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The Mind Thing
HE was really an "IT" He was incapable of love or mercy or hate. And he certainly never felt the lack. He was almost pure thought. He was just doing what he had to do - looking for the right body to play host to him. Once he found it and moved in, he would execute one of the most incredible plans ever conceived. He would be hailed as a hero on his own planet and EARTH WOULD NEVER KNOW WHAT HIT IT!
149 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
21 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Fredric Brown
808 books355 followersFredric Brown was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He was one of the boldest early writers in genre fiction in his use of narrative experimentation. While never in the front rank of popularity in his lifetime, Brown has developed a considerable cult following in the almost half century since he last wrote. His works have been periodically reprinted and he has a worldwide fan base, most notably in the U.S. and Europe, and especially in France, where there have been several recent movie adaptations of his work. He also remains popular in Japan.
Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.
Never financially secure, Brown - like many other pulp writers - often wrote at a furious pace in order to pay bills. This accounts, at least in part, for the uneven quality of his work. A newspaperman by profession, Brown was only able to devote 14 years of his life as a full-time fiction writer. Brown was also a heavy drinker, and this at times doubtless affected his productivity. A cultured man and omnivorous reader whose interests ranged far beyond those of most pulp writers, Brown had a lifelong interest in the flute, chess, poker, and the works of Lewis Carroll. Brown married twice and was the father of two sons.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
August 13, 2021
A terrifically well-crafted science-fiction tale involving a battle of wits between an alien and a human, not unlike Brown's classic short story, "Arena." In pondering Brown's superb mastery of plot structure, I have, for myself, completely abandoned the popular saw that feeling compelled to notice the artist's craft means the artist has not done his or her job properly. Awareness that fictional reality is a reality recreated according to the author's values is essential to esthetic enjoyment, for it is ultimately the author's view of reality one enjoys. I revel in Brown's reality where the mind is the most powerful weapon of all.
December 21, 2025
This is a truly GREAT science fiction novel. An alien comes to earth, having been dispatched from its own planet for a misdeed. This alien can take over the mind of any organic creature when the creature is asleep. The alien’s intent is to find the correct host that will enable it, through use of the human’s abilities, to return to its home planet. There are deaths galore throughout the novel as the alien moves closer and closer to its most ambitious target. If it succeeds, the earth is doomed. This is a hard-to-put-down novel and a joy to read.
October 15, 2024
Scrittore a tutto tondo, capace di distinguersi in più campi della narrativa senza disdegnare puntate interessanti nel campo della fantascienza come in questo romanzo godibilissimo che può benissimo ascriversi al giallo fantascientifico.
February 26, 2018
The book blurb says, “He was incapable of love or mercy…or hate. And he certainly never felt the lack. He was almost pure thought.”
And it was not even a he but an it, an extraterrestrial body snatcher.
Frederic Brown is a meticulous writer and his stories are always good reads. The Mind Thing is no exception. My only complaint is that it's written in the 1960’s when a great deal of science fiction is intensely grim. There’s almost a deadpan inevitability to the disastrous endings, like nothing seen before or since.
The Mind Thing is a brilliant example. The pure alien-ness of the monster is terrifying. It has no morals which we’d recognize. It does have a moral compass, it just doesn’t apply to humans.
This is a short work with a straight-though storyline. You know quickly that there’ll be a confrontation between two characters. Despite the inevitability, you'll watch the action with fascination as if an approaching train wreck. The pacing is brilliant, which is not surprising as Brown is also a mystery writer.
For the life of me I couldn’t figure out how the good guy would defeat the bad. And I won’t spoil it for you, either.
It’s always interesting to read books from other eras, especially those written before your birth. As a culture it’s easy to forget how morals have changed. For example, premarital sex and teen pregnancy are handled very practically in this story and not, as you’d imagine, with a debilitating social stigma.
Additionally, watching a small community handle a series of murders without the use of phones in every household serves as a good reminder of how things used to be. Breaks in stereotyping with elderly Miss Talley, who is a science fiction reader and an out-of-the box thinker, are surprising and delightful. And older Doc Staunton is a brainy but unlikely action hero.
My copy of The Mind Thing is 149 pages and it’s a fast read. So read the book, you won’t be disappointed. And check out the feeling of the book while you’re at it — how Brown masterfully brings you into the mind of a thing that is absolutely inhuman, or is that inhumane? I’d say, both.
And it was not even a he but an it, an extraterrestrial body snatcher.
Frederic Brown is a meticulous writer and his stories are always good reads. The Mind Thing is no exception. My only complaint is that it's written in the 1960’s when a great deal of science fiction is intensely grim. There’s almost a deadpan inevitability to the disastrous endings, like nothing seen before or since.
The Mind Thing is a brilliant example. The pure alien-ness of the monster is terrifying. It has no morals which we’d recognize. It does have a moral compass, it just doesn’t apply to humans.
This is a short work with a straight-though storyline. You know quickly that there’ll be a confrontation between two characters. Despite the inevitability, you'll watch the action with fascination as if an approaching train wreck. The pacing is brilliant, which is not surprising as Brown is also a mystery writer.
For the life of me I couldn’t figure out how the good guy would defeat the bad. And I won’t spoil it for you, either.
It’s always interesting to read books from other eras, especially those written before your birth. As a culture it’s easy to forget how morals have changed. For example, premarital sex and teen pregnancy are handled very practically in this story and not, as you’d imagine, with a debilitating social stigma.
Additionally, watching a small community handle a series of murders without the use of phones in every household serves as a good reminder of how things used to be. Breaks in stereotyping with elderly Miss Talley, who is a science fiction reader and an out-of-the box thinker, are surprising and delightful. And older Doc Staunton is a brainy but unlikely action hero.
My copy of The Mind Thing is 149 pages and it’s a fast read. So read the book, you won’t be disappointed. And check out the feeling of the book while you’re at it — how Brown masterfully brings you into the mind of a thing that is absolutely inhuman, or is that inhumane? I’d say, both.
May 11, 2013
-Novela de misterio, casi policiaca, con extraterrestre en lugar de maniaco asesino y maduro profesor del MIT en lugar de detective.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Un ente extraterrestre poco dotado físicamente pero con importantes capacidades mentales trata de volver a su planeta para ser perdonado por el crimen que le llevó al destierro en la Tierra y para dar parte de la existencia de unos anfitriones nuevos para controlar, los humanos, por lo que comienza a controlar los cerebros de pequeños mamíferos que abundan en la zona rural a la que ha llegado, tratando de llegar hasta alguna persona que pueda controlar y que tenga las capacidades científicas y técnicas que le ayuden en el regreso a su mundo natal.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. Un ente extraterrestre poco dotado físicamente pero con importantes capacidades mentales trata de volver a su planeta para ser perdonado por el crimen que le llevó al destierro en la Tierra y para dar parte de la existencia de unos anfitriones nuevos para controlar, los humanos, por lo que comienza a controlar los cerebros de pequeños mamíferos que abundan en la zona rural a la que ha llegado, tratando de llegar hasta alguna persona que pueda controlar y que tenga las capacidades científicas y técnicas que le ayuden en el regreso a su mundo natal.
¿Quiere saber más del libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
August 13, 2021
So, beer makes you drowsy, but a double bourbon is a pickup? Not as much drinking here as in Brown's urban mysteries, but still more than anything else I read.
But that's a trivial complaint. Brown is a masterful and imaginative writer. His stories are engaging and his characters & plots are coherent & sensible. I have enjoyed all that I've read and reread, and I will continue to seek them out.
But that's a trivial complaint. Brown is a masterful and imaginative writer. His stories are engaging and his characters & plots are coherent & sensible. I have enjoyed all that I've read and reread, and I will continue to seek them out.
July 26, 2021
خيال علمي خفيفة
تقييم ٣.٥
تقييم ٣.٥
May 2, 2016
La historia trata sobre un alienígena con la capacidad de habitar la mente de cualquier animal (incluyendo humanos) que se encuentre dentro de su alcance. Puede acceder a sus recuerdos y tener el control total de sus acciones. La única forma de librarse es la muerte, por eso, provoca una serie de extraños suicidios que empiezan a ser investigados por un científico entrometido.
Un híbrido entre los géneros de ciencia ficción y suspense. La primera mitad del libro se hace bastante pesada porque, aunque la historia sea intrigante, la trama avanza muy despacio. Luego engancha y no puedes dejar de leerlo. Recomendado para los amantes de cualquiera de estos dos géneros.
Un híbrido entre los géneros de ciencia ficción y suspense. La primera mitad del libro se hace bastante pesada porque, aunque la historia sea intrigante, la trama avanza muy despacio. Luego engancha y no puedes dejar de leerlo. Recomendado para los amantes de cualquiera de estos dos géneros.
September 26, 2014
Simply one of the best sci-fi/horror books I've ever read. Full of suspense, likable characters, atypical characters in fact, and well-written. So sad that this book seems to have been all but forgotten.
May 12, 2021
Another fantastic and tightly written novelette by Fredric Brown. Wish he’d written more of these but at least we have his short stories to enjoy.
February 28, 2019
6/10. Media de los 6 libros leídos del autor : 6/10.
Alienígena que es solo mente y va ocupando cuerpos para lograr su objetivo…pseeeee, olvidable.
Alienígena que es solo mente y va ocupando cuerpos para lograr su objetivo…pseeeee, olvidable.
March 16, 2024
It's a shame that this book is not more widely known. With its simple yet fascinating plot, quick pace and an antagonist like no other I've come across, it's one of my favourite sci fi books. It's short enough to read in one sitting, which is a good thing because I didn't want to put it down.
An alien has invaded earth: not with UFOs filling the skies or lasers blasting, but with a covert power far more sinister because of its stealth. We watch as the alien's plans develop and mature while the humans slowly figure out what's going on.
Since we know what the alien is capable of, the tension mounts inexorably as we wait to see whether he'll succeed in his plans.
This isn't an epic space opera; it's a small but well-crafted tale set in a tiny, anonymous town, but deserves a spot among the best science fiction stories ever written.
An alien has invaded earth: not with UFOs filling the skies or lasers blasting, but with a covert power far more sinister because of its stealth. We watch as the alien's plans develop and mature while the humans slowly figure out what's going on.
Since we know what the alien is capable of, the tension mounts inexorably as we wait to see whether he'll succeed in his plans.
This isn't an epic space opera; it's a small but well-crafted tale set in a tiny, anonymous town, but deserves a spot among the best science fiction stories ever written.
December 8, 2022
There are only three or four of my friends whose advice I'd heed on science fiction, and I can't remember which of those recommended this book, but I'm glad they did. It's both an intriguingly original SF concept and a nail-biting thriller. The big question is, given how much SF I devoured as child and teenager, how did I fail to read anything by Fredric Brown until now? I mean to make up for lost time.
November 22, 2013
Still a strikingly original story; I consider this a science fiction classic. Brown was a brilliant writer.
July 23, 2018
review of
Fredric Brown's The Mind Thing
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - July 23, 2018
There's the recurring problem of trying to review something w/o giving away so much of the story that it ruins it for prospective readers. This is yet-another case of a bk primarily of importance to me for its story rather than, say, its writing style or the way extraneous info of interest is worked into the plot. I found myself completely engrossed in the story & even a bit emotionally involved hoping for a happy ending to an increasingly intensified dilemma.
I was reminded a little of 2 TV shows I watched when I was a kid before I stopped watching TV at age 16: "The Twilight Zone" & "The Outer Limits". I wasn't sure whether either existed in January 1961 when this was published so I checked online: "The Outer Limits" was 1963-1965; "The Twilight Zone" was from Oct 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. That means that The Mind Thing was published hot-on-the-heels of "The Twilight Zone". Perhaps it was written before "The Twilight Zone" aired but while reading it it was easy to imagine Brown wanting it to be made into a movie or a TV show — & it wd've been a very thrilling one. I'm reminded of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from 1956. There's a full-page ad for "Stories from the Twilight Zone" at the end of The Mind Thing.
An extraterrestrial comes to Earth. It has substantial powers of perception but no mobility w/o the assistance of others:
"The Mind Thing used his perceptor sense to test this strange and alien environment in which he found himself. He had no organs of vision or hearing, but his perceptor sense was something far better; he could "see" all around himself, very clearly for about twenty yards, tapering to dim vision for another twenty or so, but his seeing was unimpeded by intervening objects. He could see the bark on the far side of a tree as plainly as that on the near side. He could see down into the ground as far and as clearly as in any other direction. His ability to sense vibrations extended even farther and was extremely actute within its range." - p 1
The Mind Thing survives by becoming parasitical on a host. Poor Tommy:
"In this case it took him about a second, average for a moderately intelligent creature. Then he had Tommy Hoffman's mind and, through it, control of Tommy's body. The whatever-you-want-to-call-it that was Tommy Hoffman was still there, but locked up and helpless, unable to use its own body or its own senses. The mind thing had it, and it could obtain release now only through death. Tommy's death, or the mind thing's." - p 8
This is something the reader learns fairly early on wch is why I don't feel like I'm spoiling things by revealing it here. The thrill, for the reader, is knowing these things & being on edge waiting to see how it all plays out. Another thing that becomes obvious to the reader is when the ET makes mistakes:
"Very quietly so as to not awaken the girl (he could have strangled her, of course, but that would be an unnecessary complication; he had no empathy for lesser creatures but neither did he kill wantonly) he got up and started for the path. Since time might be important—someone else might come along that path at any time—he didn't have his host dress. Tommy wore only a pair of blue socks; his other garments—shoes, shorts, trousers, and a shirt—lay in a pile beside where he had been lying." - pp 8-9
"All that was within his grasp if he worked slowly and carefully and made no mistakes. He had made one already, he now realized. He had lessened his present host's value to him by making him act in a manner against human mores, thereby attracting attention to him." - p 19
"He learned above all that he had been careless, and had aroused curiousity by the things he had made his hosts, human or animal, do, especially by the manner in which he had made them kill themselves." - p 63
The ET is a problem child:
"He had not come voluntarily; he had been sent. Not as a scout or as a spearhead of an invasion (although it could turn out that way if he could get back), but as an exile. He was a criminal." - p 18
Perhaps he was sent as a blackhead of an invasion. & I know just the right dermatologist:
"Mr. Staunton was a small wiry man, somewhere in his fifties, with iron gray hair in a short crew cut and with dancing, piercing bright blue eyes.
"His curiosity was almost insatiable. He must have asked at least a hundred questions, and Ella Gross answered all of them. A question about whether anything else unusual had happened brought out the death of the cat and the missing items from the refrigerator. And then he'd asked a lot of questions about each of those matters. He seemed both excited and puzzled." - p 65
Even better, as w/ other Brown bks, there's a reader of science fiction:
""Possession by what, then? I'm a materialist, Miss Talley. I'll admit that the Rhine experiments and some other things have shaken me just a little bit, enough so I don't dogmatically deny the possibility of wild talents like telepathy and telekinesis. And of course hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion are fully accepted scientifically. But not even the wildest enthusiast for parapsychology has suggested that one mind can take over another and control it from inside."
""One human mind," said Miss Talley firmly. "There are billions of planets besides Earth in the universe, and millions of them must be inhabited. How do we know what capabilities and limitations a non-human mind might have? How do we know what an alien, an extra-terrestrial, might be able to do?"" - p 92
Right Arm & Farm Out, Miss Talley. It's summertime. Do you know how hot it is?
"Outside, crickets were chirping, thousands of crickets. Doc's mind wandered and he thought how strange it was that one could tell the temperature, almost exactly, by timing the interval between the chirps of a cricket. A cricket was a thermometer, and probably as accurate as the average household thermometer." - p 109
"Dolbear's law states the relationship between the air temperature and the rate at which crickets chirp. It was formulated by Amos Dolbear and published in 1897 in an article called "The Cricket as a Thermometer". Dolbear's observations on the relation between chirp rate and temperature were preceded by an 1881 report by Margarette W. Brooks, although this paper went unnoticed until after Dolbear's publication.
"Dolbear did not specify the species of cricket which he observed, although subsequent researchers assumed it to be the snowy tree cricket, "Oecanthus niveus." However, the snowy tree cricket was misidentified as O. niveus in early reports and the correct scientific name for this species is Oecanthus fultoni.
"The chirping of the more common field crickets is not as reliably correlated to temperature—their chirping rate varies depending on other factors such as age and mating success. In many cases, though, the Dolbear's formula is a close enough approximation for field crickets, too." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolbear...
Might as well get a plug in for Margarette W. Brooks too then but pickins are slim:
"Works
• "Bone fish-hooks", Science (New York), November 16 1883, Vol.2(41), pp.653-4
"Articles in Popular Science Monthly
• “An Experiment in Silk-Culture,” in Popular Science Monthly, 29 (July 1886)
• “Insect Pests of the House,” in Popular Science Monthly, 37 (July 1890)" - https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author...
& on that note I leave you wondering: did the Mind Thing succeed? Was it detected b/c it took over the mind of a cricket & threw the whole balance of the chirping off? Did the pimple pop? Read the bk.
Fredric Brown's The Mind Thing
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - July 23, 2018
There's the recurring problem of trying to review something w/o giving away so much of the story that it ruins it for prospective readers. This is yet-another case of a bk primarily of importance to me for its story rather than, say, its writing style or the way extraneous info of interest is worked into the plot. I found myself completely engrossed in the story & even a bit emotionally involved hoping for a happy ending to an increasingly intensified dilemma.
I was reminded a little of 2 TV shows I watched when I was a kid before I stopped watching TV at age 16: "The Twilight Zone" & "The Outer Limits". I wasn't sure whether either existed in January 1961 when this was published so I checked online: "The Outer Limits" was 1963-1965; "The Twilight Zone" was from Oct 2, 1959, to June 19, 1964. That means that The Mind Thing was published hot-on-the-heels of "The Twilight Zone". Perhaps it was written before "The Twilight Zone" aired but while reading it it was easy to imagine Brown wanting it to be made into a movie or a TV show — & it wd've been a very thrilling one. I'm reminded of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" from 1956. There's a full-page ad for "Stories from the Twilight Zone" at the end of The Mind Thing.
An extraterrestrial comes to Earth. It has substantial powers of perception but no mobility w/o the assistance of others:
"The Mind Thing used his perceptor sense to test this strange and alien environment in which he found himself. He had no organs of vision or hearing, but his perceptor sense was something far better; he could "see" all around himself, very clearly for about twenty yards, tapering to dim vision for another twenty or so, but his seeing was unimpeded by intervening objects. He could see the bark on the far side of a tree as plainly as that on the near side. He could see down into the ground as far and as clearly as in any other direction. His ability to sense vibrations extended even farther and was extremely actute within its range." - p 1
The Mind Thing survives by becoming parasitical on a host. Poor Tommy:
"In this case it took him about a second, average for a moderately intelligent creature. Then he had Tommy Hoffman's mind and, through it, control of Tommy's body. The whatever-you-want-to-call-it that was Tommy Hoffman was still there, but locked up and helpless, unable to use its own body or its own senses. The mind thing had it, and it could obtain release now only through death. Tommy's death, or the mind thing's." - p 8
This is something the reader learns fairly early on wch is why I don't feel like I'm spoiling things by revealing it here. The thrill, for the reader, is knowing these things & being on edge waiting to see how it all plays out. Another thing that becomes obvious to the reader is when the ET makes mistakes:
"Very quietly so as to not awaken the girl (he could have strangled her, of course, but that would be an unnecessary complication; he had no empathy for lesser creatures but neither did he kill wantonly) he got up and started for the path. Since time might be important—someone else might come along that path at any time—he didn't have his host dress. Tommy wore only a pair of blue socks; his other garments—shoes, shorts, trousers, and a shirt—lay in a pile beside where he had been lying." - pp 8-9
"All that was within his grasp if he worked slowly and carefully and made no mistakes. He had made one already, he now realized. He had lessened his present host's value to him by making him act in a manner against human mores, thereby attracting attention to him." - p 19
"He learned above all that he had been careless, and had aroused curiousity by the things he had made his hosts, human or animal, do, especially by the manner in which he had made them kill themselves." - p 63
The ET is a problem child:
"He had not come voluntarily; he had been sent. Not as a scout or as a spearhead of an invasion (although it could turn out that way if he could get back), but as an exile. He was a criminal." - p 18
Perhaps he was sent as a blackhead of an invasion. & I know just the right dermatologist:
"Mr. Staunton was a small wiry man, somewhere in his fifties, with iron gray hair in a short crew cut and with dancing, piercing bright blue eyes.
"His curiosity was almost insatiable. He must have asked at least a hundred questions, and Ella Gross answered all of them. A question about whether anything else unusual had happened brought out the death of the cat and the missing items from the refrigerator. And then he'd asked a lot of questions about each of those matters. He seemed both excited and puzzled." - p 65
Even better, as w/ other Brown bks, there's a reader of science fiction:
""Possession by what, then? I'm a materialist, Miss Talley. I'll admit that the Rhine experiments and some other things have shaken me just a little bit, enough so I don't dogmatically deny the possibility of wild talents like telepathy and telekinesis. And of course hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion are fully accepted scientifically. But not even the wildest enthusiast for parapsychology has suggested that one mind can take over another and control it from inside."
""One human mind," said Miss Talley firmly. "There are billions of planets besides Earth in the universe, and millions of them must be inhabited. How do we know what capabilities and limitations a non-human mind might have? How do we know what an alien, an extra-terrestrial, might be able to do?"" - p 92
Right Arm & Farm Out, Miss Talley. It's summertime. Do you know how hot it is?
"Outside, crickets were chirping, thousands of crickets. Doc's mind wandered and he thought how strange it was that one could tell the temperature, almost exactly, by timing the interval between the chirps of a cricket. A cricket was a thermometer, and probably as accurate as the average household thermometer." - p 109
"Dolbear's law states the relationship between the air temperature and the rate at which crickets chirp. It was formulated by Amos Dolbear and published in 1897 in an article called "The Cricket as a Thermometer". Dolbear's observations on the relation between chirp rate and temperature were preceded by an 1881 report by Margarette W. Brooks, although this paper went unnoticed until after Dolbear's publication.
"Dolbear did not specify the species of cricket which he observed, although subsequent researchers assumed it to be the snowy tree cricket, "Oecanthus niveus." However, the snowy tree cricket was misidentified as O. niveus in early reports and the correct scientific name for this species is Oecanthus fultoni.
"The chirping of the more common field crickets is not as reliably correlated to temperature—their chirping rate varies depending on other factors such as age and mating success. In many cases, though, the Dolbear's formula is a close enough approximation for field crickets, too." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolbear...
Might as well get a plug in for Margarette W. Brooks too then but pickins are slim:
"Works
• "Bone fish-hooks", Science (New York), November 16 1883, Vol.2(41), pp.653-4
"Articles in Popular Science Monthly
• “An Experiment in Silk-Culture,” in Popular Science Monthly, 29 (July 1886)
• “Insect Pests of the House,” in Popular Science Monthly, 37 (July 1890)" - https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Author...
& on that note I leave you wondering: did the Mind Thing succeed? Was it detected b/c it took over the mind of a cricket & threw the whole balance of the chirping off? Did the pimple pop? Read the bk.
August 15, 2016
Je to jedna z prvních sci-fi, které jsem kdyi četl v polštině, takže to na mně samozřejmě udělalo obrovský dojem. A teď jsem si, po pár stoletích, tenhle román z šedesátých let přečetl znova.
První klad - má to asi 200 stran. Sakra, kam zmizely doby, kdy, když napsal autor zábavné literatury román přes 200 stran, už byl považovaný za nesnesitelně užvaněného? Druhý klad -je to béčkový horor.
Na Zemi se dostane cizí entita, která se ani sama nedokáže hýbat, zato dokáže v okruhu několika kilometrů ovládnout mysl jakéhokoliv spícího zvířete či člověka. Bohužel pokaždé jen jednoho a jediný způsob, jak se dostat zase ven, je zabít nositele. Cíl bytosti je ovládnout někoho, kdo by jí pomohl sestavit stroj, se kterým by se mohla vrátit zpátky a oznámit svým kolegům, že je tu planeta vhodná pro invazi.
Na dnešní horor je to už krotké - bytost zabije jen tři lidi (samozřejmě, hned na začátku se mu do spárů dostane milenecká dvojice, která si to jde do lesa rozdat - jak to má v správných starých hororech být) a spoustu zvířat, hlavně koček. (Takže ideální četba pro všechny kočkomily.) A mezitím geniální vědec, který čirou náhodou žije v okolí, hledá souvislost mezi vlnou sebevražd lidí a zvířat... a samozřejmě, hned po infekci ho napadne invaze z vesmíru. A tak začíná souboj mozků - téměř doslova.
Jasně, je to naivní, ale zvláště poté, co jsem četl Eca, mi ta přímočarost přišla osvěžující. Žádné otravování s psychologií a emocemi, žádné brždění se vztahy (navíc je hrdinovi přes padesát a jeho ženské parťačce šedesát), jen soustředění na tahy a protitahy. A i ty jdou rychle za sebou, bez zbytečných odboček. Navíc je tak polovina knihy věnovaná bytosti z vesmíru, jejímu úsilí někam se dostat a dobře to zamaskovat a člověku nezbývá, než jí fandit. Je to fuška, když jste v podstatě jen bezmocný mozek na cizí planetě.
Navíc to má hodně solidní finále, které kvalitu ještě trochu zvedá, kdy dojde na přímou konfrontaci vylepšenou tím, že jakmile hrdina usne, prohraje. The Mind Thing bych si klidně dovedl přestavit zpracované od Kinga, s logičtějším a plynulejším vývojem pátrání, s více mrtvými a větším důrazem na hororové scény. Jenže pak by to mělo zase nějakých tisíc stran. To si člověk prostě nevybere.
První klad - má to asi 200 stran. Sakra, kam zmizely doby, kdy, když napsal autor zábavné literatury román přes 200 stran, už byl považovaný za nesnesitelně užvaněného? Druhý klad -je to béčkový horor.
Na Zemi se dostane cizí entita, která se ani sama nedokáže hýbat, zato dokáže v okruhu několika kilometrů ovládnout mysl jakéhokoliv spícího zvířete či člověka. Bohužel pokaždé jen jednoho a jediný způsob, jak se dostat zase ven, je zabít nositele. Cíl bytosti je ovládnout někoho, kdo by jí pomohl sestavit stroj, se kterým by se mohla vrátit zpátky a oznámit svým kolegům, že je tu planeta vhodná pro invazi.
Na dnešní horor je to už krotké - bytost zabije jen tři lidi (samozřejmě, hned na začátku se mu do spárů dostane milenecká dvojice, která si to jde do lesa rozdat - jak to má v správných starých hororech být) a spoustu zvířat, hlavně koček. (Takže ideální četba pro všechny kočkomily.) A mezitím geniální vědec, který čirou náhodou žije v okolí, hledá souvislost mezi vlnou sebevražd lidí a zvířat... a samozřejmě, hned po infekci ho napadne invaze z vesmíru. A tak začíná souboj mozků - téměř doslova.
Jasně, je to naivní, ale zvláště poté, co jsem četl Eca, mi ta přímočarost přišla osvěžující. Žádné otravování s psychologií a emocemi, žádné brždění se vztahy (navíc je hrdinovi přes padesát a jeho ženské parťačce šedesát), jen soustředění na tahy a protitahy. A i ty jdou rychle za sebou, bez zbytečných odboček. Navíc je tak polovina knihy věnovaná bytosti z vesmíru, jejímu úsilí někam se dostat a dobře to zamaskovat a člověku nezbývá, než jí fandit. Je to fuška, když jste v podstatě jen bezmocný mozek na cizí planetě.
Navíc to má hodně solidní finále, které kvalitu ještě trochu zvedá, kdy dojde na přímou konfrontaci vylepšenou tím, že jakmile hrdina usne, prohraje. The Mind Thing bych si klidně dovedl přestavit zpracované od Kinga, s logičtějším a plynulejším vývojem pátrání, s více mrtvými a větším důrazem na hororové scény. Jenže pak by to mělo zase nějakých tisíc stran. To si člověk prostě nevybere.
January 17, 2023
This was excellent! Yes, there are times when Brown gets a little redundant or I would read a passage that, I hate to say, bout felt like padding. After all, the book is quite short and I'm sure he needed a certain number of pages for the publisher.
But aside from that quibble, this was a fun, fascinating, and rather dark book. The Mind Thing is an alien, more or less instantly teleported here as an exile and looking to return home where, if it can make it, its crimes will be forgiven. So it's motivation is clear, escape however it can. To do so, however, it must take over a living being, a host, that it can control at will. It can only take someone over when they're asleep and then it must remain inside the host until it dies.
With the rules clearly established, we're on a journey to see if it can take over the right creatures and people to escape the farming community and get to a big city where it can properly work on some tech to get it home. But it's leaving a wake of dead that stimulates the curiosity of a visiting professor - and perfect host.
To say anymore would require spoilers. The only other thing I'll add is that it's nice to see Brown's rather modern approach on certain mores that felt way ahead of their time for 1960 (re: premarital sex).
The very ending was such a joy to read, especially since I wasn't sure if our protagonist would survive the final conflict -- and that's when the stakes are truly high.
But aside from that quibble, this was a fun, fascinating, and rather dark book. The Mind Thing is an alien, more or less instantly teleported here as an exile and looking to return home where, if it can make it, its crimes will be forgiven. So it's motivation is clear, escape however it can. To do so, however, it must take over a living being, a host, that it can control at will. It can only take someone over when they're asleep and then it must remain inside the host until it dies.
With the rules clearly established, we're on a journey to see if it can take over the right creatures and people to escape the farming community and get to a big city where it can properly work on some tech to get it home. But it's leaving a wake of dead that stimulates the curiosity of a visiting professor - and perfect host.
To say anymore would require spoilers. The only other thing I'll add is that it's nice to see Brown's rather modern approach on certain mores that felt way ahead of their time for 1960 (re: premarital sex).
The very ending was such a joy to read, especially since I wasn't sure if our protagonist would survive the final conflict -- and that's when the stakes are truly high.
June 23, 2025
Mi è piaciuto abbastanza come libro, è ben scritto e la narrazione procede diretta fino alla fine, lo si legge in poco tempo anche perché è abbastanza corto. Mi è piaciuto molto l'alieno della storia e il suo modo di agire, oltre all'atmosfera costante di tensione, soprattutto verso la fine della storia. Per quanto pensassi che "la mente" alla fine vincesse sull'essere umano, la conclusione mi è piaciuta e ho trovato il finale, nei pensieri della signorina Talley, molto vicino al modo che avrei io di pensare in quella stessa situazione e con quella stessa risoluzione finale. Ora non dovrò più leggere libri di fantascienza e quello che l'essere umano poteva essere sarà, mondi, alieni e realtà visibili a cui potrò assistere. Personalmente il momento più bello di questo libro. Forse si conclude troppo velocemente sul finale, spegnendo un po' il pathos ma mi è piaciuta la contro narrazione per cui l'alieno voleva tornare a casa dal suo esilio, per poi dire a tutti di aver trovato un pianeta da invadere ed invece ha dato modo agli esseri umani di sapere come poter viaggiare nello spazio e svariate altre nozioni, che li porteranno a conquistare loro i pianeti e presumibilmente anche quello dello stesso alieno. Il mio personaggio preferito è proprio la signorina Talley ma anche il dottore Staunton. Gli ho dato tre stelle perché quattro per me sono il massimo, mentre cinque è qualcosa di veramente perfetto soggettivamente. Credo che dargli tre sia la giusta valutazione ad un libro che intrattiene ed è interessante ma che non si eleva troppo al di sopra rimanendo comunque un buon libro di fantascienza, corto e veloce oltre ad essere un buon modo per avvicinarsi al genere.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 12, 2021
Questo romanzo è il tipico esempio di romanzo che si lascia leggere tranquillamente in un giorno, che intrattiene per il tempo che dura e di cui poi ti dimentichi il mattino successivo (e sì, mi è successa esattamente questa cosa).
Bisogna dire che l'autore ha fatto del suo meglio per rendere la maggior parte degli elementi del suo romanzo dimenticabili, dai personaggi dalle motivazioni sconosciute (e complessivamente spesso inutili) alla trama mandata avanti da un numero fin troppo alto di coincidenze (e che ci mette più di due terzi delle pagine per carburare a dovere).
Nonostante ciò, il romanzo si lascia leggere in modo scorrevole (nonostante qualche errore grammaticale qua e là) e non annoia mai. Inoltre, le ultime decine di pagine sono veramente ben costruite e riescono pienamente a trasmettere il pathos della scena.
Infine, penso di poter dire con sufficiente certezza che il finale sia uno dei più anticlimatici che io abbia mai letto.
In conclusione, se non avete nient'altro da leggere e dovete trovare un modo per passare un pomeriggio, questo romanzo potrebbe fare al caso vostro. Altrimenti, potete tranquillamente lasciarlo su uno scaffale e state certi che non vi perdete nulla di che.
Bisogna dire che l'autore ha fatto del suo meglio per rendere la maggior parte degli elementi del suo romanzo dimenticabili, dai personaggi dalle motivazioni sconosciute (e complessivamente spesso inutili) alla trama mandata avanti da un numero fin troppo alto di coincidenze (e che ci mette più di due terzi delle pagine per carburare a dovere).
Nonostante ciò, il romanzo si lascia leggere in modo scorrevole (nonostante qualche errore grammaticale qua e là) e non annoia mai. Inoltre, le ultime decine di pagine sono veramente ben costruite e riescono pienamente a trasmettere il pathos della scena.
Infine, penso di poter dire con sufficiente certezza che il finale sia uno dei più anticlimatici che io abbia mai letto.
In conclusione, se non avete nient'altro da leggere e dovete trovare un modo per passare un pomeriggio, questo romanzo potrebbe fare al caso vostro. Altrimenti, potete tranquillamente lasciarlo su uno scaffale e state certi che non vi perdete nulla di che.
November 26, 2022
A decent book about an alien who can take over human bodies, but can only leave them when the host dies. This all happens in a rural area and only one person really catches on to what's going on.
I read a story (not sure if it was a full book or short story) very similar to this in the 80's or 90's, but the book itself was probably from the 50's or 60's. Same idea but it happened in more of a metropolis area and there were cops or government people chasing down the alien.
Does that ring a bell for anyone? I'd love to find the book I read back then. When I found The Mind Thing I was almost certain it was the same book. It wasn't until very near the end that I was sure it was different.
I read a story (not sure if it was a full book or short story) very similar to this in the 80's or 90's, but the book itself was probably from the 50's or 60's. Same idea but it happened in more of a metropolis area and there were cops or government people chasing down the alien.
Does that ring a bell for anyone? I'd love to find the book I read back then. When I found The Mind Thing I was almost certain it was the same book. It wasn't until very near the end that I was sure it was different.
February 13, 2025
لعلي ظننت أن هذا الكتاب كان غريبًا في أول مرة قرأته فيها، لكنه ممتع وأعمق مما كنت أظن.
أسلوب براون في الكتابة ممتع لأنه لا يركز فقط على التشويق ، بل يطرح أفكارًا فلسفية تجعل القارئ يفكر في أشياء أعمق.
تتسائل الرواية عن معنى الوجود عندما يكون الكائن قادرًا على فهم كل شيء، ولكن لا يزال يبحث عن هدف أو معنى أعمق لحياته.
الفلسفة هنا تتعلق بالصراع بين المعرفة المطلقة والشعور بالفراغ الداخلي، وكيف أن القدرة على فهم الكون لا تعني بالضرورة فهم النفس أو الوصول إلى السعادة. الكتاب يستعرض أيضًا فكرة أن الإنسان (أو الكائن) قد يظل يواجه أسئلة وجودية حتى في ظل القوة والقدرة. في النهاية، الكائن يتساءل: هل المعرفة والقدرات العقلية هي السبيل للمعنى، أم أن الحياة تتطلب شيئًا آخر أكثر من ذلك؟
أسلوب براون في الكتابة ممتع لأنه لا يركز فقط على التشويق ، بل يطرح أفكارًا فلسفية تجعل القارئ يفكر في أشياء أعمق.
تتسائل الرواية عن معنى الوجود عندما يكون الكائن قادرًا على فهم كل شيء، ولكن لا يزال يبحث عن هدف أو معنى أعمق لحياته.
الفلسفة هنا تتعلق بالصراع بين المعرفة المطلقة والشعور بالفراغ الداخلي، وكيف أن القدرة على فهم الكون لا تعني بالضرورة فهم النفس أو الوصول إلى السعادة. الكتاب يستعرض أيضًا فكرة أن الإنسان (أو الكائن) قد يظل يواجه أسئلة وجودية حتى في ظل القوة والقدرة. في النهاية، الكائن يتساءل: هل المعرفة والقدرات العقلية هي السبيل للمعنى، أم أن الحياة تتطلب شيئًا آخر أكثر من ذلك؟
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2025
الآن فهمت ما يُقصد بروايات “الطائرات”، تلك التي تبني فصولًا متتابعة على موضوع خارق للطبيعة لتجعل القارئ يقلب الصفحة تلو الأخرى. بالنسبة لي، لم تمنحني هذه الفصول ذلك الشعور السعيد عند إنهائها، ربما لأنها قصيرة في المقام الأول. ولهذا لم أستطع تحديد موقفي من هذا التكنيك: هل أحبه أم أكرهه؟
ما أستطيع قوله أن الرواية تشبه تلك الأفلام التي نستمتع بمشاهدتها رغم معرفتنا المسبقة بمآل أحداثها. أحيانًا يكون هذا الأمر إيجابيًا لأنه يركز على الرحلة أكثر من النتيجة، وأحيانًا يبدو كسقطة حين تُترك النهاية مفتوحة على التأويل. ومع ذلك، فإن مساحة الخيال الشخصي تعوض هذه الليونة والركاكة في الطرح، وتجعل التجربة مقبولة وربما ممتعة في بعض لحظاتها.
ما أستطيع قوله أن الرواية تشبه تلك الأفلام التي نستمتع بمشاهدتها رغم معرفتنا المسبقة بمآل أحداثها. أحيانًا يكون هذا الأمر إيجابيًا لأنه يركز على الرحلة أكثر من النتيجة، وأحيانًا يبدو كسقطة حين تُترك النهاية مفتوحة على التأويل. ومع ذلك، فإن مساحة الخيال الشخصي تعوض هذه الليونة والركاكة في الطرح، وتجعل التجربة مقبولة وربما ممتعة في بعض لحظاتها.
October 4, 2021
One of his better books. . .
I think that he writes it with more of a mystery/detective novel, with the reader being privy to the "alien" theme.
The usual space stuff that he writes tends to be more hackneyed and contrived. He tends to put in stuff that's not very "scientific" betraying some of the weakness of his technical knowledge. Generally, in those books, his character development and plots tend to be sort of weak. . .
This one is different, however, and I think that it's an okay read.
I think that he writes it with more of a mystery/detective novel, with the reader being privy to the "alien" theme.
The usual space stuff that he writes tends to be more hackneyed and contrived. He tends to put in stuff that's not very "scientific" betraying some of the weakness of his technical knowledge. Generally, in those books, his character development and plots tend to be sort of weak. . .
This one is different, however, and I think that it's an okay read.
November 24, 2025
I read this book because I am thinking about an SF character that does things like Fredric Brown’ Mind Thing. I will also take a look at The Host.
Brown writes well, good pacing and he keeps you on edge. The style of writing is different, more in keeping with the genre at the time. A short sharp read that will appeal to horror fans that like an SF setting and those who like to take a look at this vintage of SF.
Brown writes well, good pacing and he keeps you on edge. The style of writing is different, more in keeping with the genre at the time. A short sharp read that will appeal to horror fans that like an SF setting and those who like to take a look at this vintage of SF.
May 17, 2017
Fredric Brown is one of my favorite writers, and this is perhaps one of his very best novels. An alien creature is exiled to Earth and wants to return home. It can invade the mind of any sleeping creature, but is only able to leave that mind once the host is dead. It lays out its plans very carefully... A sheer delight, deliciously nasty.
October 3, 2019
It would have to be killed, or kill itself, in any case. Just as the only way he could enter a host was while it slept, the only way he could leave one was at the moment of its death. And this host was too frail and tiny a thing for him to want to use any longer than he had to stay in it.
June 10, 2021
عندما تتصارع المصالح و تتنازع الرغبات يكون القتل هو سبيل الحق المشروع لاولئك الذين تملكتهم دناءة الطموح و سلبتهم النظر نحو روح الاحقية الجمعية ...فهل لنا يوما ان نفتح ابوابنا امام تقلبات الحياة و جنونها دون ان نخشى ذلك الشيء الكائن ؟
October 23, 2022
ამ ჟანრის წიგნს პირველად ვკითხულობ და მოულოდნელად მოვიხიბლე.
უცხო პლანეტელი იპყრობს ადამიანების,ცხოველების, ფრინველების ტვინს და სხეულს და აკეთებინებს რასაც უნდა.
რისი გაკეთება უნდა?! უნდა ისევ მის პლანეტაზე დაბრუნდეს და გამოუვა თუ არ გამოუვა, უნდა წაიკითხო .
😊
უცხო პლანეტელი იპყრობს ადამიანების,ცხოველების, ფრინველების ტვინს და სხეულს და აკეთებინებს რასაც უნდა.
რისი გაკეთება უნდა?! უნდა ისევ მის პლანეტაზე დაბრუნდეს და გამოუვა თუ არ გამოუვა, უნდა წაიკითხო .
😊
January 6, 2023
خيال علمي خفيف ومحترم يناسب الكل، لكن بالنسبة لزمن كتابته أظنه رائع، ماعدا أن الغلاف غريب ولا أجد رابط بينه وبين أحداث الكتاب، ربما من باب أن المآذن يتحكم بالعقل الباطن ويغزوه لكن يعني مممم ممكن، بس ما عجبني اختيار هاللوحة لهذا الكتاب بالذات.
لمن يرغب بالبحث عنها (هيمرنيموس بوس).
لمن يرغب بالبحث عنها (هيمرنيموس بوس).
March 29, 2024
40 years later
My dad found and gave me an old diary of mine last week. I’d forgotten completely about it and written it in 1984. In one entry I recommended this book, so bought and read again 40 years later and it’s just as good today.
My dad found and gave me an old diary of mine last week. I’d forgotten completely about it and written it in 1984. In one entry I recommended this book, so bought and read again 40 years later and it’s just as good today.
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