NEW SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY REVIEWS
Reviews Of Recently Published Science Fiction And Fantasy Books
Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258
Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com
March 27, 2013
Alex Hughes Launches Telepathic Criminal Suspense Series
A Review of
Alex Hughes Clean: A Mindspace Investigations Novel (ROC -- New American Library, 2012)
$7.99 352 pp ISBN-10: 0451464753 ISBN-13: 978-0451464750
[Mass Market Paperback]
Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz
In recent years the Emerging Writers Showcase conducted by the Fayette County Public Library has introduced quite a few newly published book authors to the Southside. One of the authors who surfaced at its latest Showcase (on March 23) is Alex Hughes, who is writing a series of "Mindspace Investigations" novels, the first of which, Clean, is the book under review here. The second in the series, Sharp, has been written and is expected to be published next month. These stories are crime thrillers which take place in a dystopian Atlanta in the not too distant future in which many people have telepathic and teleportative abilities: so many, in fact, that they are organized into a Guild. Since very little is said concerning the theoretical basis for these paranormal abilities, I am inclined to regard the stories as fantasy rather than science fiction, but I am not comforable with this designation because other than the tele-abilities, there are no features of the story which are usually characteristic of fantasies. It might be considered as dark urban fantasy minus the werewolves, vampires, dragons, etc.
Like many novels, this one is narrated by the main character but this one is very different in that we do not learn his name until the very last paragraph! His tele-abilities are crucial for understanding his psychological problems and the role he plays in assisting the police in their efforts to identify and catch a notorious serial killer. Interwoven with this is the romance which develops between him and a police officer, his efforts not to lapse back into drug addiction, and his strained relations with the Guild. If you like criminal suspense and if you do not mind a story involving telepathy and teleportation, then I highly recommend this one as a good read.
Information on the author is available on her website http://www.ahugheswriter.com/
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