Mind Thief

by Darrell B. Nelson

Howie has a problem: Someone is stealing his mind, and the only one who can help him is a girl who has already lost hers.
After meeting Vivian in the lobby of his psychologist's office, a hundred years of memories flood Howie's mind. Evil memories of starting five major wars and killing everyone who has ever wanted humanity to progress. At the same time everyone from his friends to his professor are telling him, and sometimes threatening him, to stay away from Vivian.
Either Howie is going crazy, or there is a single man that has caused the most horrific events over the last century, and all his friends and professors work for him. In order to survive, Howie must do what Archduke Ferdinand, FDR, Stalin, JFK, and Saddam Hussein all failed to do. He must stop the man who has caused the deaths of hundred of millions, armed only with his love of Vivian.

Genres: Science Fiction

433 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 19, 2014

About the author

Darrell B. Nelson is a former Securities Broker and Insurance Agent who has decided to use the total meltdown of his former industry, and the total destruction of any illusions of personal financial security the meltdown caused, as an opportunity to pursue a writing career.

His passion for writing was encouraged at a young age by his his mother, who would read to him every night. Fueling his dreams in ways only books can. As he got older she took him to the library every week. Letting his imagination soar.

While other children his age were dealing with where they were and what they were doing, he was flying through space helping to build Asimov's Foundation, Make way for Clarke's Star Child, or living on Bova's Selene. Needless to say, he tripped over things a lot.

When he started writing he knew in the future his works would be of great importance, as time travelers arrived and started watching his every move. Or, maybe they were cats, wondering if he would pet them and rub their ears. Time Travelers have whiskers and like to curl up in your lap, right?

In his free time he likes to hang out on Facebook, marveling at how far we've come since the time of the Egyptians who would worship cats and write on walls.

Reviews

[Dawn Prough · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not finish this book. I couldn’t finish. I made it to 70% before I stopped. The problem doesn’t rest in grammar or anything like that; I just couldn’t stand reading about the awful people in the story any longer. The villain is as bad as the protagonists, just on a different scale. The main character and POV for the story cares more for sex than the woman he claims to love. Non-neurotypical characters are handled with zero sensitivity and misrepresented. LBGTI, when they come up at all, are dismissed as non-existent. Racism isn’t addressed but since minorities only show up rarely, they’re basically erased. The worst part of this book is that none of the core characters are pleasant or likeable people. The main character is a rapist, which his love interest/f*** buddy/girlfriend(?) doesn’t seem to mind. That’s probably because she’s a rapist herself. I stopped when the word ‘rapelationship’ was used seriously in the book, by a woman who had just been raped. I’m not offended by sex, or even non-consentual erotica, but this was selfishness and rape packaged as love and normal, even to be lauded. Mind Thief is a decent story ruined by rape culture and ugly characters.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[E.M. Swift-Hook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satire, sex and sci-fi.

As far as I know, none of the real people in this book have talked to my fictional character, so those conversations are also fictional. If world leaders do talk to figments of my imagination then I have to wonder how the world is still here.

Mind Thief is roller-coaster ride mixing a lot of sex scenes, with historical scenes, with a science-fantasy plot line, with dark satirical humour. It works quite well on all those fronts and is certainly a very different kind of book.

Howie is a regular Astrophysics student who is pretty typical for a student in that he likes having sex - a lot. He meets Vivian whilst visiting a therapist and discovers she likes sex a lot too. They have a lot of sex and in between Howie has dreams about being someone else. Dreams in which he is present at some key points in history, although perhaps not quite in the way they are written up in the history books but which would delight conspiracy theorists.

Howie is enrolled in an experimental program, the payment from which helps fund his education. As the story progresses we meet those behind Howie's strange issues and Howie finds himself struggling to cope with very normal things like his relationships with women, sex and study and less standard things like weirdly vivid dreams, perverted sex and being experimented on.

"So in a way our memories make us into the people we are.”

The book is written in a pacey and fluent style, bouncing along from crisis to crisis, buoyed up by some very dark comedy and with the odd scene here and there which crosses the line into 'darkly disturbing'. There is actually a fairly deep philosophical theme lurking behind the grotesques being performed centre stage: the extent to which our memories shape the person we are. The answer the book comes up with is quite a refreshingly optimistic one.

There is also a lot of spotlight thrown onto mental health issues - I was close to applauding the author for handling this well, until the very last chapter, when I felt he suddenly allowed full play to all those very stereotypes he had challenged and resisted throughout.

“If raised in a caring environment the hyper-testosterone levels make a person slightly more of a risk taker and, well, sex obsessed."

To be honest, I struggled to really get with the need for so much sex - it just came over as being mostly unnecessary padding, which got in the way of the plot progressing. I got the impression that even the author reached this conclusion, as towards the end the potential explicit scenes became fade outs. That said, I fully accept there will be people for whom that amount of naked flesh conjoining in various ways would be a veritable selling point.

This is a book that is hard to pigeon-hole. It felt like a very profound story hiding behind over-exaggerated carnival masks. But instead of the masks being ripped off and the truth revealed it is more as if they eventually, overwhelm and replace it. That said, if the pointless sex scenes had been reduced a lot, I'd have boosted this a star up.

If you enjoy explicit sex scenes with an interesting, disturbed and darkly satirical story-line running along in the background it is all of that and well worth your investment.

[Mike Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled with this book at first, but ended up quite enjoying it. If you like science fiction, don’t mind loads of sex (reading about it, that is), and read the book as a good yarn, Mind Thief isn’t bad – and now and then, it’s great.

Darrell B. Nelson’s sexy sci-fi romp starts in a psychiatrist’s office, where two college-age patients meet for the first time in the waiting room, and promptly have sex in the cupboard. Only later do we learn a little about them. Vivian, the young woman, has a massive IQ, erratic social skills and an uncontrollable sex drive. As for Howie, he’s there because he’s had memory lapses and brief illusions that he’s somebody else. What he doesn’t know is that, through a campus psychology experiment, a deeply evil man is trying to take over his brain and body, so as to enjoy eternal life. Together he and Vivian must first make sense of each other, and then resist the monster who is trying to destroy Howie’s soul.

It all sounds too bizarre to work, but it mostly does. At first, this is only really because of Vivian. She’s a great character, an uncontrolled borderline sociopath with a razor-like wit and intellect and a nice line in obscene exclamations. She is just enough to carry the reader through the rather slow-paced first third of the book. It’s only then that we meet the monster who is trying to live forever through Howie and who, already over 100, has been responsible for some of the worst things in history. From this point, things start to improve, as more of his memories flood Howie’s brain, and Howie starts to wonder if he can really remember starting the First World War, hiring Nazis to run medical experiments, and arranging the death of Princess Diana. (Along with much else.) As the book draws to a close, Howie must confront his enemy, and the climax sees a classic battle between good and evil that keeps you guessing right to the end.

Mind Thief is a mixture. Some scenes work really well. Some are just a bit much even for a book like this (Howie steals a Learjet using his tormentor’s flying skills, which have been transferred into his brain). The book is too slow to get going, but when it does, it’s nicely-paced. Howie’s character isn’t very strongly drawn, but Vivian’s is. Some of the dialogue is a bit clunky – but Vivian’s is great. There is far too much explicit two-dimensional sex between Howie and Vivian – but their relationship as people does sort of make sense, and is sometimes touching. On a more basic level, there’s some part-time punctuation that makes the book hard to read in places. But other parts are really well-written.

Books that are good or bad are easy to rate, but uneven ones are much harder. I’ve given it three stars, but I reckon some readers (especially, but not only, college-age ones) will really like this book, and will probably rate it higher. Provided you don’t take it too seriously, this book is good fun.

[G.J. Griffiths · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book appears to be about a student, Howie, who is losing his mind and who then proceeds to have a vivid and colourful relationship with Vivian, who has already lost hers. The repeated descriptions of their sexually explicit behaviour detracted and distracted from what could have been a quite interesting plotline. Their first encounter occurs inside the broom cupboard of their psychiatrist’s office premises while they each await their appointments. In itself it was a clever and intriguing beginning to the book and provided an entertaining hook for most readers. The problem was that it would seem to be aimed at the teenage market when almost every page had Vivian mouthing her imaginatively foul expletives and the couple’s erotic sex. Although there did seem to be a certain “meeting of minds”, amazingly and occasionally, between Howie and Vivian, with a metaphorically romantic bonding of the two lovers, I found the whole story disjointed and confusing.

The reader has to suspend their own logical thinking at times to allow various historically evil arch villains into the plot at the behest of Harriman, the man who is determined to exploit Howie and his brain for his own ruthless intentions. Vivian is the most intriguing character and I cared nothing for any of the others and this meant, essentially, I did not care enough about the tale that was being spun. It seemed to be two books confusingly woven into one. The evil-doing plot could appeal to the mature, well-informed, reader but the impressionable teen bits got in the way far too much. In the end I was still not sure whether I was reading a sci-fi or a paranormal novel with items of titillation to keep my attention. It just did not work and I find it hard to think of anyone to whom I would recommend Darrel B. Nelson’s book.
I was given a copy of the novel in exchange for my honest and objective review.

[Florian Armas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind Thief is an interesting variant of a dream as old as humanity: immortality. No magic potions, no chemicals, no genetic modifications; just steal the body of a young man (our main villain is a man) and replace his mind with yours. There is a good deal of scientific explanation behind the process and a lot of adventure. The end is totally unexpected (or at least unexpected for most of the book). Filled with many streams of memories, recollecting known historical events that marked our recent period, everything jumps from one mind into another, in a chaotic way, that makes the reading a bit difficult at the beginning. Despite a wrong choice of language trying to make her 'cool', the most interesting character is the young and hieratic Vivian, a misunderstood genius that spends a lot of time in psychiatric care. The novel really starts in its second half; the first one is filled with annoying dialogues and scenes that add nothing by trying too hard to be unusual and creative, from the wrong choice of language.

I received the book from the author.

[Tracey Madeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of taking over someone’s mind has been done before, most famously in Total Recall, but unlike that story, this one follows the process of conversion, thus putting a new spin on the idea. I like the transitions between the present and the past, which helps give this novel a different structure. Also the difference in attitude between the two characters is clearly shown which avoids confusion. Does the reference to historical people – Marilyn Monroe, Lady Diana, Mata Hari, Archduke Ferdinand, Stalin, add or detract from the story? Forrest Gump used it to great effect and to a certain extent the violence associated with Stalin and the beginning of First World War adds to the character of Harriman. Could this have been done with fictional characters? Probably. Would it have been more effective? That is debateable.

Howie is a first year college student obsessed with sex and one girl in particular. The author does refer to a medical condition which causes higher than normal testosterone levels. For the romance reader there is too much sex and one of the later scenes is extremely disturbing. Lovers of erotic fiction will no doubt complain there is not enough detail. Twinned with this, is Vivian’s foul and abusive language, which permeates the whole book. This is one of the defining characteristics of her character and is designed to show her unbalanced and erratic personality. It can be argued the writer has been creative in finding the most vile and unusual phrases for his character to express herself. Neither character has any family background to speak of, although we do meet Vivian’s parents at the end of the book. Vivian’s work as a nurse is mentioned, but not given any real prominence. Therefore the characters are very much based in the here and now, with Harriman being limited to the flashbacks. Such a narrowing of perspective does limit the characterisation a little.

There are a few little details in the book which all come together at the end of the novel; the fact that Howie looks like Harriman, his friend from school recommending the college, even Debbie wanting to study with him. There is the educational aspect the fact that Howie is studying psychology and therefore the author can give us some background about how the brain functions, the use of control subjects in experiments and why he is involved. The author has also taken some time to research the historical detail, in order to add credibility to the flashbacks, which for me was the best part of the book.

This book has an interesting concept, a varied structure and good historical detail, but I feel we would learn more about the characters if there was less sex and foul language.

[Kayne Milhomme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind Thief by Darrell Nelson is a stylistically layered novel representing an established premise with an interesting twist. The established premise is the attempt to achieve eternal life—a tried and true hook if done properly—and the twist is the method employed to do so. The method is for the seeker of eternal life (antagonist) to invade and eventually take over another individual’s mind and body (someone younger and healthy), thereby supplanting the former (aging and possibly dying) life with the new life.
As to be expected, the mission to continually achieve eternal life involves the protagonist of the novel (Howie)—in this case, as the unwitting victim of the mind thievery. Howie is a young man troubled by disturbing memories that have dream-like qualities to them—in the sense that they could not be his own memories, because he never actually partook in creating them (to his knowledge), and they are too specific (or seem to be) to be dreams. Thus, rather than chalking these episodes up to visions, dreams, or hallucinations, Howie believes that they are, as inexplicably as it seems, memories that belong to someone else.
Despite the interesting premise, the novel tends to be driven by its characters, at least in the initial stages before the full scope and intricacies of the plot are truly revealed. On one hand, the characters are at times interesting and compelling—example in point: Vivian, a young woman that pairs up with Howie, adds some colorful volatility to the story, and for the most part is entertaining—but at other times, the characters tend to have qualities or experiences (case in point: graphic specific relations) that, for me, didn’t quite fit the framework I expected from the novel. A little later in the book, as the nemesis is revealed, and the true historical context of what he is and what he has done in his lifetime(s) comes to light, the novel’s plot accelerates.
I enjoyed some of the historical pieces embedded within the novel, and wanted more of that as I read through. There are some real gems to be found in that regard. That said, I had a hard time figuring out the novel’s identity. At times, it is a serious piece that explores some critical and dark moments in society’s history, and utilizes those well as part of the plot; at times, it is peppered with other, less consistent voices/styles (language and sex)—and the balance was not always perfect for me. Overall, this was an interesting read and I would primarily recommend it to those interested in history/sci-fi combination with occasional graphic sex scenes.

[Ed Morawski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is really hard to call. It's one of the most difficult to review books I've run across. On the surface it would seem to be a teenager's wet dream thinly disguised as a science fiction novel. The beginning was rough and I wasn't always able to determine who was speaking. Too many 'H names' for one thing: Hanson, Harriman Hall, Harriman, Howie. And is Harriman the same as Harriman Hall?

Example: He [Hanson] shook off that image and punched the speed dial on the phone. Harriman picked it up on the first ring. “We have a problem.” [is this Hanson or Harriman?]

I almost gave up right there on page two. If I have to work this hard to figure out who's who, I'm wasn't sure I could finish the book. But I did press on. It gets better when Howie meets Vivian and from there on the book is mostly a sex romp (though a fairly amusing and well written sex romp I must say).

But at times it's almost like reading two different stories. When Chapter 10 comes around it threw me for a loop, as it is about Harriman back in pre World War 1 with no explanation. If Harriman is around in 1914 that would make him at least 120 years old in 2014??? More confusion mixed in with Howie's and Vivian's up and down romance. Much later we find out about Harriman, but by then it didn't interest me in the least. I was always anxious to get back to Howie and Vivian. The actual sci-fi sections are confusing and detracting. Though there are some interesting historical tidbits scattered among these past events, frankly I would rather have just read about Howie and Vivian because they're so deliciously nutty. I wish the author would just drop the whole guise of science fiction and write about them in a mystery or thriller setting and it would have a dynamite book.

Minus one star for confusion and another for the difficulty in reading certain chapters - there could have been a lot more commas to help make sense of things too. Sure, some will say the part I didn't like was the main story, but it was so disjointed I found it difficult to get into. And the end was pretty predictable.

Your mileage may vary, but as long as Vivian was around I enjoyed the book a lot.

[Carly Ellen Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a "three and a half star" review. Faced with the need to round up or round down, I'm rounding up because Mind Thief is admittedly a very different type of fiction than that with which I am most accustomed... that's neither good nor bad, it's simply the reason behind my decision to optimistically award a fourth star.

Overall impression: Mind Thief is to traditional college-aged (18-22 years) young men now what Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure was to high school boys a generation ago. That's a good thing! Where Bill & Ted used musical shenanigans to convince teenage boys of the importance of learning world history, Mind Thief uses sex... lots and lots of sex... to accomplish the same end goal. If you happen to be an 18 year old male reader, I imagine the relationship between nerdy Howie and bombshell Vivian would be quite enticing. As a grown woman with a bit more life experience, I was fine with the gritty details of their relationship. What pulled me from the story and away from that elusive fifth star was Vivian's speech - specifically, the way her character was written to frequently use ridiculous, animal-sexual-alliterative phrases. Here are a few examples: "badger buggering bullpoop," "flamingo fluffing phone," and "koala queefing questions." While these phrases seemed amusingly Monte Python-ish the first few times, they lost their appeal as the story progressed.

I do appreciate how the author was able to skillfully weave a wide range of intimately written historical vignettes into Howie's experience. Brief historical glimpses of personalities ranging from Mata Hari to Marilyn Monroe were well framed individually and smoothly incorporated into the broader plot of the novel, revealing a writing talent which trumps the overuse (to my taste) of alliteration.

In addition to its stand-alone entertainment value, I believe Mind Thief will lure readers in with sex and slyly hook them on history. If that happens, this book is truly worthy of four stars.

[Rajeev Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

My overall experience of ‘Mind Thief’ was mostly positive. I liked the chemistry between Vivian and Howie and how it weathered the machinations of a doctor carrying out perhaps the most bizarre medical procedure of all time (a nod to X-Men 2). The arch-villain himself was a mysterious and dangerously alluring figure, a James Bond antagonist raised to the power of ten with his infiltration into so many events of geopolitical significance over a century, living in the shadows and yet puppeteering the world as per the demands of his twisted mind.

The premise of this novel is great, no doubt, pushing the envelope of our current knowledge of cloning and other forms of biological tweaking with god’s intended mechanics of creation and aging, but it suffers from unnecessary sexual filler in more than one place, thereby drilling holes into the reader’s enjoyment of an interesting and unique story. I must admit that I’m not one of the prudes who frown upon a bit of erotic fun in the midst of intellectualism (I actually welcome it; it’s like a droning professor cracking a lewd joke to break through the jaded atmosphere induced by his lecture), but I still found some of the sex-scenes and situations (a few of them American Pie-ish) rather over-stretched, to the extent that they ate into the thrill generated by the storyline. With a little smart editing (Stephen King’s Kill-your-darlings concept comes into play here), this could have turned into a tightrope sci-fi thriller with only the right bit of pulp (read ‘big-breasted, nymphomaniac redhead heroine with a risqué tongue’) to see it through to a satisfying end.

I’d like at least Vivian to return in another of the author’s books which I look forward to reading.

* This is an unbiased review of an ARC I received from the author.

[K. Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind Thief by Darrell Nelson is about a college student, Howie, who unwittingly takes part in a scientific study that has great consequences for the fate of the world and his own life. During this period, he also falls for Vivian. And so this book is sort of two stories that tie in together. In addition, Mind Thief is filled with historical vignettes or hallucinations that interrupt Howie's life. It all sort of works, and the author deserves credit for being able to weave these disparate story lines together.

I particularly enjoyed some of the historical vignettes throughout the story. For example, the book touches on The Business Plot of 1933 and Operation Paper Clip. These are just two examples that I had not been familiar with, and it was interesting to read a fictionalized account of these events.

Despite that, the book was a bit too cartoonish for my taste and therefore it was hard for me to take the plot seriously. As has been mentioned in other reviews, Vivian's dialogue was off putting at times and for me was not funny and more distracting. This is an example of one of her statements: "Piss off you raptor rectum rammer." Reading this sort of dialogue over and over was very tiring and detracted from the story.

In addition, the tone of the book was too uneven. What I mean is that in one sense the story is a part comedy, part satire, and even part raunchy, and also the book examines serious issues related to medical experimentation, war, and politics. Mind Thief hops from one theme to the next, and it was hard for me to take the book and the premise seriously. Overall, this book is probably more geared towards people who enjoy some sex and comedy with their history lesson.

[I.D. Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a tough call for me and I almost wish there was a 3.5 star button. I really loved the concept. The idea that a madman is attempting to transfer his thoughts into a young man and take over his body is interesting. Also, I love history and enjoyed all of the historical bits, particularly the first-hand looks into the lives of historical fiction. If the book would have focused more on these aspects, I feel it could have easily been a five star book for me.
However, there is a lot of explicit sex in this book and a lot of naughty talk. If this was a romance novel I would have at least expected so much sex--but it's not. So, it was a distraction from the story. I'm not against sex in the plot when it adds to the story but, in my opinion, much of this did not. It actually took away from what was going on. It was almost as if I was reading two books--one really cool one about brain transfers and a maniacal tyrant's lust for power, and one just about lust.
The author does have a subplot to explain all of the sex and I get it, I just didn't think it added to the story.
There were also some areas that could have been better proof-read where words were missing, which made it difficult to read from time to time, though nothing major.
As another reviewer mentioned, too many people's names started with the same letter and it also took me a while to figure out who was who.
Overall, I loved the concept and the historical pieces. I just wish it would have been a little less graphic and a little more focused on the sci-fi part.

[Melonie Purcell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise of this book is quite good. It is difficult to summarize without giving too much away, but here is my attempt. The main character, one of the H names, starts having false memories and losing time. The book is his journey to reconcile those memories with his reality. As he works through the inconsistencies, he starts to uncover an unlikely source for the false memories. I thought it was a clever twist at the end. The majority of the story is carried through dialog, which gives it a good steady pace and makes it an enjoyable read.

My problems with this book are twofold. One, it is basically a man’s sexual fantasy pretending to be a science fiction novel. About sixty percent of the sex in the book doesn’t even make sense. It doesn’t move the story and it doesn’t add to character development. It is just there to be sex, bad sex, bad sex from a man’s point of view, which as a female reader, was often laughable. And two, the secondary character, Vivian, was on my last nerve by the time I finished the book. She swears in alliterations. It was cute at first. Annoying as the story progressed and by the end, I was skipping over her dialog to avoid reading another clumping of words that made no sense but started with the same letter. It kind of ruined it for me.

The writing is solid and this book isn’t riddled with typos and editing problems like so many I see. The main character is believable and the story line has enough twists and turns to keep it fun. If you can get past the juvenile sex, it’s worth the read.

[T.S. O'Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mind Thief Review: I've got to warn you, the book is quirky, but then so are a lot of books. It literally starts out with a bang. On the way, is either the most unrealistic dialogue I've ever read or I need to start going out more. The dialogue leads to the aforementioned bang—an inventive sexual episode in a supply closet. Then, it's off to the races. The protagonist has memories of things that didn't happen--like a sister he never really had. He also suffers blackouts and happens to be funding his matriculation in college by participating in a physiological study involving drugs. Might there be a link to his blackouts and false memories? The plot accelerates in Chapter four with a plot twist involving a murder in the early 1900s, the navy, and an anti-aging formula caused me to want to read more, but I still found the pacing a little slow. All and all, it's an easy read as the chapters are short and the author keeps throwing curve balls at you; albeit a little slower than I like. The book turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable read. I noticed a few typos, most notably " I've got get your doctor" at the start of Chapter 3. That's not an easy one to miss. There are other minor grammatical errors, such as commas and apostrophes missing or out of place. I gave it four stars because of the minor issues I encountered as annotated above.

[Loralee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mind Thief by Darrell B Nelson presents a fascinating premise. The idea that someone’s life can be extended indefinitely by siphoning off the minds and lives of others is intriguing. The antagonist and what he does, reminds me of a vampire, particularly Bram Stoker’s Dracula whose personal philosophy was that to continue his own life, and the lives of a few select others he values for his own personal reasons, he had the right to take others’ lives from them, simply because… he possessed the ability to do so. And he does so with no regard to these other people’s rights and feelings. Nelson’s antagonist is just like that, and as a result, is very interesting.
I didn’t like the protagonist Howie as a person. I thought he was excessively selfish, and quite a womanizer. I prefer characters that I can like, or at least sympathize with. As a result, he made it hard to get into the story.
The story itself started off well, however, it did drag and even stall in places. I personally thought that many of the sex scenes could have been shortened or taken out altogether so that the main story could progress faster.
The twist in the middle, as far as what Howie’s origins were, was something I didn’t expect.
There are strong language and explicit sexual situations in this book, of which readers may want to be aware.

[H.A. Larson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I simultaneously liked and disliked “Mind Thief”. The story was an interesting one where a young, sex-starved, college boy starts seeing a psychiatrist. There he ‘meets’ a bona-fide crazy young girl named Vivian and the story progresses from there. Howie is involved in some brain studies, which unbeknownst to him, have a far more nefarious intent. Our young hero is plagued by memories that are not his, and by his roller-coaster relationship with the volatile Vivian. As the story plays out, Vivian and Howie must race to save him from those who wish to claim him.

I really liked Vivian at first, even if she was hyper-sexualized, but that changed a bit over the course of the story. Her quirkiness at first seemed more cartoonish as time wore on, and there’s a scene with her, Howie, and Debbie towards the end of the book that I just couldn’t read all of.
The story itself was interesting and the ending was satisfactory. I feel, however, that the story itself could have been built up a bit more and some of the sex scenes were just unnecessary. I understand that the sex scenes are supposed to lend to the story, but they just don’t all the time, and the whole things ends up feeling more like a book for young men.

Overall, though, this book is an interesting read for the younger crowd and would recommend it for those who like a bit of crazy sex mixed into their sci-fi.

[Dan Gillis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had difficulty getting through the novel as I was inclined to move past sensual scenes. I was interested to discover more about the premise of mind control and what sci-fi elements the author would use to create the conflict. The historical elements and links to the past offered an interesting take on the antagonist. His role and impact upon many significant world events and the ageless recycling of minds brooded in the distance but could not break past the boorishness of the characters. It was difficult to build sympathy for the characters as they were crass and constantly wrapped in themselves. I feel the novel crosses into other genres and should keep itself planted in one of the other. I would not have chosen this story from the erotic shelf, where it yearns to belong.

I cannot recommend the novel in the sci-fi genre based upon the content which detracts from the theme, however, it should be noted that the author writes clearly and descriptive enough to engage the reader in sequences. There is a clever enough story to engage the reader who is aware of the alternative elements. Romance and erotica are too strong in this one for my tastes.

[C.D. Loza · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was just okay for me. Mainly, I was put off, not so much by the sex, but by the language. Although the way Vivian spewed off her words was interesting, it distracted too much from the story, which I found intriguing. The sex can be explicit and outrageous, but then there are countless erotica out there that makes this normal. It's a loopy read about Howie who seems to be losing his mind and then meets a girl who already has lost hers. As they join together (in more ways than one) to get to the bottom of things, the story becomes more interesting with different historical vignettes seamlessly woven. Still, on a general level, it left me feeling that the book could be so much more if the pace was more even, the characters had more depth, and Vivian was not trying too hard to sound cool with her kind of language.

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a few chapters to 'sync' with this book: I found the prose uneven and slightly clumsy, I couldn't quite tell who was talking, I wasn't too keen on the sex scenes, and I didn't find it funny, either. It does slip in to a groove several chapters in, and I started to enjoy some of the interesting ideas, bizarre situations and lively characters. The plot seemed to go out of the window in one or two places, but I'm not sure that it matters all that much in a book like this, and the climax itself is pretty well-handled and unpredictable. I found the tone of the book novel (no pun intended); and although I didn't find it funny, exactly, I enjoyed the book's pacing, characters and idiosyncratic style.