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I used to work for the Telepath’s Guild before they kicked me out for a drug habit that wasn’t entirely my fault. Now I work for the cops, helping Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino put killers behind bars.
My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it - real scary.
Now the cops don’t trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn’t trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city - and I’m aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I’ve just had a vision of the future: I’m the next to die.
My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it - real scary.
Now the cops don’t trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn’t trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city - and I’m aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I’ve just had a vision of the future: I’m the next to die.
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First published September 4, 2012
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About the author
Alex Hughes
13 books417 followersAlex Hughes was born in Savannah, GA and moved to the south Atlanta area when she was eight years old. Shortly thereafter, her grandfather handed her a copy of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonrider series, and a lifelong obsession with scifi was born.
Alex is a graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop and a Semi-Finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Her short pieces are published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction, Thunder on the Battlefield and White Cat Magazine.
Alex’s work is smart, dark, adventurous, and a little funny, with a emphasis on great characters and interesting worlds. She gets her inspiration from history (she majored with a European history focus in college), family members, and headlines, as well as whatever book she has in her hand. Lately she’s been reading neuroscience books; the brain’s a cool, cool place and the mind even more so.
An avid cook and foodie, Alex loves great food of any stripe – even better if she can figure out how to put it together. Great food is like a great book; it has lots of layers that work together beautifully, and the result is delicious and harmonious. She’s working on figuring out Indian food right now – suggestions welcome!
Alex loves swing dancing, tetris, music of all kinds, and has been known to get into long conversations with total strangers at restaurants about the Food Network, much to the embarrassment of her sister. She can also balance a spoon on her nose while crossing her eyes, and talk for hours about absolutely nothing.
Alex is a graduate of the prestigious Odyssey Writing Workshop and a Semi-Finalist in the 2011 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards. Her short pieces are published in several markets including EveryDay Fiction, Thunder on the Battlefield and White Cat Magazine.
Alex’s work is smart, dark, adventurous, and a little funny, with a emphasis on great characters and interesting worlds. She gets her inspiration from history (she majored with a European history focus in college), family members, and headlines, as well as whatever book she has in her hand. Lately she’s been reading neuroscience books; the brain’s a cool, cool place and the mind even more so.
An avid cook and foodie, Alex loves great food of any stripe – even better if she can figure out how to put it together. Great food is like a great book; it has lots of layers that work together beautifully, and the result is delicious and harmonious. She’s working on figuring out Indian food right now – suggestions welcome!
Alex loves swing dancing, tetris, music of all kinds, and has been known to get into long conversations with total strangers at restaurants about the Food Network, much to the embarrassment of her sister. She can also balance a spoon on her nose while crossing her eyes, and talk for hours about absolutely nothing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 386 reviews
February 26, 2023
Q:
When the Telepaths’ Guild kicked me out, I had all the tests, all the ratings, all the gold stars a man could get. Level Eight, seventy-eight-P, I was a stronger telepath than most of the elite, and could predict the future correctly better than three times out of four...(c) A boy wonder telepath working with the police.
Q:
From the tape they’d given me, I’d pegged Esperanza as a control freak. So I threw the paper down crooked, spilling it everywhere, adding the pencils so they rolled along the table, then slouched back in the chair. I grabbed one of the pencils just before it hit the floor and started tapping it on the table. Tap, tappity-tap. Tappity-tap, tap, tap. Just for fun, I altered the pattern every now and then to keep it grating on her nerves. (c)
Q:
A bit of advice: if you must throw a telepath off your trail, be nice and recite multiplication tables or something. Concentrating on an out-of-tune rock song like the last suspect had just makes me want to hit you. (c)
Q:
We talked about inconsequential things while her happiness started to bleed over into me. I basked in it—stood under it joyfully like a warm sunbeam on a chilly day.
I loved this, her happiness, her openness—I couldn’t name the last time I’d seen it. (c)
Q:
For crying out loud, I could keep a secret. You couldn’t be a telepath without being able to keep a secret—well, not and not end up with a lynch mob after you. (c)
When the Telepaths’ Guild kicked me out, I had all the tests, all the ratings, all the gold stars a man could get. Level Eight, seventy-eight-P, I was a stronger telepath than most of the elite, and could predict the future correctly better than three times out of four...(c) A boy wonder telepath working with the police.
Q:
From the tape they’d given me, I’d pegged Esperanza as a control freak. So I threw the paper down crooked, spilling it everywhere, adding the pencils so they rolled along the table, then slouched back in the chair. I grabbed one of the pencils just before it hit the floor and started tapping it on the table. Tap, tappity-tap. Tappity-tap, tap, tap. Just for fun, I altered the pattern every now and then to keep it grating on her nerves. (c)
Q:
A bit of advice: if you must throw a telepath off your trail, be nice and recite multiplication tables or something. Concentrating on an out-of-tune rock song like the last suspect had just makes me want to hit you. (c)
Q:
We talked about inconsequential things while her happiness started to bleed over into me. I basked in it—stood under it joyfully like a warm sunbeam on a chilly day.
I loved this, her happiness, her openness—I couldn’t name the last time I’d seen it. (c)
Q:
For crying out loud, I could keep a secret. You couldn’t be a telepath without being able to keep a secret—well, not and not end up with a lynch mob after you. (c)
October 27, 2012
Taking a break from the more lady-driven books I've been reading lately, I picked this urban paranormal book up with a male protagonist, solely on the interesting world it seemed to have. And I highly recommend it!
It's a world where tech has collapsed and telekinetics have evolved, and our protagonist is a junkie who works for the police force. Now, our protagonist (who remains unnamed almost the whole book because it's first person) is not the most uplifting character, but his struggle with his addiction makes for a great character arc (especially since I was quitting coffee while reading this, haha!). The mystery is really interesting, as are the characters and the pressures on the main character. If you like gritty urban fantasy you'll enjoy this new series.
The only thing I didn't love was the love interest character, I just never clicked with her as someone I wanted to root for, but it's definitely set up for a great followup and I'll be there to read it!
It's a world where tech has collapsed and telekinetics have evolved, and our protagonist is a junkie who works for the police force. Now, our protagonist (who remains unnamed almost the whole book because it's first person) is not the most uplifting character, but his struggle with his addiction makes for a great character arc (especially since I was quitting coffee while reading this, haha!). The mystery is really interesting, as are the characters and the pressures on the main character. If you like gritty urban fantasy you'll enjoy this new series.
The only thing I didn't love was the love interest character, I just never clicked with her as someone I wanted to root for, but it's definitely set up for a great followup and I'll be there to read it!
October 22, 2022
On reread, I still really appreciate this book - love it when the older ones hold up!
In this almost retro-future, it's not quite a dystopia, but it's post the almost-apocalypse. Lots of nearlys there, but I swear it's better than I just made it sound; Alex Hughes just doesn't deal in black and whites, and has created a plausible world that prefers to dabble in a few genres rather than stick to the tropes. There's good reason for the world being the way it is, and the potentially disparate details actually slot together very nicely.
At the center of it all, of course, is a murder investigation, which is nice and twisty. Our protagonist is a recovering addict, and that side of the story is given a good amount of page time, while still feeling well-handled and authentic without being gratuitous.
A really solid start to a series I never finished - let's see how I go this time.
In this almost retro-future, it's not quite a dystopia, but it's post the almost-apocalypse. Lots of nearlys there, but I swear it's better than I just made it sound; Alex Hughes just doesn't deal in black and whites, and has created a plausible world that prefers to dabble in a few genres rather than stick to the tropes. There's good reason for the world being the way it is, and the potentially disparate details actually slot together very nicely.
At the center of it all, of course, is a murder investigation, which is nice and twisty. Our protagonist is a recovering addict, and that side of the story is given a good amount of page time, while still feeling well-handled and authentic without being gratuitous.
A really solid start to a series I never finished - let's see how I go this time.
September 6, 2012
This is a great book.
I read a lot of science fiction, because I love the new and different worlds and the problems that are often so different from my own. Clean is different because the best part of this book is the main character. Even with all his problems, he’s a guy you want to know and a guy you’d want as a friend if you were in trouble. I love his emotional vulnerability and how he continues to do the right thing, even when the personal cost is very high.
And of course, I still love the hover cars and telepathy and gritty, post-Tech-war world Hughes created
I read a lot of science fiction, because I love the new and different worlds and the problems that are often so different from my own. Clean is different because the best part of this book is the main character. Even with all his problems, he’s a guy you want to know and a guy you’d want as a friend if you were in trouble. I love his emotional vulnerability and how he continues to do the right thing, even when the personal cost is very high.
And of course, I still love the hover cars and telepathy and gritty, post-Tech-war world Hughes created
June 2, 2016
A deeply-flawed, drug addicted telepath acts as a police consultant to help bring down a serial killer. The stakes are raised when a vision puts him in the killer’s path. Can he bring down this murderous monster or will his premonition come sooner than expected?
I received a review copy from the author in exchange for a fair review.
Alex Hughes has crafted a compelling universe for her characters to play in. A self-admitted cop show junkie, Hughes mashed her love of police procedurals together with speculative fiction to create Clean, the first novel in her Mindspace Investigation series. The story picks up sixty years after the devastating Tech Wars, an event fought with computer viruses and self-aware machines. If it wasn’t for the psychic powered force known as The Guild, we’d all probably end up like Neo, floating in a pink sack powering our mechanical masters.
Where Hughes’ talent truly lies is in her world building. She’s clearly put a lot of time and effort into constructing the Atlanta of tomorrow. The scenes in which characters descend into Mindspace – a tool used by telepaths to detect changes and abnormalities in our environment undetectable by us normies – were fascinating and easy to grasp (fishbowl analogy was excellent). Given the events of the Tech Wars, the US government has scaled back its overwhelming reliance on technology. Heavy filtering procedures are in force when sending emails, net access is limited and hard copies are once again essential when it comes to paperwork. It’s not often you read a novel based in the future featuring flying cars but with reduced levels of technology.
Hughes mirrored a lot of the great hard-boiled protagonists by saddling the telepath with an addiction – a narcotic dubbed Satin – he cannot easily overcome. Knowing he’s only one mistake away from finding himself out on his ass, it leads to some intense scenes where he’s teetering on the edge without much to keep him grounded. That being said, the only real constant in his life is Swartz, his addiction sponsor, who is determined to keep him on the straight and narrow. While their interactions are minimal, their importance keeps the story moving forward. I would’ve actually liked a little more between the two.
Aside from his feelings for his partner Isabella Cherabino, he doesn’t have much going for him. In fact, my only real gripe involves some of the back and forth between the two. There’s clearly some chemistry there, but I found the telepath came across as whiny or annoying when he pined for her. I’m not advocating for the roles to be reversed – I’d dislike it either way – I guess I just wanted less romance; something that while not overwhelming, disrupted the flow of the story.
I’m very interested to see where this goes from here. Luckily for me, I’ve got the sequel on deck!
**Sidenote** The telepath does indeed have a name but it’s being withheld in this review as it would spoil one of the strongest moments in the novel.
Check out my interview with Alex.
I received a review copy from the author in exchange for a fair review.
Alex Hughes has crafted a compelling universe for her characters to play in. A self-admitted cop show junkie, Hughes mashed her love of police procedurals together with speculative fiction to create Clean, the first novel in her Mindspace Investigation series. The story picks up sixty years after the devastating Tech Wars, an event fought with computer viruses and self-aware machines. If it wasn’t for the psychic powered force known as The Guild, we’d all probably end up like Neo, floating in a pink sack powering our mechanical masters.
Where Hughes’ talent truly lies is in her world building. She’s clearly put a lot of time and effort into constructing the Atlanta of tomorrow. The scenes in which characters descend into Mindspace – a tool used by telepaths to detect changes and abnormalities in our environment undetectable by us normies – were fascinating and easy to grasp (fishbowl analogy was excellent). Given the events of the Tech Wars, the US government has scaled back its overwhelming reliance on technology. Heavy filtering procedures are in force when sending emails, net access is limited and hard copies are once again essential when it comes to paperwork. It’s not often you read a novel based in the future featuring flying cars but with reduced levels of technology.
Hughes mirrored a lot of the great hard-boiled protagonists by saddling the telepath with an addiction – a narcotic dubbed Satin – he cannot easily overcome. Knowing he’s only one mistake away from finding himself out on his ass, it leads to some intense scenes where he’s teetering on the edge without much to keep him grounded. That being said, the only real constant in his life is Swartz, his addiction sponsor, who is determined to keep him on the straight and narrow. While their interactions are minimal, their importance keeps the story moving forward. I would’ve actually liked a little more between the two.
Aside from his feelings for his partner Isabella Cherabino, he doesn’t have much going for him. In fact, my only real gripe involves some of the back and forth between the two. There’s clearly some chemistry there, but I found the telepath came across as whiny or annoying when he pined for her. I’m not advocating for the roles to be reversed – I’d dislike it either way – I guess I just wanted less romance; something that while not overwhelming, disrupted the flow of the story.
I’m very interested to see where this goes from here. Luckily for me, I’ve got the sequel on deck!
**Sidenote** The telepath does indeed have a name but it’s being withheld in this review as it would spoil one of the strongest moments in the novel.
Check out my interview with Alex.
September 5, 2012
This world is a dystopian world, kind of light on the sci-fi. Years ago, (in recent enough memory for people to still remember) there was a huge Tech War, where super-viruses split people’s minds from the inside, resulting in a huge death toll. Half a century later, no one trusts computer chips. So it may take days to send one email and the now small web is regarded with fear and much respect. Not to say there are no advancements in this world. They have some cars that fly and there are telepaths and telekinetics. Told in our hero’s point of view, he is a Level 8 telepath, which means he is really strong and also has precog abilities. Due to an extremely bad drug habit when he was younger, he was kicked out of the Telepaths’ Guild. He now works as a consultant for the police department in Atlanta, brought in to interview suspects in custody that won’t crack with other investigators. He can get into their mind, make suspects admit guilt and has a high close rate. Due to his drug addiction, he is a regular member of Narcotics Anonymous and meets with his sponsor often. It is a daily struggle for him to stay clean.
His ‘partner’ for lack of a better word (he is only contracted with the police department) is detective Isabella Cherabino. She goes by Cherabino for most of the book so I’ll call her that in the review. She is a die-hard detective, a workaholic and puts up with the hero’s attitude, even though she is often exasperated. Currently she has a string of six dead bodies, with no clues to go off of. Having a gut feeling that they are all related, they pull our hero onto the scene of the most recent murder to see if he can gather any clues. He can go into what’s called Mindspace, kind of blocking everything out around him, and picking up the mental residue of what was recently left behind at whatever place he is at. So as he stands in this alley where a person was murdered, he can tell if the killers had used ‘Ability’ or some sort of telepathic means. From here the investigation goes to some dark places and our hero and Cherabino fight to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.
I really enjoyed this book. Our hero and his relationship with Cherabino reminds me a lot of Harry Dresden and Murphy, as he consults with her on cases. The chemistry between is very similar. There isn’t romance in this book per se, but you know eventually these two have to explore that little flicker of interest they have. We learn a lot about Cherabino and her past too. She is a big character in this book. Our hero has such strong telepathic abilities, he is able to be in Cherabino’s head…a lot. Much to her frustration. He often answers questions before she verbally asks them, and she punches him in the face more than once for his interference. She is a tough cookie and I really enjoyed her role in this book.
Our hero struggles with drugs and I love how it is portrayed in here. He thinks about his drug of choice, Satin (a drug he experimented with the Guild, until he became too addicted and started his downhill slide into a complete drug addiction) all the time. Daily. Probably hourly. He has been clean for six years, except for one time when he fell off the wagon. Because of that one time, he no longer directly receives his paycheck, nor has any personal belonging he can barter for drugs. Not even a bed – just a worthless cot that no one would want. This is how desperate his situation is. He calls his Narcotics Anonymous mentor daily, and we see him interact with him a lot in this book. He takes it very seriously.
He made me come up with a list of three things I was grateful for every week – I had to tell him three brand-new things at our usual weekly meeting, or he’d give me this look, all disappointed. And the feeling I got from his mind was worse, like “ungrateful” was an insult of the worst order. So, I studied. I thought. And for six years running now – not counting the two weeks I’d missed the last time off the wagon – every week I had three new things. This week I was having trouble.
He really looks to his mentor for approval. Almost childlike (and there really isn’t anything else childlike about our hero. He is definitely all man).
I really think his despair at certain points of this book is done really well. It brings a certain humility to our hero. He is this all so powerful telepath, who has hit rock bottom and is learning to rebuild his life. He is learning how to apologize, and how to work through his depression and the pressure of his abilities, to lead a better life. Reading it you know he is a good guy and you root for him to overcome his addiction.
This book moves at a steady pace. I will say the beginning is a little heavy with the world building, and it took me awhile to get a grasp of what exactly our hero is capable of and what the world consisted of. But once we got going, I didn’t want to stop reading. At the end of the book, I reflect back and see our hero as someone who has much to give – both professionally to the police with his abilities, and emotionally one day to Cherabino (at least I can hope). We have started with him on a journey of self-discovery that I found really fun. Looking forward to book two next spring.
Rating: B.
His ‘partner’ for lack of a better word (he is only contracted with the police department) is detective Isabella Cherabino. She goes by Cherabino for most of the book so I’ll call her that in the review. She is a die-hard detective, a workaholic and puts up with the hero’s attitude, even though she is often exasperated. Currently she has a string of six dead bodies, with no clues to go off of. Having a gut feeling that they are all related, they pull our hero onto the scene of the most recent murder to see if he can gather any clues. He can go into what’s called Mindspace, kind of blocking everything out around him, and picking up the mental residue of what was recently left behind at whatever place he is at. So as he stands in this alley where a person was murdered, he can tell if the killers had used ‘Ability’ or some sort of telepathic means. From here the investigation goes to some dark places and our hero and Cherabino fight to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.
I really enjoyed this book. Our hero and his relationship with Cherabino reminds me a lot of Harry Dresden and Murphy, as he consults with her on cases. The chemistry between is very similar. There isn’t romance in this book per se, but you know eventually these two have to explore that little flicker of interest they have. We learn a lot about Cherabino and her past too. She is a big character in this book. Our hero has such strong telepathic abilities, he is able to be in Cherabino’s head…a lot. Much to her frustration. He often answers questions before she verbally asks them, and she punches him in the face more than once for his interference. She is a tough cookie and I really enjoyed her role in this book.
Our hero struggles with drugs and I love how it is portrayed in here. He thinks about his drug of choice, Satin (a drug he experimented with the Guild, until he became too addicted and started his downhill slide into a complete drug addiction) all the time. Daily. Probably hourly. He has been clean for six years, except for one time when he fell off the wagon. Because of that one time, he no longer directly receives his paycheck, nor has any personal belonging he can barter for drugs. Not even a bed – just a worthless cot that no one would want. This is how desperate his situation is. He calls his Narcotics Anonymous mentor daily, and we see him interact with him a lot in this book. He takes it very seriously.
He made me come up with a list of three things I was grateful for every week – I had to tell him three brand-new things at our usual weekly meeting, or he’d give me this look, all disappointed. And the feeling I got from his mind was worse, like “ungrateful” was an insult of the worst order. So, I studied. I thought. And for six years running now – not counting the two weeks I’d missed the last time off the wagon – every week I had three new things. This week I was having trouble.
He really looks to his mentor for approval. Almost childlike (and there really isn’t anything else childlike about our hero. He is definitely all man).
I really think his despair at certain points of this book is done really well. It brings a certain humility to our hero. He is this all so powerful telepath, who has hit rock bottom and is learning to rebuild his life. He is learning how to apologize, and how to work through his depression and the pressure of his abilities, to lead a better life. Reading it you know he is a good guy and you root for him to overcome his addiction.
This book moves at a steady pace. I will say the beginning is a little heavy with the world building, and it took me awhile to get a grasp of what exactly our hero is capable of and what the world consisted of. But once we got going, I didn’t want to stop reading. At the end of the book, I reflect back and see our hero as someone who has much to give – both professionally to the police with his abilities, and emotionally one day to Cherabino (at least I can hope). We have started with him on a journey of self-discovery that I found really fun. Looking forward to book two next spring.
Rating: B.
July 11, 2014
I couldn't finish this book. Approximately 80-90 pages into what should have stayed on someone's desk as a rough outline of a good idea, I wanted to scream at my monitor. I skipped to the end of the book and read the last 3 chapters instead.
Here we have all the elements for a good sci-fi/urban fantasy/destroyed-future concept. Telepaths who answer to a different government known as The Guild, the recovering modern (but future) America after Technology Wars that were based on data corruption and loss of information, and a main character who himself is a recovering addict and full of self-loathing. Written in first person, it fancies itself a futuristic crime-noir thriller but instead trips all over literary cliches, confusing sentence structure decisions, and far too many emo sentence fragments.
Like I said before - the good ideas are here but they come and go like power in a windstorm. The descriptions of the mental space, the Mindspace, are quite interesting. It seemed that the author was particularly proud of her imagining of that concept and it shows because it is described over and over in growing complexity. The other beacon through the darkness is the building of an addict. Adam, the main character in whose head we rest for the entirety of the book,is recovering from a life lost from being an elite Telepath in service to The Guild due to his crippling addiction to a drug known as Satin. The torment Adam is going through isn't ending anytime soon, and really shows how addiction is not something that can be flipped on and off like a switch.
However this is a complete hodgepodge of ideas. It's like Hughes didn't know which concept she wanted to make the focus of this story - the addiction, the serial killing, or the partnership between Adam and the woman he infuriatingly refers to only by last name even when they've clearly grown a fondness for each other? The most genuine parts for sure are Adam and the descriptions of MindSpace. Everything involving the police station and discussions about the shadow-ops of The Guild made me want to barf. There's an informant named Joey The Fish who speaks with the voice of an Italian mobster you might find in Batman Saturday morning cartoons. There's the NA sponsor who sips coffee, smokes cigarettes, and ends every other sentence with "kid." I expected Morgan Freeman to show up and pat Adam on the shoulder and say "It'll be alright, son." There's the ridiculously and overly tough female cops who not only are the equivalent to their male counterparts, but are assholes about it to boot. Someone please explain to Hughes that you are capable of being a police officer as a woman and not go around punching your consultants in the face or emphasizing the fact that you don't cry?
The final breaking point for me was when Adam breaks down and realizes that the killings that have happened so far need to be reported to The Guild based on the nature of the attacks. In this gigantic organization manned by so many people that run all these super-secret things in America, who does he land up being assigned to as his attache? His ex-fiance. No. Just...no. Since the crime thriller portion of this story was a spark that never seemed to light no matter how many times the author struck the match (and I doubted the story was going to end in a threesome between Adam, his partner, and his ex fiance), I decided I'd had enough cliche set-ups for one book and had to tap out.
If you've read this whole review to this point, good job. You may have noticed at the beginning that I said I skipped to the end of a 250+ book after approximately the 80-90page mark? I was able to almost completely splice together what happened despite how much I skipped. I'm sure I skipped lots of other things along the way, but I guess that's just my loss. I couldn't stand another 100+ pages of needlessly chopped up sentences, fragments of thoughts that were supposed to count as mature conversation, and mental self loathing from a character who never seems to be positive about anything. It becomes such a huge downer that after awhile you'd like to get into the head of someone else even just to get a break. This was not a dark character, this was the literary sketch of one. This wasn't realistic crime drama (even in a futuristic setting), this was fan fiction scribbled down during any number of cop shows. These weren't even fully formed sci-fi ideas, just well spliced bullet points pulled from what-if scenarios that reek of Wikipedia research and an afternoon or two spent at the library after getting a wild notion to "see how brains work."
Yes, this is a series. Yes, this is the first book. However, I can't see myself going back. I have way too many other highly rated things on my TBR list calling for my time.
Here we have all the elements for a good sci-fi/urban fantasy/destroyed-future concept. Telepaths who answer to a different government known as The Guild, the recovering modern (but future) America after Technology Wars that were based on data corruption and loss of information, and a main character who himself is a recovering addict and full of self-loathing. Written in first person, it fancies itself a futuristic crime-noir thriller but instead trips all over literary cliches, confusing sentence structure decisions, and far too many emo sentence fragments.
Like I said before - the good ideas are here but they come and go like power in a windstorm. The descriptions of the mental space, the Mindspace, are quite interesting. It seemed that the author was particularly proud of her imagining of that concept and it shows because it is described over and over in growing complexity. The other beacon through the darkness is the building of an addict. Adam, the main character in whose head we rest for the entirety of the book,is recovering from a life lost from being an elite Telepath in service to The Guild due to his crippling addiction to a drug known as Satin. The torment Adam is going through isn't ending anytime soon, and really shows how addiction is not something that can be flipped on and off like a switch.
However this is a complete hodgepodge of ideas. It's like Hughes didn't know which concept she wanted to make the focus of this story - the addiction, the serial killing, or the partnership between Adam and the woman he infuriatingly refers to only by last name even when they've clearly grown a fondness for each other? The most genuine parts for sure are Adam and the descriptions of MindSpace. Everything involving the police station and discussions about the shadow-ops of The Guild made me want to barf. There's an informant named Joey The Fish who speaks with the voice of an Italian mobster you might find in Batman Saturday morning cartoons. There's the NA sponsor who sips coffee, smokes cigarettes, and ends every other sentence with "kid." I expected Morgan Freeman to show up and pat Adam on the shoulder and say "It'll be alright, son." There's the ridiculously and overly tough female cops who not only are the equivalent to their male counterparts, but are assholes about it to boot. Someone please explain to Hughes that you are capable of being a police officer as a woman and not go around punching your consultants in the face or emphasizing the fact that you don't cry?
The final breaking point for me was when Adam breaks down and realizes that the killings that have happened so far need to be reported to The Guild based on the nature of the attacks. In this gigantic organization manned by so many people that run all these super-secret things in America, who does he land up being assigned to as his attache? His ex-fiance. No. Just...no. Since the crime thriller portion of this story was a spark that never seemed to light no matter how many times the author struck the match (and I doubted the story was going to end in a threesome between Adam, his partner, and his ex fiance), I decided I'd had enough cliche set-ups for one book and had to tap out.
If you've read this whole review to this point, good job. You may have noticed at the beginning that I said I skipped to the end of a 250+ book after approximately the 80-90page mark? I was able to almost completely splice together what happened despite how much I skipped. I'm sure I skipped lots of other things along the way, but I guess that's just my loss. I couldn't stand another 100+ pages of needlessly chopped up sentences, fragments of thoughts that were supposed to count as mature conversation, and mental self loathing from a character who never seems to be positive about anything. It becomes such a huge downer that after awhile you'd like to get into the head of someone else even just to get a break. This was not a dark character, this was the literary sketch of one. This wasn't realistic crime drama (even in a futuristic setting), this was fan fiction scribbled down during any number of cop shows. These weren't even fully formed sci-fi ideas, just well spliced bullet points pulled from what-if scenarios that reek of Wikipedia research and an afternoon or two spent at the library after getting a wild notion to "see how brains work."
Yes, this is a series. Yes, this is the first book. However, I can't see myself going back. I have way too many other highly rated things on my TBR list calling for my time.
July 21, 2020
3.5 Ohh, fun!
I've been putting off this series for a while, but it's definitely worth reading. It has potential, and that doesn't happen too often.
Interesting MC, he's the typical detective with personal issues (this time it's drugs and paranormal stuff), who is trying to do his best.
I liked it. It's fun and fast-paced and it's worth reading.
I've been putting off this series for a while, but it's definitely worth reading. It has potential, and that doesn't happen too often.
Interesting MC, he's the typical detective with personal issues (this time it's drugs and paranormal stuff), who is trying to do his best.
I liked it. It's fun and fast-paced and it's worth reading.
March 17, 2016
I thought this was an enjoyable book to read. At times the characters frustrated me, or I thought the book moved too fast or too slow at some parts but overall it was an enjoyable mystery type novel. The main character whose name you don't know until the end of the book was an interesting character and I thought he had a lot of dimension. He could be frustrating but I think if that adds to the character than its okay. He could be a bit too pessimistic for my taste at times but for him and his life I could understand it. I didn't love the love interest in this book. I thought she was an interesting character and I liked her personality enough but I don't think she went through much character development. I liked the mystery in this book. I thought it was well thought out and interesting. At times there was a lot going on and I got a little lost but only very rarely. I also like the main characters struggle with his drug addiction. I think the author did a good job telling that side of the story alongside the bigger mystery. This definitely wasn't my most favorite book in the whole world but it was very enjoyable and still a very fun book overall.
September 6, 2012
I really enjoyed Clean. I provided a blurb for the jacket - here is the full review the blurb came from:
Hughes's world is an interesting mix of old and new, a world of flying cars and noir-ish, steamy streets that are a fun blend of Chinatown and Blade Runner. The cat-and-mouse murder investigation between those who can both kill and hunt with the power of the mind is fascinating, and while Hugh knows how to unfold a mystery to be sure she never loses sight of her characters' humanity. She understands the nature of addiction, and has a keen understanding of the human condition with all of its desires, fears, and frailties.
Her take on telepaths and especially ‘mindspace’ are very interesting (her Guild of telepaths made me think of Bene Gesserit a couple centuries before they went totally mystical) and I thought she did a really good job with the protagonist and not just his abilities but his weaknesses, his hopes, and the quiet way in which he pined for his partner – he never waxed on about her, he just knows every little detail about her because he cares, and he pays attention, and that says it all. Wrap that in a telepathic murder mystery? Good stuff. I look forward to jumping back into mindspace again.
Hughes's world is an interesting mix of old and new, a world of flying cars and noir-ish, steamy streets that are a fun blend of Chinatown and Blade Runner. The cat-and-mouse murder investigation between those who can both kill and hunt with the power of the mind is fascinating, and while Hugh knows how to unfold a mystery to be sure she never loses sight of her characters' humanity. She understands the nature of addiction, and has a keen understanding of the human condition with all of its desires, fears, and frailties.
Her take on telepaths and especially ‘mindspace’ are very interesting (her Guild of telepaths made me think of Bene Gesserit a couple centuries before they went totally mystical) and I thought she did a really good job with the protagonist and not just his abilities but his weaknesses, his hopes, and the quiet way in which he pined for his partner – he never waxed on about her, he just knows every little detail about her because he cares, and he pays attention, and that says it all. Wrap that in a telepathic murder mystery? Good stuff. I look forward to jumping back into mindspace again.
March 5, 2019
I had Clean by Alex Hughes on my shelf for ages, but I'm glad I finally decided to pick it up. The premise is really cool with it's unique world combo of tech and telepathy. The world building is easily my favorite element, alongside the noir-esque tone. Personally, I think I would have liked to have seen more of the world before and during the wars set sixty years before our main story. I'm looking forward to continuing this series with Sharp.
February 18, 2016
Mindscape Investigations: 1
This story is told in first-person, which isn't weird except that the reader doesn't find out the main character's name until the end of the book! Seemed like a cheap ploy to have a cutesy end scene. None of the people he interacts with ever calls him by name, not even his off and on partner of six years, with whom he's fallen stupidly in love with. The relationships in this story don't make sense. There is a sense that the main character is close to Isabella, but she is alternatively attracted, repulsed, and violent with him, while he pathetically tries to stay on her good side after mass amounts of abuse. Main character is an over-emotional idiot who keeps making bad decisions. This is not a happy book, it is angst-ridden, depressing, and there's no humor to lighten any of it. I couldn't sympathize with the main character at all, even though he was struggling. There is not even a moment of triumph at the end, bad guys vanquished, no, only more angsting, this time with guilt. Good writing technically, but this book has no heart. I have no interest in continuing this series.
This story is told in first-person, which isn't weird except that the reader doesn't find out the main character's name until the end of the book! Seemed like a cheap ploy to have a cutesy end scene. None of the people he interacts with ever calls him by name, not even his off and on partner of six years, with whom he's fallen stupidly in love with. The relationships in this story don't make sense. There is a sense that the main character is close to Isabella, but she is alternatively attracted, repulsed, and violent with him, while he pathetically tries to stay on her good side after mass amounts of abuse. Main character is an over-emotional idiot who keeps making bad decisions. This is not a happy book, it is angst-ridden, depressing, and there's no humor to lighten any of it. I couldn't sympathize with the main character at all, even though he was struggling. There is not even a moment of triumph at the end, bad guys vanquished, no, only more angsting, this time with guilt. Good writing technically, but this book has no heart. I have no interest in continuing this series.
April 22, 2013
I've held this review for over a week now, because I've been trying to explain to myself why it's a five-star book to me. All I've got is this: give me a character who grits their teeth and pushes on through internal and external devastation, back them up with decent world-building and secondary characters and plot, and I am yours, authors. Write more books for me, please.
Our hero - I can't remember or even easily find his name, a hazard of the first-person narrative - regularly attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He used to be middle class, a professor at a private college; now he's a county police department consultant.
The overall setting is The Future; this is, in essence, an SF police procedural. Our hero isn't actually a cop, though - he's a former professional telepath college professor in disgrace (having turned into a junkie). So actually it's an SF police procedural with the whole panoply of traditional psi abilities.
The geographic location was a bit of a problem for me, since I hear "DeKalb County" and think Chicago - and the fact that there's a DeKalb County in four other states doesn't help. Adding "Decatur" doesn't really help, either, because there are probably dozens of places called Decatur in the US (one of which is in Illinois). So I kept wondering why it was so hot in Chicago ... Eventually I managed to nail down that we're talking about Metro Atlanta. (But not really Atlanta, because Decatur is a separate city.) This is by way of saying that the author's really very good efforts to identify the place were hampered, for me, by the fact that I know too much geography and too little about Georgia.
At any rate, in this future U.S., advanced computer technology is highly restricted and regarded with paranoia because it wasn't very long ago that millions of people died in the Tech Wars because of their dependence on (and physical connection with) computer-enhanced gadgets that were under "supervirus" attack. Which I think is a clever way of creating an SF setting in which technology doesn't solve all the problems almost instantly. And these issues with tech are woven into the story with aplomb.
There is a Telepaths' Guild - now there's an old psi SF trope. This one was apparently instrumental in holding advanced-region civilization together during and after the Tech Wars and has an uneasy relationship with the regular government, not to mention regular civilians. It's a bastion of wealth and privilege if you're (a useful) part of it. Interesting creative bit: Telepaths are an essential part of getting artificial glands and organs to work with the bodies they're put into. Psi abilities are integral to the plot in lots of ways,too; they're not just interesting SFnal window dressing.
The story revolves around a series of peculiar murders, which (this being a novel) winds up involving the Guild, illegal tech, and our hero's personal history. I think it should've been a little less closely tied to our hero's personal history - it ties together a little *too* closely for my taste - but that's not a fatal flaw, in my opinion. The investigation plot is well done, with a few believable mistakes and misunderstandings keeping things from being resolved too soon.
But for me, it's the main character and his fraught interactions with, well, everybody (including himself) that hold the book together. Some people (a lot of people) are rather hostile to telepaths; his assigned partner has troubles of her own and tolerates him as long as he's getting the job done; he has an ex-wife; and he has to work hard to stay clean.
I did put the book down for a while, because I hate when visions of the future are unalterable. But I had to know what happened, and it turned out that the future *did* change somewhat because our hero knew about it and tried to get people to try to avoid it.
Gritty (I balk at excess grit)? Probably a bit melodramatic (especially toward the end)? Yup. But what can I say, "the only way out is through" is my favorite theme in literature, and the rest of the book supports it just fine, thanks.
Our hero - I can't remember or even easily find his name, a hazard of the first-person narrative - regularly attends Narcotics Anonymous meetings. He used to be middle class, a professor at a private college; now he's a county police department consultant.
The overall setting is The Future; this is, in essence, an SF police procedural. Our hero isn't actually a cop, though - he's a former professional telepath college professor in disgrace (having turned into a junkie). So actually it's an SF police procedural with the whole panoply of traditional psi abilities.
The geographic location was a bit of a problem for me, since I hear "DeKalb County" and think Chicago - and the fact that there's a DeKalb County in four other states doesn't help. Adding "Decatur" doesn't really help, either, because there are probably dozens of places called Decatur in the US (one of which is in Illinois). So I kept wondering why it was so hot in Chicago ... Eventually I managed to nail down that we're talking about Metro Atlanta. (But not really Atlanta, because Decatur is a separate city.) This is by way of saying that the author's really very good efforts to identify the place were hampered, for me, by the fact that I know too much geography and too little about Georgia.
At any rate, in this future U.S., advanced computer technology is highly restricted and regarded with paranoia because it wasn't very long ago that millions of people died in the Tech Wars because of their dependence on (and physical connection with) computer-enhanced gadgets that were under "supervirus" attack. Which I think is a clever way of creating an SF setting in which technology doesn't solve all the problems almost instantly. And these issues with tech are woven into the story with aplomb.
There is a Telepaths' Guild - now there's an old psi SF trope. This one was apparently instrumental in holding advanced-region civilization together during and after the Tech Wars and has an uneasy relationship with the regular government, not to mention regular civilians. It's a bastion of wealth and privilege if you're (a useful) part of it. Interesting creative bit: Telepaths are an essential part of getting artificial glands and organs to work with the bodies they're put into. Psi abilities are integral to the plot in lots of ways,too; they're not just interesting SFnal window dressing.
The story revolves around a series of peculiar murders, which (this being a novel) winds up involving the Guild, illegal tech, and our hero's personal history. I think it should've been a little less closely tied to our hero's personal history - it ties together a little *too* closely for my taste - but that's not a fatal flaw, in my opinion. The investigation plot is well done, with a few believable mistakes and misunderstandings keeping things from being resolved too soon.
But for me, it's the main character and his fraught interactions with, well, everybody (including himself) that hold the book together. Some people (a lot of people) are rather hostile to telepaths; his assigned partner has troubles of her own and tolerates him as long as he's getting the job done; he has an ex-wife; and he has to work hard to stay clean.
I did put the book down for a while, because I hate when visions of the future are unalterable. But I had to know what happened, and it turned out that the future *did* change somewhat because our hero knew about it and tried to get people to try to avoid it.
Gritty (I balk at excess grit)? Probably a bit melodramatic (especially toward the end)? Yup. But what can I say, "the only way out is through" is my favorite theme in literature, and the rest of the book supports it just fine, thanks.
August 31, 2012
So, I got this book as part of the First Reads program and was anxious to give it a try. I love urban fantasy and the story sounded really fun.
The writing is solid and the book contains some interesting and unique worldbuilding. The whole system of telepaths is well thought out and works well within the story.
I had two big issues with this book. First off was that the first half felt very reminiscent to 'Stormfront' by Jim Butcher.
But the biggest problem I had by far were the characters. Cherabino, the love interest, was harsh, which can work with some characters, but since the main character was passive, it just felt like she was being rude and mean over minute reasons. The main character was the reason this book was difficult to get through. He switches back and forth a lot complaining about the weather (too hot, too cold), his headaches, his non-relationship with Cherabino and how he's craving drugs as an ex-junkie. Most of his problems through the book are self made and while I can appreciate a flawed character, he talked really big but didn't actually do a whole lot.
All in all, not a bad read, but I was hoping for more out of the characters.
The writing is solid and the book contains some interesting and unique worldbuilding. The whole system of telepaths is well thought out and works well within the story.
I had two big issues with this book. First off was that the first half felt very reminiscent to 'Stormfront' by Jim Butcher.
But the biggest problem I had by far were the characters. Cherabino, the love interest, was harsh, which can work with some characters, but since the main character was passive, it just felt like she was being rude and mean over minute reasons. The main character was the reason this book was difficult to get through. He switches back and forth a lot complaining about the weather (too hot, too cold), his headaches, his non-relationship with Cherabino and how he's craving drugs as an ex-junkie. Most of his problems through the book are self made and while I can appreciate a flawed character, he talked really big but didn't actually do a whole lot.
All in all, not a bad read, but I was hoping for more out of the characters.
August 10, 2016
Urban sci-fi crime noir? Whatever it is, it hits all the high points I like in a good book. Excellent character development, a nice pace, well developed plot, great suspense and plenty of action. I'm in!
Style wise, I'd recommend this to Dresden and/or October Daye fans. A really great debut.
Style wise, I'd recommend this to Dresden and/or October Daye fans. A really great debut.
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June 12, 2017
Audio Book - 1 star - Did Not Finish
I have never really read any fantasy or science fiction books, nor have I been enticed to. When I started Hunger Games Book 1, I did not know it was Young Adult and/or Fantasy, but I did finish the three books in the series and found them enjoyable, I think. I don't know what enticed me to use my precious library's resources to download this book but I did and I really persevered for three and a half hours of a nine hour book, but it's now on the DNF shelf.
Written in the first person, the main character and, can I call her his "love interest", although nothing sparky seemed to emanate from either of them, wander around following the author's script, which wanders around trying to stitch together a story line, which ultimately lead me to say "enough". Actually, I didn't give up on this book because of it being Fantasy or Sci-fi as I was sort of intrigued by the notion of someone being a "Telepath". I think the opportunities for an interesting story were there - they needed to be grasped by an author who could write without wandering and not leaving me wondering.
Edited to add: I have just noticed that I downloaded all four books in the series, so I am going to follow the comments of some reviewers and try Book 2, "Sharp".
I have never really read any fantasy or science fiction books, nor have I been enticed to. When I started Hunger Games Book 1, I did not know it was Young Adult and/or Fantasy, but I did finish the three books in the series and found them enjoyable, I think. I don't know what enticed me to use my precious library's resources to download this book but I did and I really persevered for three and a half hours of a nine hour book, but it's now on the DNF shelf.
Written in the first person, the main character and, can I call her his "love interest", although nothing sparky seemed to emanate from either of them, wander around following the author's script, which wanders around trying to stitch together a story line, which ultimately lead me to say "enough". Actually, I didn't give up on this book because of it being Fantasy or Sci-fi as I was sort of intrigued by the notion of someone being a "Telepath". I think the opportunities for an interesting story were there - they needed to be grasped by an author who could write without wandering and not leaving me wondering.
Edited to add: I have just noticed that I downloaded all four books in the series, so I am going to follow the comments of some reviewers and try Book 2, "Sharp".
March 30, 2017
This pleasantly surprised me. It's not high literature, but it hit the spot for me, since I'm out of Harry Dresden, Alex Verus, and In Death books to read. This was an entertaining sci-fi police procedural in a world in which technology connectivity and AI have intentionally been limited, and an organization like "Babylon 5"'s Psi Corps exists to educate and regulate those with psychic abilities. I'm hoping that, like the series I mentioned, that the series gets deeper, and that I fall in love with the characters as they have more books to develop.
July 7, 2018
I liked it well enough, so three stars. And for once the publisher's blurb, repeated above (at the top of this book's Goodreads page), gives you a pretty good idea of the story. So I'll assume you've read the blurb and just add some comments to it.
The first-person narrator takes you deep inside his own mind as he perceives things from one moment to the next, in the fashion of traditional hard-boiled detective stories and police procedurals, and being a telepath he takes you partly inside the minds of other characters; you get pretty sparing views of his partner Detective Cherabino, though, because she can tell when he's snooping in her mind and he has a dicey relationship with her. A link is forming between them whether they want it or not (she definitely doesn't, and he very definitely doesn't want her to hate him), and it's the substance of some pretty intense scenes.
Also intense are his cravings for his drug, which nearly everything seems to trigger; he's already gone off the wagon, and both the police chief and the head of the consultant telepathic experts (or "teeps") have gone out on a limb to take him back in, under stiff probationary conditions, after he got clean again. The drug, called Satin, was developed experimentally within the Telepaths' Guild to enhance telepaths' abilities but was banned when it proved addictive--too late for our main character, who's totally hooked on it.
Vague references suggest that the story takes place three centuries from now, after high tech--especially the internet--was used for evil purposes and the Guild put an end to it, so now for security the police mainly use paperwork and very small, tightly controlled local computer networks. Mechanical technology is mildly futuristic, though, with aircars and so on. The police officers in this story are very well described and sound authentic by present-day standards; but the Tech Wars and the Guild are referred to only obliquely, with hints of Guild training in telekinesis, teleportation, and black ops--telepathic infliction of pain and death. The Guild maintains secrecy and a kind of political autonomy that the police cannot penetrate.
All the interactions in the story are marked by an interplay of conflict and cooperation that sounds very realistic and at the same time makes many scenes tough to read...but worth it.
The first-person narrator takes you deep inside his own mind as he perceives things from one moment to the next, in the fashion of traditional hard-boiled detective stories and police procedurals, and being a telepath he takes you partly inside the minds of other characters; you get pretty sparing views of his partner Detective Cherabino, though, because she can tell when he's snooping in her mind and he has a dicey relationship with her. A link is forming between them whether they want it or not (she definitely doesn't, and he very definitely doesn't want her to hate him), and it's the substance of some pretty intense scenes.
Also intense are his cravings for his drug, which nearly everything seems to trigger; he's already gone off the wagon, and both the police chief and the head of the consultant telepathic experts (or "teeps") have gone out on a limb to take him back in, under stiff probationary conditions, after he got clean again. The drug, called Satin, was developed experimentally within the Telepaths' Guild to enhance telepaths' abilities but was banned when it proved addictive--too late for our main character, who's totally hooked on it.
Vague references suggest that the story takes place three centuries from now, after high tech--especially the internet--was used for evil purposes and the Guild put an end to it, so now for security the police mainly use paperwork and very small, tightly controlled local computer networks. Mechanical technology is mildly futuristic, though, with aircars and so on. The police officers in this story are very well described and sound authentic by present-day standards; but the Tech Wars and the Guild are referred to only obliquely, with hints of Guild training in telekinesis, teleportation, and black ops--telepathic infliction of pain and death. The Guild maintains secrecy and a kind of political autonomy that the police cannot penetrate.
All the interactions in the story are marked by an interplay of conflict and cooperation that sounds very realistic and at the same time makes many scenes tough to read...but worth it.
September 7, 2012
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy
CLEAN is a cool book. That’s all there is to it. It has the kind of worldbuilding you can sink your teeth into, a damaged anti-hero who falls for an even more damaged anti-heroine, and an investigation to catch a teleporting serial killer.
The procedural aspects of CLEAN are sharp and interesting even for a reader who doesn’t normally go for procedurals. The real hook, however, was the worldbuilding. A small percentage of the population has an Ability. They can be telepaths, telekinetics, or teleportors. Some have a small Ability, others–like our protagonist–have a frightening amount of power. That is until he got hooked on an experimental drug that got him kicked out of the Telepath’s Guild, living in a closet sized apartment devoid of anything he might hock for drug money, and stuck working as an interrogator for the police.
He’s a wonderfully messed up character. Some of the best passages in CLEAN are where he’s wrestling with himself about whether or not to get high. He’ll plot out exactly how he’ll do it, even knowing that it’ll destroy his life and irrevocably sever the tenuous relationships he’s been building at the department with his boss and also Detective Cherabino. The protagonist (whose name we don’t learn until the end of the book) is very much a Harry Dresden type character, and Cherabino is a more angry version of Murphy. There is a romance that they dance around, but there are a lot of pretty significant issues keeping them apart like his drug problem and inability to stay out of her head. But I liked these two messed up characters a lot. I’ll be rooting for them in the sequel.
If you like The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, this series looks to be tailor made for Harry and Murphy fans. Since I can’t read Alex Hughes’s mind, I’ll have to wait for the next book in the Mindspace Investigations series which is titled SHARP and will be published on April 2, 2013.
Sexual Content:
Kissing. Mild sensuality. References to rape
CLEAN is a cool book. That’s all there is to it. It has the kind of worldbuilding you can sink your teeth into, a damaged anti-hero who falls for an even more damaged anti-heroine, and an investigation to catch a teleporting serial killer.
The procedural aspects of CLEAN are sharp and interesting even for a reader who doesn’t normally go for procedurals. The real hook, however, was the worldbuilding. A small percentage of the population has an Ability. They can be telepaths, telekinetics, or teleportors. Some have a small Ability, others–like our protagonist–have a frightening amount of power. That is until he got hooked on an experimental drug that got him kicked out of the Telepath’s Guild, living in a closet sized apartment devoid of anything he might hock for drug money, and stuck working as an interrogator for the police.
He’s a wonderfully messed up character. Some of the best passages in CLEAN are where he’s wrestling with himself about whether or not to get high. He’ll plot out exactly how he’ll do it, even knowing that it’ll destroy his life and irrevocably sever the tenuous relationships he’s been building at the department with his boss and also Detective Cherabino. The protagonist (whose name we don’t learn until the end of the book) is very much a Harry Dresden type character, and Cherabino is a more angry version of Murphy. There is a romance that they dance around, but there are a lot of pretty significant issues keeping them apart like his drug problem and inability to stay out of her head. But I liked these two messed up characters a lot. I’ll be rooting for them in the sequel.
If you like The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, this series looks to be tailor made for Harry and Murphy fans. Since I can’t read Alex Hughes’s mind, I’ll have to wait for the next book in the Mindspace Investigations series which is titled SHARP and will be published on April 2, 2013.
Sexual Content:
Kissing. Mild sensuality. References to rape
Read
June 10, 2017The world setting is very good -- a bit like NEUROMANCER -- the dark and gritty urban setting that I'm partial to. The characters, however.... The protagonist is more than a little bit of a Gary Stu. He's whiny but a 8 star or something that makes him better than even the "elites" in their system and he can read the minds of 90 out of a 100 people at a time (I kid you not the book says this) (how is he not crazy yet) (oh wait that maybe explains some of this) and the BEST non-official detective there and everyone hates him and is mean to him etc etc (how many tropes have I hit so far?). Officer Cherabino is potentially interesting as a female character except she shows more tendencies of making like Debra Morgan (from DARKLY DREAMING DEXTER the book, not the TV series -- I've never seen the series so I don't know how she is there), meaning the author hints she is a Strong Female but in reality she is cranky and incompetent due to being Clueless. The protagonist spends every spare moment either craving drugs or whining about how hard his life is. A MILLION LITTLE PIECES is, in my opinion, a MUCH better read for a story centered around addiction. Not to mention in this case? I don't care for the protagonist, so I don't care, period, which makes all the whining...annoying.
zzz-books-not-for-me
January 27, 2016Read from September 10 to 11, 2015
DNF at 26%. Too bored, not enough action, too much thinking/talking/analyzing for my taste. Just not my cup of tea. Crime thriller is a genre I tend to avoid unless there's enough fantasy/supernatural stuff going on to keep me interested. Not this time. Clean is a good book, but not MY kind of book. Moving on.
DNF at 26%. Too bored, not enough action, too much thinking/talking/analyzing for my taste. Just not my cup of tea. Crime thriller is a genre I tend to avoid unless there's enough fantasy/supernatural stuff going on to keep me interested. Not this time. Clean is a good book, but not MY kind of book. Moving on.
March 8, 2019
Pretty good series about a high-powered telepath and recovering addict who works for the police and is more or less trying to stay clean.
July 19, 2022
Some comments: I appreciate the world-building in Clean, which takes place in a world that has rejected computers after the aptly named "Tech Wars." It's very much an urban fantasy/post-apocalyptic (kind of? But not really?) procedural mystery; the protagonist is a former/present addict, giving Psycop vibes (but straight), and throughout the whole book his struggles with addiction impact his mental state, his relationships with others, and his own job. It's really well done. Though the book did need some more copyediting, the plot is engrossing enough that I was able to look past this. Author Alex Hughes does something very fascinating in this book - and this is the literature scholar in me peeking out oops - which is that we only learn the protagonist's name on the very last page, This act serves to humanize him to himself as well as to the reader. No longer is he willing to be passive; instead, he is taking control of his own life and working towards a positive outcome through this agential action. It's just really, really smart writing, and makes me enthusiastic to read more in this series.
Recommended for fans of urban fantasy like the Harry Dresden/Rivers of London/Hidden Legacy series; near-future procedurals like the In Death series; people who want to read books with strong yet gradual character development; really interesting world building.
Recommended for fans of urban fantasy like the Harry Dresden/Rivers of London/Hidden Legacy series; near-future procedurals like the In Death series; people who want to read books with strong yet gradual character development; really interesting world building.
February 8, 2013
First in the Mindspace Investigation urban fantasy/police procedural based in a dystopian world that fell apart when computer viruses, well, "ate" the world. The series is based in Atlanta.
My Take
There was a very real quality to the story, enhanced by Hughes' treatment of his male protagonist. Adam screwed up. Big time. Now he's struggling to cope with his addiction, the scorn from everyone with whom he works, and his own attraction to his partner.
Hughes certainly paints a depressing picture, and yet it feels so accurate in terms of someone battling an addiction. Kicking at the 12-step process, kicking at the whole apology requirement, kicking at everyone else who wrecked his life. We get a hint of what started the downward spiral, and even that is couched in terms of someone else's fault. I am curious as to whether it turns out to be a "plot" to take him down. It would be consistent. It appears as if no one likes the guy, and yet he still has some ethics left from which he won't back down.
The story is very much from Adam's point of view. It's all I, I, I, BUT don't let that or my comments above leave you thinking he's self-obsessive, it's simply a convenient device to get us into his head. It certainly provides interesting insight into how to interview suspects! And there's the struggle he endures to explain his telepathy to his hostile co-workers. Oh, boy.
I enjoyed how Hughes used the telepathy to create issues between Adam and Cherabino as he keeps inadvertently picking up conversation that's only in her head and responding to it. It sets up the antagonism very quickly. It becomes more interesting when we learn she's also attracted to him, but doesn't want to be.
Hughes does well in setting up this world and providing enough backstory that I didn't feel lost and yet leaving out enough to make me want to come back for more. In fact, most of the story is all about setting up the series with the case Adam and Cherubino are working holding it together. And held together very well. There is no sense of the dreaded info dump! Yeahh!! I didn't pick this up until I started going through my notes.
It's a future with flying cars, but everyone is terrified of computers. Getting an email forces you to go through layers and layers of security---and no one would have it any other way.
Oh, the going gets a little tough, and he weasels out?
The Story
It starts with Adam's typical day: interviewing suspects using his telepathy before being dragged out to "read" a scene where a NOTa-serial-killer-victim's body is found.
As much as Adam might want, the clues ain't lyin', and no one wants to call in the Guild. Least of all him.
The Characters
Adam is a highly qualified telepath, a Level Eight, who got kicked out of the Telepaths Guild due to his drug addiction. Due to politics, he's still under the Guild's jurisdiction because of his high skill level and must walk a fine line between openness with the police while hiding Guild secrets. He's employed as a consultant with the police, mostly interviewing the hardcore. Swartz is Adam's 12-step sponsor. They meet daily, sometimes twice daily besides the frequent check-in phone calls. Man, that'd be enough to keep me from getting addicted! How does he have time to have a life?
Detective Isabelle Cherabino holds his chain. She's supposed to be Homicide, but also works Electronics. Pete is/was her husband and an assistant DA. "Sergeant Branen is the head of Homicide and Cherabino's boss." Annnd, he doesn't like Adam. Lieutenant Maria Paulsen is Adam's boss. Michael is a junior cop with a lot on the ball. Claudia Piccanonni is the GBI lead profiler. Bob has an implant, a cybernetic worker, who can process computer data almost faster than the computer. He's shunned because of the implant. Ethan Ricks is a jerk, too interested in throwing his weight around. Bellury seems to be one of the few cops who are okay with Adam. Andrew specializes in accounting issues and has a small Gift.
Joey the Fish is a small-time operator who rose in the ranks due to Adam's spilling on all the big fish. Maloy is his absent boss. The Darkness is a crime family in Atlanta with Garrett Fiske head of the Southeast group.
Kara Chenoa is the Guild's public relations attaché, Adam's former fiancée, and the one who ratted him out. Logan is her current husband. Dane was the friend who died, sending Adam into that desire to drug away the pain. Stewart was Dane's friend and researching drugs to improve telepathy. Adam's source. Jason Bradley took over from Dane. Jamie Skelton is the sergeant's ex-wife and the woman who ran the Precog department for more than twenty years. Neil Henderson is a practical joker, worked in research, and more recently as a Tuner. Rashim is one of the black ops guys.
Jonathan Evans is the head of gland production for Ultrate Bioproducts.
The Tech Wars almost destroyed the world when superviruses ran amuck---think Terminator. The Koshna Treaty Accords let the Guild police their own---when they do it---and gives them Homeland Security-type powers. Yup, life and death in their hands.
The Cover
The cover makes me think of John Taylor from Simon R. Green's Nightside series---a man in a white overcoat has his back to us, his arms away from his sides as though he's going for his guns against a lit-up city backdrop of skyscrapers.
The title is sweet. Adam battles his desire for a hit throughout until the end when he discovers the reasons he wants to be Clean.
My Take
There was a very real quality to the story, enhanced by Hughes' treatment of his male protagonist. Adam screwed up. Big time. Now he's struggling to cope with his addiction, the scorn from everyone with whom he works, and his own attraction to his partner.
Hughes certainly paints a depressing picture, and yet it feels so accurate in terms of someone battling an addiction. Kicking at the 12-step process, kicking at the whole apology requirement, kicking at everyone else who wrecked his life. We get a hint of what started the downward spiral, and even that is couched in terms of someone else's fault. I am curious as to whether it turns out to be a "plot" to take him down. It would be consistent. It appears as if no one likes the guy, and yet he still has some ethics left from which he won't back down.
The story is very much from Adam's point of view. It's all I, I, I, BUT don't let that or my comments above leave you thinking he's self-obsessive, it's simply a convenient device to get us into his head. It certainly provides interesting insight into how to interview suspects! And there's the struggle he endures to explain his telepathy to his hostile co-workers. Oh, boy.
I enjoyed how Hughes used the telepathy to create issues between Adam and Cherabino as he keeps inadvertently picking up conversation that's only in her head and responding to it. It sets up the antagonism very quickly. It becomes more interesting when we learn she's also attracted to him, but doesn't want to be.
Hughes does well in setting up this world and providing enough backstory that I didn't feel lost and yet leaving out enough to make me want to come back for more. In fact, most of the story is all about setting up the series with the case Adam and Cherubino are working holding it together. And held together very well. There is no sense of the dreaded info dump! Yeahh!! I didn't pick this up until I started going through my notes.
It's a future with flying cars, but everyone is terrified of computers. Getting an email forces you to go through layers and layers of security---and no one would have it any other way.
Oh, the going gets a little tough, and he weasels out?
The Story
It starts with Adam's typical day: interviewing suspects using his telepathy before being dragged out to "read" a scene where a NOTa-serial-killer-victim's body is found.
As much as Adam might want, the clues ain't lyin', and no one wants to call in the Guild. Least of all him.
The Characters
Adam is a highly qualified telepath, a Level Eight, who got kicked out of the Telepaths Guild due to his drug addiction. Due to politics, he's still under the Guild's jurisdiction because of his high skill level and must walk a fine line between openness with the police while hiding Guild secrets. He's employed as a consultant with the police, mostly interviewing the hardcore. Swartz is Adam's 12-step sponsor. They meet daily, sometimes twice daily besides the frequent check-in phone calls. Man, that'd be enough to keep me from getting addicted! How does he have time to have a life?
Detective Isabelle Cherabino holds his chain. She's supposed to be Homicide, but also works Electronics. Pete is/was her husband and an assistant DA. "Sergeant Branen is the head of Homicide and Cherabino's boss." Annnd, he doesn't like Adam. Lieutenant Maria Paulsen is Adam's boss. Michael is a junior cop with a lot on the ball. Claudia Piccanonni is the GBI lead profiler. Bob has an implant, a cybernetic worker, who can process computer data almost faster than the computer. He's shunned because of the implant. Ethan Ricks is a jerk, too interested in throwing his weight around. Bellury seems to be one of the few cops who are okay with Adam. Andrew specializes in accounting issues and has a small Gift.
Joey the Fish is a small-time operator who rose in the ranks due to Adam's spilling on all the big fish. Maloy is his absent boss. The Darkness is a crime family in Atlanta with Garrett Fiske head of the Southeast group.
Kara Chenoa is the Guild's public relations attaché, Adam's former fiancée, and the one who ratted him out. Logan is her current husband. Dane was the friend who died, sending Adam into that desire to drug away the pain. Stewart was Dane's friend and researching drugs to improve telepathy. Adam's source. Jason Bradley took over from Dane. Jamie Skelton is the sergeant's ex-wife and the woman who ran the Precog department for more than twenty years. Neil Henderson is a practical joker, worked in research, and more recently as a Tuner. Rashim is one of the black ops guys.
Jonathan Evans is the head of gland production for Ultrate Bioproducts.
The Tech Wars almost destroyed the world when superviruses ran amuck---think Terminator. The Koshna Treaty Accords let the Guild police their own---when they do it---and gives them Homeland Security-type powers. Yup, life and death in their hands.
The Cover
The cover makes me think of John Taylor from Simon R. Green's Nightside series---a man in a white overcoat has his back to us, his arms away from his sides as though he's going for his guns against a lit-up city backdrop of skyscrapers.
The title is sweet. Adam battles his desire for a hit throughout until the end when he discovers the reasons he wants to be Clean.
March 21, 2017
Ended up really, really liking it even with my complaints at the 1/2 way review. Most of the points are still valid with the drug addiction but I think his addiction was handled pretty well and the investigation was quite good. Continuing on in the series, I hope that the people he is surrounded by start giving him a little more respect. I still don't like his partner much and hope that she will becomes less of a strike out and ask questions later type of person. He likes her so I would hope I would at least start to like her (tolerate her) also. It is the only thing that makes this not tops for me. It is 4 1/2 stars and I will be reading on. For a first book in the series, I am bumping it up for the world and start. Hope it stays there.
1/2 way in and this is pretty darn good. This only issue is the drug addict and getting into the mind. It is nothing new and I'm kind of tired of being in an addicts mind, Unholy Magic, Dirty Magic, and then there is Angel of White Trash Zombie, her addiction is cured by Zombieism but then she finds a Zombie drug in book 4 or so, then once again into the mind of an addict. Still those are pretty good also, only Unholy Ghost did I stop reading because it was just too much though I'm on the edge with Prospero's War too. I love Angel so it would take a bit, still I came to love her after a couple of books without the addict mindset.
So this is really, really good, the world is a world after a tech war where the psychics guild ended up winning the war for people and now they are like the corporate boogeyman in control of psychics. The main character is hooked on some psychic drug and has been clean 3 years. He has a police partner that helps ground him during mindspace investigation. This link has formed a bond that he does not tell his partner about because she hates mind invasion and he did not know that the bond would happen. Now, they are on the trail of a serial killer, or killers, and some of the personal and professional is straining him to the edge. No one trusts him anymore because they know he is on edge, yet he is an asset that they are pretty harsh on. I can see why he is on edge and I would tell them to take a flying fuck but hey, he feels responsible and definitely is connected on a personal, and attraction way to his partner.
I don't like his partner much. I do like him which is hard to do for me if the character is constantly jonesing for a fix. I have little patience for alcoholics or drug addicts, I've spent time in Al-anon, and wouldn't put myself there in anyway even in a book. Still I like him and feel there is more behind this drug and his addiction. Even in the blurb of the book it states that it is not totally his fault. And I do have the question of... if they can manipulate mind passageways so the vision, memory, etc... can be fix after an accident, why can they not do the same for addicts? Hmm...? Maybe it'll go in that direction as the book is called "Clean", hopefully we don't have this addict stuff overwhelming the future books. I hope not because I am really enjoying the storyline and would probably not continue with the series if it isn't somewhat resolved.
1/2 way in and this is pretty darn good. This only issue is the drug addict and getting into the mind. It is nothing new and I'm kind of tired of being in an addicts mind, Unholy Magic, Dirty Magic, and then there is Angel of White Trash Zombie, her addiction is cured by Zombieism but then she finds a Zombie drug in book 4 or so, then once again into the mind of an addict. Still those are pretty good also, only Unholy Ghost did I stop reading because it was just too much though I'm on the edge with Prospero's War too. I love Angel so it would take a bit, still I came to love her after a couple of books without the addict mindset.
So this is really, really good, the world is a world after a tech war where the psychics guild ended up winning the war for people and now they are like the corporate boogeyman in control of psychics. The main character is hooked on some psychic drug and has been clean 3 years. He has a police partner that helps ground him during mindspace investigation. This link has formed a bond that he does not tell his partner about because she hates mind invasion and he did not know that the bond would happen. Now, they are on the trail of a serial killer, or killers, and some of the personal and professional is straining him to the edge. No one trusts him anymore because they know he is on edge, yet he is an asset that they are pretty harsh on. I can see why he is on edge and I would tell them to take a flying fuck but hey, he feels responsible and definitely is connected on a personal, and attraction way to his partner.
I don't like his partner much. I do like him which is hard to do for me if the character is constantly jonesing for a fix. I have little patience for alcoholics or drug addicts, I've spent time in Al-anon, and wouldn't put myself there in anyway even in a book. Still I like him and feel there is more behind this drug and his addiction. Even in the blurb of the book it states that it is not totally his fault. And I do have the question of... if they can manipulate mind passageways so the vision, memory, etc... can be fix after an accident, why can they not do the same for addicts? Hmm...? Maybe it'll go in that direction as the book is called "Clean", hopefully we don't have this addict stuff overwhelming the future books. I hope not because I am really enjoying the storyline and would probably not continue with the series if it isn't somewhat resolved.
September 25, 2012
Adam was a successful and talented member of the Telepaths’ Guild until his drug habit got him kicked out. Now he works for the Atlanta police department as a consultant and interrogator: after all, a Level Eight Telepath like Adam, who can quite literally get inside a criminal’s head, helps immensely when it comes to extracting confessions. Despite being one of the most successful interrogators on the force, his ongoing struggles with his addiction as well as the mutual distrust between “normals” and telepaths create an uncomfortable work situation for Adam. He’s kept on a tight leash, regularly meeting with his Narcotics Anonymous sponsor and relying on the police department for food and clothing because he can’t be trusted to handle his own paycheck.
Adam’s workload suddenly increases dramatically when Atlanta is shaken by a series of random murders, especially when it becomes clear that a telepath was involved in the killings. At first there’s no discernible pattern to the deaths, and the homicide department is careful to avoid using the words “serial killer,” but it won’t be long before the media gets hold of the story and public panic sets in. The pressure threatens to send Adam over the edge and destroy his precarious hold on sobriety.
Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
Adam’s workload suddenly increases dramatically when Atlanta is shaken by a series of random murders, especially when it becomes clear that a telepath was involved in the killings. At first there’s no discernible pattern to the deaths, and the homicide department is careful to avoid using the words “serial killer,” but it won’t be long before the media gets hold of the story and public panic sets in. The pressure threatens to send Adam over the edge and destroy his precarious hold on sobriety.
Read the entire review on my site Far Beyond Reality!
September 9, 2013
I liked the idea behind the book, but I just couldn't get into the characters. I didn't like how his partner was always jumping down his throat for every little thing.
I think the setting and the idea behind the series has potential, if only I could come to enjoy and care about the characters.
I think the setting and the idea behind the series has potential, if only I could come to enjoy and care about the characters.
February 10, 2014
Actual rating: 3 stars.
January 14, 2019
https://delivreenlivres.blogspot.com/...
Une bonne découverte !
On est sur un mélange d'urban fantasy et de science-fiction. Un peu à l'image des Danny Valentine ou des Rachel Morgan ou on n'est plus vraiment dans un monde qui ressemble au notre actuel.
50 ans avant le début de l'histoire, qui se passe dans un futur plus ou moins proche, une "Tech-War" c'est déclenché dans laquelle les différents protagonistes ont utilisé la technologie pour tuer (par exemple en utilisant des virus informatiques qui bloquaient les gens dans leurs maisons connectées et ensuite y mettant le feu avec des courts circuits, tout ce qu'on peut imaginer du genre).
On est donc dans un monde ou il y a des voitures volantes, des organes artificiels fonctionnant mieux que les originaux (humains augmentés), des puces pour se connecter aux ordinateurs directement dans sa tête ... mais en même temps on se méfie de la technologie en général. Et malgré l’existence de merveilles technologiques une partie de la population, pour notamment tout ce qui est administration, ne se fient qu'a la "low" tech, en gros les objets non connectés et pas du tout high tech, et les AI sont totalement interdites.
Limite je qualifierais ça d’ambiance cyberpunk mais à petite dose seulement, on est loin des idées de Carbone modifié (par exemple). Ici le coté cyberpunk est surtout en background, vu qu'en fait l'intrigue est vraiment du type urban fantasy : enquête avec des pouvoirs spéciaux et en rapport avec les pouvoirs en question. Il faut vraiment se dire que ce n'est qu'un contexte, ceux qui liraient ce livre pour ce coté la seraient un peu déçu je pense. Pour ma part je trouve que le mélange fonctionne bien, et il m'a séduit.
La Guilde, l'association des puissants surnaturels (tous humains ici, on a des pouvoirs plus du genre super héros - télépathie, télékinésie, téléportation ... aucun vampires, garous, fae ...) a réussi à s'imposer dans les ruines de la Tech-war, en utilisant ses pouvoirs pour sauver le monde. Elle y a gagné son indépendance et sa puissance.
Le héros de la série, Adam Ward, est un télépathe du plus haut niveau. Mais il est devenu addict à une nouvelle drogue très puissante suite à des essais en labo qu'il a accepté de faire pour la guilde juste après la mort de son meilleur ami. La drogue était trop forte et il était déjà totalement accro après la 3ième prise. Il a causé tellement de problèmes pour se procurer ses doses qu'il a fini par être expulsé de la Guilde.
Maintenant, 6 ans après, il a plus ou moins trouvé une pseudo stabilité en devenant consultant pour la police d'Atlanta. Plus ou moins ... parce que l'envie le titille tout les jours, mais il est trop puissant et utile pour qu'on le laisse dévier encore. Il est suivi quotidiennement par un psycologue-gardien qui fait tout ce qu'il y a à faire pour qu'il ne retombe pas dans son addiction et que ça ne mette pas sa vie en danger.
Il officie surtout pendant les interrogatoires de suspects. Évidemment il y a plein de règles et il ne peux pas simplement plonger dans l'esprit de la personne et décréter qui est coupable ou innocent, mais il peut utiliser le peu qu'il capte en surface pour déstabiliser la personne et la faire avouer finalement en lui foutant la pression.
Pour cela il utilise le Mindspace, une espèce de vision magique, comme une autre couche de réalité qui lui donne toute sorte d'informations. Adam est un pro la dessus, il a le don de trouver instinctivement la bonne façon de parler aux gens pour les faire craquer.
Mais une grosse affaire arrive, les morts se succèdent et il soupçonne une personne de la guilde d'être impliquée ... il n'en faut pas plus qu'il décide de s'impliquer dans l'affaire personnellement ...
J'accroche bien avec le personnage. Il est vraiment perdu, il (sur)vit au jour le jour, cassé et cette intrigue le titille et lui redonne un peu l'envie de faire quelque chose de sa vie.
En deux mots : j'adore. C'est totalement ma came (lol ...). Ha ce que ça m'avait manqué ce genre d'intrigues. Un nouvel univers original, une intrigue policière, tout ce que j'aime.
Bon après c'est vrai que vu de loin la sauce parait un peu déjà vu parce que c'est hyper classique ce genre d'enquêtes en urban fantasy et en cyberpunk. Il n'y a rien de vraiment nouveau, mais le mélange fonctionne vraiment bien ici et le personnage de Adam donne un vrai plus au récit.
Un petit point marrant mais en fait de tout le livre on ne connais pas le nom du protagoniste en fait. Je l'ai noté en allant voir sur le site de l'auteur mais dans le livre il n’apparaît pas. On apprend juste son prénom à la dernière ligne du livre quand il se rend à une réunion de narcotiques anonymes et que le livre se termine sur la phrase "Bonjour, je m'appelle Adam, et je suis un addict".
Bref, je vais essayer d'être patiente et de ne pas lire le suivant tout de suite, mais ça va être difficile, je vais tenter d'attendre au moins un moins voir deux si je peux !
17/20
Une bonne découverte !
On est sur un mélange d'urban fantasy et de science-fiction. Un peu à l'image des Danny Valentine ou des Rachel Morgan ou on n'est plus vraiment dans un monde qui ressemble au notre actuel.
50 ans avant le début de l'histoire, qui se passe dans un futur plus ou moins proche, une "Tech-War" c'est déclenché dans laquelle les différents protagonistes ont utilisé la technologie pour tuer (par exemple en utilisant des virus informatiques qui bloquaient les gens dans leurs maisons connectées et ensuite y mettant le feu avec des courts circuits, tout ce qu'on peut imaginer du genre).
On est donc dans un monde ou il y a des voitures volantes, des organes artificiels fonctionnant mieux que les originaux (humains augmentés), des puces pour se connecter aux ordinateurs directement dans sa tête ... mais en même temps on se méfie de la technologie en général. Et malgré l’existence de merveilles technologiques une partie de la population, pour notamment tout ce qui est administration, ne se fient qu'a la "low" tech, en gros les objets non connectés et pas du tout high tech, et les AI sont totalement interdites.
Limite je qualifierais ça d’ambiance cyberpunk mais à petite dose seulement, on est loin des idées de Carbone modifié (par exemple). Ici le coté cyberpunk est surtout en background, vu qu'en fait l'intrigue est vraiment du type urban fantasy : enquête avec des pouvoirs spéciaux et en rapport avec les pouvoirs en question. Il faut vraiment se dire que ce n'est qu'un contexte, ceux qui liraient ce livre pour ce coté la seraient un peu déçu je pense. Pour ma part je trouve que le mélange fonctionne bien, et il m'a séduit.
La Guilde, l'association des puissants surnaturels (tous humains ici, on a des pouvoirs plus du genre super héros - télépathie, télékinésie, téléportation ... aucun vampires, garous, fae ...) a réussi à s'imposer dans les ruines de la Tech-war, en utilisant ses pouvoirs pour sauver le monde. Elle y a gagné son indépendance et sa puissance.
Le héros de la série, Adam Ward, est un télépathe du plus haut niveau. Mais il est devenu addict à une nouvelle drogue très puissante suite à des essais en labo qu'il a accepté de faire pour la guilde juste après la mort de son meilleur ami. La drogue était trop forte et il était déjà totalement accro après la 3ième prise. Il a causé tellement de problèmes pour se procurer ses doses qu'il a fini par être expulsé de la Guilde.
Maintenant, 6 ans après, il a plus ou moins trouvé une pseudo stabilité en devenant consultant pour la police d'Atlanta. Plus ou moins ... parce que l'envie le titille tout les jours, mais il est trop puissant et utile pour qu'on le laisse dévier encore. Il est suivi quotidiennement par un psycologue-gardien qui fait tout ce qu'il y a à faire pour qu'il ne retombe pas dans son addiction et que ça ne mette pas sa vie en danger.
Il officie surtout pendant les interrogatoires de suspects. Évidemment il y a plein de règles et il ne peux pas simplement plonger dans l'esprit de la personne et décréter qui est coupable ou innocent, mais il peut utiliser le peu qu'il capte en surface pour déstabiliser la personne et la faire avouer finalement en lui foutant la pression.
Pour cela il utilise le Mindspace, une espèce de vision magique, comme une autre couche de réalité qui lui donne toute sorte d'informations. Adam est un pro la dessus, il a le don de trouver instinctivement la bonne façon de parler aux gens pour les faire craquer.
Mais une grosse affaire arrive, les morts se succèdent et il soupçonne une personne de la guilde d'être impliquée ... il n'en faut pas plus qu'il décide de s'impliquer dans l'affaire personnellement ...
J'accroche bien avec le personnage. Il est vraiment perdu, il (sur)vit au jour le jour, cassé et cette intrigue le titille et lui redonne un peu l'envie de faire quelque chose de sa vie.
En deux mots : j'adore. C'est totalement ma came (lol ...). Ha ce que ça m'avait manqué ce genre d'intrigues. Un nouvel univers original, une intrigue policière, tout ce que j'aime.
Bon après c'est vrai que vu de loin la sauce parait un peu déjà vu parce que c'est hyper classique ce genre d'enquêtes en urban fantasy et en cyberpunk. Il n'y a rien de vraiment nouveau, mais le mélange fonctionne vraiment bien ici et le personnage de Adam donne un vrai plus au récit.
Un petit point marrant mais en fait de tout le livre on ne connais pas le nom du protagoniste en fait. Je l'ai noté en allant voir sur le site de l'auteur mais dans le livre il n’apparaît pas. On apprend juste son prénom à la dernière ligne du livre quand il se rend à une réunion de narcotiques anonymes et que le livre se termine sur la phrase "Bonjour, je m'appelle Adam, et je suis un addict".
Bref, je vais essayer d'être patiente et de ne pas lire le suivant tout de suite, mais ça va être difficile, je vais tenter d'attendre au moins un moins voir deux si je peux !
17/20
June 22, 2017
Grit-lit meets urban fantasy. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I connected with the telepathic protag immediately; he’s vulnerable, fallible, occasionally witty (albeit in the most exasperated sort of way), and he has a hugely legitimate bitch: The Guild he’s been loyal to not only (inadvertently) got him hooked on a narcotic called Satin (which appears to have heroin-esque properties), but then threw him out because of it, essentially cutting him off from his culture and forcing him to navigate through a world of ‘Normals’—who appear to find telepaths vaguely abhorrent.
The only thing that made me gnash my teeth was his love-struck, twitter-pated hero-worship of cop Cherabino.
Adam, my man, you can do *so* much better. ‘Annoyed’ is Isabella Cherabino’s mood du jour every day of her freakin’ life, and not only does she consistently treat Adam like warmed-over dog shit., but she’s rarely straight with him, is frequently bitchy, and not once is she grateful when he helps her again and again.
Adam, my friend…go give Kara another toss in the sheets. Even if it’s just recreation. Or start visiting laudromats and grocery stores. Find a nice girl. Cause Cherabino….well, Cherabino’s a bitch. (sorry, not sorry, man)
Beyond Adam’s intensely shitty love-judgment, though, I loved his story, can’t wait to hear more history about the Tech Wars and the ‘scary’ Guild, and am working on Book II as we speak.
Cool read. 5 Stars
The only thing that made me gnash my teeth was his love-struck, twitter-pated hero-worship of cop Cherabino.
Adam, my man, you can do *so* much better. ‘Annoyed’ is Isabella Cherabino’s mood du jour every day of her freakin’ life, and not only does she consistently treat Adam like warmed-over dog shit., but she’s rarely straight with him, is frequently bitchy, and not once is she grateful when he helps her again and again.
Adam, my friend…go give Kara another toss in the sheets. Even if it’s just recreation. Or start visiting laudromats and grocery stores. Find a nice girl. Cause Cherabino….well, Cherabino’s a bitch. (sorry, not sorry, man)
Beyond Adam’s intensely shitty love-judgment, though, I loved his story, can’t wait to hear more history about the Tech Wars and the ‘scary’ Guild, and am working on Book II as we speak.
Cool read. 5 Stars
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