Mind Games (Paperback)
$7.49 - Save $0.50 (6%) - RRP $7.99 Free shipping worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 48 hours | |Short Description for Mind Games Crane delivers a new slant on paranormal fantasy, for fans of both books witha psychic twist as well as urban fantasy. Original.
Full description- Publisher: Random House Inc
- Published: 23 March 2010
- Format: Paperback 371 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Fantasy
- ISBN 13: 9780553592610 ISBN 10: 0553592610
- Sales rank: 34,904
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Reviews for Mind Games
A Rollercoaster of a Ride
The entire book was one big surprise for me. It was like getting on a roller coast without the preview of the previous riders. Each turn was a thrill, and I never knew what to expect. Ms. Crane threw things at me that made me want to read more just to figure out the big picture. It was excellent! And the plot-what can I say about the plot. It was like an onion with each layer being peeled away piece by piece.
Justine was odd to say the least. :) She definitely wasn't the typical heroine with external issues ruining her life. No, Justine's biggest problem was herself. Her obsession with vein star syndrome made her dysfunctional in so many ways, it amazed me she was able to live life at all. I absolutely loved this atypical heroine. She was refreshing and even a little bit wicked. In this novel, Justine has to dig deep to answer Jordan the Therapist's question, "When is good not good?" It's certainly a thin line. by Reena Jacobs5 stars from me!
The book opens with Justine at dinner with Cubby, her boyfriend. She is obsessing over a man named Ben Foley, whom she's had a dire run in with in the past and who is currently sitting with a couple across the restaurant. She wants to warn this couple how shady and disastrous this man can be to their life, and she works up the nerve to do so. But not before she has a full-blown anxiety attack. Yes, Justine has a flaw: she is a severe, anxiety-ridden hypochondriac! She's a mental mess! In fact, Crane writes her hypochondriasis so well that you start to wonder whether Crane is a hypochondriac herself. Great writing!
After Justine confronts the scumbag and warns the couple, the restaurant's owner walks up up to her and apologizes for the scumbag's retorts. He also offers Justine an odd proposition: "I want to talk about what I can do for you, and what you can do for me. I'm the one who can cure you..." Justine can't easily walk away from this one, so after an odd run in with "the couple," she ends up back at the restaurant for some serious discussion about this so-called cure with the owner, Packard.
Packard offers her a grand solution to her hypochondriasis: push that horrific, debilitating anxiety off on someone else! Yes, Packard can teach her how to invade another's energy dimension and feed her fears into their emotional space. Obviously, Packard isn't talking about dousing anybody off the streets with intense, erratic emotions that aren't theirs. No, Packard has a list of criminals who need to be disillusioned from their world of crime in order to become wholesome once more. Packard has created a gang of people, like Justine, who can make that happen.
Justine is thrown into this crazy world of evil humans and more evil highcaps, or high-capacity humans. These individual's power grow out their personality as a baby and it's a mutation that heightens brain power. Think telekinesis, telepathy, dream invader, memory revisionist, etc. Justine finds herself on a roller coaster ride of events after she agrees to join Packard's gang, and you never really can tell what's going to happen next.
Conclusion: 5/5 Stars! Woohoo! This book is one wild ride and a wildly refreshing concept for the Urban Fantasy genre! Kudos to Crane for creating a heroine who uses her mind instead of her martial arts skills (although I do love that type of heroine too!) The world that Crane has created is quite different from your typical urban fantasy novel. There are no creatures of the night, just high-capacity humans with a little extra pep in their step. And I find it difficult to read the characters in this book - you don't know who the hell to trust! It's a psychological thriller/mystery! by Smash AttackMind Games (4/5)
Mind Games was the second pick for Book Bloggers Anonymous, and I must admit it wasn't love at first sight for me, but it was BBA pick and was willing to give it a chance despite my indifferences. Though we started out on rocky grounds, by the end I was unable to put the book down and was horrified once I'd realised I'd completed the whole thing and would have to wait for the sequel!
At first, the whole idea of a main character that's a hypochondriac didn't sit comfortably with me. As the book progresses you begin to understand her neurosis and her need to be free from it. She knows on some level that there is quite possibly nothing wrong with her, she tries to quell the panic but it manages to seep out before long she's unable to control it.
It's this that attracts her to Packard. He recruits her for his merry band of vigilantes, set on righting wrongs that have gone unpunished. He teaches her how to channel her fear into others, alleviating her of her hypochondria for temporary lapses in time.
Packard is a bit of a character and I'm looking forward to learning more about him. I think our opinion of both him and Henji, has been tarnished by the other in their retelling of their history to Justine. I did feel for Packard though, being trapped inside a building and never being able to make any changes to the space, not even the menu, it would drive me crazy within the space of half an hour. How he's last so long is beyond my means to comprehend.
Silver Widow? I still get the creeps when I think of her; I start brushing off imaginary ants!
Final Thoughts...
Despite calling the â?~twist' in the begging I did enjoy seeing how Carolyn played it out and I thought it was very well done.
The delusionist angle is such a unique slant on the paranormal genre. I especially enjoyed it after reading so many books that seemed to be the same thing over and over again.
I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series. Carolyn has created a nice little niche in her supernaturals here. I'm fascinated by them and cannot wait to learn more about their skills and further talents.
I also couldn't complete this review without mentioning Team Cucumber and Team Kebab, a far cry from Team Jacob and Edward. The former is for Otto while the latter is for Packard. Now me, I'm kinda in the middle of them both. by Beth
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