The Trials and Tribulations of a Telepathic Crime Solver -- Review of "Sharp, Book 2 of Mind Investigations" by Alex Hughes

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Reviewer: Forrest Schultz schultz_forrest@yahoo.com 770-583-3258

Blog Address: http://newsciencefictionandfantasyreviews.blogspot.com

April 9, 2013

The Trials and Tribulations of a Telepathic Crime Solver

A review of

Alex Hughes Sharp, Book 2 of Mind Investigations (NY: ROC -- Penguin Group, 2013

352 pp $7.99 ISBN 978-0-451-46504-7 ISBN-10: 0-451-46504

[Mass Market Paperback]

Reviewer: Forrest W. Schultz

Solving the crime and catching the criminals is more difficult for Adam the Telepath in this second episode than it was in the first episode, Clean. And the telepathic and telekinetic techniques used in this one are more sophisticated and dangerous than before. The climactic battle between Adam (plus his telepathic allies) versus the telepathic criminals is what I would call the dark urban paranormal science fiction version of an extreme martial arts contest. In my review of Book 1, I used the genre designation of dark urban fantasy minus the werewolves and vampires and dragons. I now believe that it is better to regard this story as paranormal science fiction in a "dark urban" setting. And the sf is neither "hard" nor "opera" but an engineering or technological version of hard rather than a science version of hard. By this I mean that there is discussion of the techniques employed in the telepathy and telekinesis but this remains at the practical engineering kind of level rather than the deep scientific level found in hard sf.

As with the first book, the characters are well drawn and interesting, and the story is intriguing, so as to make a good read, especially if you like criminal suspense and paranormal phenomena such as mental telepathy and teleportation. For those who like to ponder various dystopian near futures, the one presented here is intriguing and thought-provoking, so that the story is a good read for that as well, although I do not believe that is the author's main emphasis. Since most of the action takes place in Atlanta, it will be especially meaningful for those of us who live in or near Atlanta, but I believe that those who live elsewhere can appreciate it just as well. I recommend these Mind Investigations books and am grateful for the addition of this talented writer to the Atlanta and Southside scenes.

Information on the author is available at http://www.ahugheswriter.com/