Thomas J Adkins
The influences of Proxima Vita:
Thomas J Adkins is a writer captivated by the places where humanity and technology collide, crafting stories from the shadows of our possible tomorrows. His debut novel, Fragments of Solace - Proxima Vita, is a direct culmination of a lifetime of immersive influences, each leaving a distinct fingerprint on the world of Proxima and the soul of its protagonist.
The novel’s foundation rests on a framework of profound inspirations:
• From Gen Urobuchi's Psycho-Pass, Adkins draws the chilling blueprint for Proxima’s social control. The concept of a system that preemptively judges, categorises, and pacifies its citizens is reflected in the omnipresent EYES surveillance (Ensure Your Every Safety) and the brutal efficiency of the Con-Cuff program. This device is Proxima's tangible answer to Psycho-Pass's Sybil System: rather than measuring a "Crime Coefficient," it monitors adrenal responses, administering a lethal dose upon detecting fear or agitation deemed excessive. It’s a tool of ultimate behavioural modification and population control, designed not to rehabilitate but to preemptively eliminate the possibility of reoffending by terminating the offender. This creates a society, much like in Psycho-Pass, where citizens are conditioned to police their own emotions, trading authentic humanity for a fragile, state-manufactured peace.
• The epic, layered narrative and profound character bonds of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series taught him the power of a journey where every character, and every world, is connected. This influence is seen in the interwoven fates of Kimoni, Creo-Pow, and Himari, whose paths are not mere coincidence but threads in a larger, unfolding tapestry. Like Roland Deschain’s ka-tet, their individual quests—for truth, for a lost daughter, for survival—converge and resonate, each person's burden affecting the whole. The novel’s structure, moving between disparate lives within the same crumbling city, mirrors the interconnected levels of the Dark Tower, suggesting that redemption or doom for one is intrinsically linked to the fate of all.
• The DNA of Sam Lake's original Max Payne script—a masterpiece of dark humour and hardboiled poetry—runs through the novel’s veins. The rain-slicked, neon-drenched alleys of Proxima exist within a state of perpetual, atmospheric night, while the internal monologues of its characters carry that same blend of weary cynicism and startling, poetic observation. This is most evident in the stark, sorrowful lyricism of documents like the final letter found in ‘on his terms’ and Kimoni’s own bleak verse in ‘chemical comfort’. These passages give voice to the profound beauty and tragedy found within decay, mirroring Max Payne’s signature narrations that transform pain into poignant, memorable verse.
• Most directly, the Netflix series Mindhunter provided the emotional core for the protagonist. In Holden Ford’s clinical detachment—his brilliance in understanding the monsters he interviews, paired with a fundamental inability to connect with the everyday people around him—Adkins found the perfect blueprint for Holden Kimoni. This disconnect is the central trauma and driving force of the man. Kimoni navigates the world as an investigator, analysing micro-expressions and systemic flaws with precision, yet he remains profoundly isolated, struggling to engage with simple human interactions. His journey, like Holden Ford’s, is a precarious walk along the edge of the abyss he studies, where understanding the darkness risks being consumed by it.
Living in the vibrant, vertical chaos of Kowloon, Hong Kong, Adkins is surrounded by a living prototype of the dense, layered cities he writes about. Fragments of Solace - Proxima Vita is his first novel, a love letter to the genres that shaped him and a compelling new entry into the landscape of speculative fiction.
