is, remains exciting. This book is very much about establishing Wraith, who she is. I give it three stars for some "internal-editor" reason I may remember to mention, but I do recommend the season and all the books in it as I've grown to respect Susan Kay Quinn as a person trying to do some remarkable things with her writing. I do pray I will write something about this at length at some future time.

This second season likely will be about Wraith's "growth", if my editor-critique-gut is working. This "Season" will be about Wraith going from being a mainly naive debt collector to accepting the reality of actual "good guy" debt collectors (as far as such a thing can be imagined). While Wraith will have some exceptional qualities, the events will shape her from one barely surviving situation until the next until she finally "gets it"- and my great hope is that Susan Kaye Quinn allows her to survive the entire season. I do know for a fact that Mr. Quinn does have the writer's courage to make remarkable literary decisions, even as monumental as killing off primary characters.

I would like to mention differences from Debt Collector Season One and Season Two. Season one was about Lirium, a "government" worker "life debt collector" doing legitimate "government" -- work that must have been a foresight written into Obama-care or the UK health system. BTW, he makes a cameo appearance in this story.

Wraith, is the "new" debt collector who is the focus in this season. Wraith is a wealthy individual who has debt collecting abilities but is more like a Bruce Wayne doing Batman's work in the "debt collecting" realm, with an Alfred Pennyworth type character called Mirial who has the private invention-creating life of Q, James Bond 007's "gadget creator". I think Ms. Quinn is going with a "Robin Hood" theme from the flavor of this first story in Debt Collector, Season Two.

I look forward to the exciting adventures of this new season. Sadly, the reviews will come slowly as I've decided I need to read some classics I've neglected for decades and which no person should die without having read them. So I believe I'll give those books a higher priority these first few months of the year.

[Ms. Just One More Book (Kris Miller) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexa Sterling is the recent heiress to Sterling Cybernetics since her father's death just three weeks prior. Having been very outspoken against debt collection, she's convinced that was the reason for his murder. Alexa herself wants to follow in her father's footsteps. Stop debt collection as well as debt collectors, those whom steal the life force of others and then transfer it to the highest bidder.

There's just one small problem: Alexa herself happens to be a debt collector as well who goes by the alter ego name of Wraith. Unfortunately, this wasn't the life she chose. To make the best of it, she hunts down those she knows that has taken the life energy from the innocent, thereby shortening the innocents' life, just to prolong prolong their own. Then she pays out that life energy into sick children in the hopes of giving them more time. While not always easy, Alexa/Wraith has been able to manage her dual lives. Or at least she was able to until another mysterious debt collector showed up during a collection.

This book immediately kicks it into high gear from page one. It's fast paced, lots of action, and the all around snappy writing I've come to expect from any story from this amazing author. If you've already read the first season of the Debt Collector then you will definitely be thrilled to be back in this world once again. If you haven't read the first season, don't fret, there's no need. Granted, of course I'm going to suggest you do, because it's just a wild ride!

Wraith's character is awesome. She is just such a mixture of things, it makes her both enduring and believable. She is tough and edgy, but also vulnerable. She feels guilt for being a debt collector, like it's a curse, yet she uses it as a blessing to others. There are times you really want to shake her, but yet you know her heart is in the right place. Overall, this is a great read, and I'm looking forward to the remaining books in this series.

[Devin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review also available at: https://devinhurd.herokuapp.com/singl...

Season two opens up with a new character: Wraith. A rogue debt collector and daughter of a famous and recently murdered anti-debt collector crusader. She specializes in vigilante collections upon the rich who prey upon the life force of the poor. But she is also an addict and struggling to hold together the responsibility of the research empire her father left behind to her. She is a wreck. A conflicted character stepping into a large world she knows little about. That's a promising opening episode.

[Veronica of V's Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second season of the Debt Collector serial featuring a female protaganist. It is not required to read the first season, however, what is IMPORTANT TO KNOW: a debt collector has unique ability to absorb and harness the life energy of a human. One can draw the energy through any skin-to-skin contact, and drawing energy will shortening the life span of the people they touch. They also have the ability to transfer this life energy to others. In the world of Debt Collectors, they are licensed by the government to draw life energy from dying adults and transfer it (legally) to high-potential peoples who can live longer to solve the world's problems. Of course, there is HUGE black market for this skill--and lots of rogue debt collectors exist on illegal life energy collections....

WRAITH Review:
Alexa Sterling is heiress to Sterling Cybernetics--and she's not happy. Mostly because her father was murdered, presumably by debt collectors, only three weeks ago. What Alexa's anti-debt collection crusader father didn't know? That Alex herself is a debt collector.

Yeah. Alexa has an alter ego as Wraith. She discovered her Debt Collector ability inadvertently, it seems, and it hurt someone close to her. Believing that Debt Collectors killed her father, she is averse to dealing with them. She does have a physical need to transfer life energy--as doing so is a bit of a high and not doing so leads to severe depression.

So, Alexa/Wraith is a bit Robin Hood. She takes energy from people she knows to have gotten life energy pulses illegally, and donates them to sick individuals--giving them the strength to survive their diseases. It's an admirable use of a deleterious skill, which make Alexa/Wraith an anti-hero of my favorite sort.

The read is intense, picking up in the throes of a life energy hit. Alexa is creative and utilizes her power in the best way she can, but she's also impetuous, and this leads not only to a bad collection, but also puts her on the radar of a rogue Debt Collector network, Gehanna. She is being recruited against her will--with exposure of her secret life as a Debt Collector in the offing.

So looking forward to the next episode!

[Roberta Vengley · Rating 5 out of 5]

From: Wraith (Debt Collector 10) (Volume 10) (Paperback)
Wraith is an adrenaline-junkie superhero who is robbing the life-energy rich of the ill-gotten life energy and a giving to the poor, trying to keep some stream of life energy flowing back to those from whom it was stolen, in atonement for a life she was responsible for ending. After reading this latest episode, "Wraith" (Debt Collector 10; season 2, episode 1), I feel like I have had an overload of a life-energy hit, feel all jittery and have this NEED to share!

Susan Kaye Quinn has a way of sucking me in from the first paragraph, and usually just the first line, of each of the episodes she writes (actually, for each of the books of hers which I have read for that matter). Wraith was especially endearing to me as she brought that power which Lirium had in Season One to the tables and had grace, beauty and intelligence as well! I love seeing the debt collecting from a woman's point of view and I love how I am happily addicted to this series.

Susan Kaye Quinn creates realistic characters who rapidly develop as does her scenery, which is not overdone yet gives me enough information to visualize what is happening. This author knows how to keep a story line straight with multiple complicated characters without making a long story out of it. Details, details, details! This is what you get, but you only get info on a need-to-know basis done in an eloquent style. Thus I am a slave to my addiction.. I am addicted and NEED more answers. Soon! Please!?

I hope you enjoy this episode and past and future writings for the Debt Collector episodes, and other books of Susan Kaye Quinn's, as much as I do.

A free copy was provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Francesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free eARC from Susan Kaye Quinn in return for an honest review.

I loved this story. I started it the moment I received it in my email, and didn't put it down till I finished it. Granted, it is a short and quick read, but it was exciting and fun to read.

Even though this story is not about any of the characters from the first serial, it is in the same world, and even in the same city. This time the main character who goes by the debt collector name "Wraith", is one of the upper class peple, but she her family doesn't partake in the debt collector trade, and instead fights against it.

She is addicted to debt collecting though. She convinces herself its okay because she is taking from those who have "Stollen" years of life from other people, and gives it to the poor and needy in a mercy hit. She is addicted to both the taking of years and the mercy hits she gives afterwards.

Her character is flawed, but relatable and likable. A reader can relate to the pull of addictions, and the thrill seeking of the main characters.

The story is fun and interesting to read, and ends on a cliff hanger right after an intense action scene leaving the reader quite ready for the next installment of this serial.

I highly suggest this gritty futuristic novel that makes you think a lot as a reader, but is also a fun read.

[Gilwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'avais beaucoup aimé la première saison de cette série qui se déroule dans un univers bien intéressant: Imaginez un futur proche où votre vie est monétisée sur les marchés financiers. Quand vos dettes dépassent la valeur de votre existence et de votre contribution potentielle à la société (trop vieux, trop endetté, malade …), un collecteur passe chez vous jouer la faucheuse en récupérant ce qu'il vous reste d'énergie vitale pour la transférer à quelqu'un à plus haut potentiel (un enfant malade, un scientifique…). J'attendais donc cette saison 2 avec impatience et ce premier épisode ne m'a absolument pas déçue. Il continue sur l'intrigue de la saison précédente (les dérives autour du système des collecteurs), tout en introduisant une nouvelle héroïne: Wraith, fille d'industriel le jour, justicière collectrice la nuit. Une identité secrète à conserver, une héroïne à fleur de peau, des machinations, un rythme soutenu ... bref que du plaisir. Je suis juste un peu frustrée de n'avoir entraperçu que brièvement Lirium (le héros de la saison 1), pour lequel j'avais eu un petit coup de cœur.

[Susan (The Book Bag) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved The Debt Collector Season One. I am so excited that Season Two is being written as we speak! Wraith is episode 10, the first episode of Season Two. And it appears that this series of stories is going to be just as exciting as the first one!

Wraith is a different kind of debt collecter from Lirium, who we met in season one. She has her own agenda and is out to avenge her father's death. Episode 10 is as intriging and action packed as the episodes of the first season and left me wanting more. I love that I can now go back to this exciting world of the debt collectors.

[J.A. Belfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, I was nervous about bagging into a Debt Collector story not told from Lirium's pov, but once, more Susan has created an intriguing MC and left the reader with just enough intrigue to need to read on. Very much looking forward to seeing how much each episode will leave me hanging for the next.

[Pal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very happy the second season is complete. I am sometimes not a patient person, and I knew I would go nuts in between episodes, so I waited until the entire season was done. The second season has started off great and I am loving the character(s) of Wraith. I can't wait to get through the entire season.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been eagerly awaiting the second season of Debt Collector and I was not disappointed with its first installment. Wraith looks to be as interesting a character as Lirium and I can't wait to see where the season takes her!

[Lisa P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Specter is an intense read, from start to finish. We get to know more about Alexa and her "day job". To say that the ending is a cliff hanger is an understatement. Until the next installment, Menace, is available I will be going through "what if" scenarios for what may be revealed next. Five stars.