Mimi Smith's Reviews > Mind Games

3 stars

Justine

Justine is a pretty different and unique heroine. She is a hypochondriac. Her fear is so extreme it prevents her from having a normal life. It's the result of the tragic death of her mother from the Vein Star syndrome(some kind of a vascular disease), after being labeled as a hypochondriac and misdiagnosed. So, Justine now has the constant fear that a vein will burst in her head. She has frequent episodes when she think she's having an attack(or something) and she goes to the ER at least once a week. Naturally that isn't the most ideal life. Especially if you want a boyfriend and a normal life. Which Justine does. A lot.

I found it interesting to see the effect her condition had on her life. I also liked how aware Justine was of it. It's not that she doesn't know she's a hypochondriac. She understands it. But as she said...

"It’s easy to see, in hindsight, that you were being a crazed hypochondriac, but when you’re in it, it seems so real."

Then she meets Packard and the disillusionists and her life changes...

The Disillusionists and The Highcaps


The idea of Disillusionist is so very original and interesting, it truly brings something new in the UF world, which is pretty rare.

There are also highcaps-people who've mutated and now have mental abilities(telepaths, people with telekinesis, etc...). The theory is that they are born with a mutation and that it is specified at a certain point in their childhood, based on their first 'rational' desire. For instance if the first thing a child desires is a toy across the room and it flies toward them they will become TKs, etc...

Packard is a highcap with the power to recognize psychological structures. He literally 'sees' people's strengths and weaknesses. He saw, and recognized, Justine's hypochondria and decided she will be an useful part of his team. What his team does is "disillusionize" criminals. They "zing" their neurosis into a criminal if he is suitable and vulnerable to it(i.e, if he's an alcoholic, you push that into him, if he's a gambler, that, etc.). So basically the Disillusionist are a bunch of neurotic people run by Packard who reform people by zinging them. By zinging someone, you get rid of your problem for a few weeks. In order to zing someone you have to touch them and make them vulnerable to something(you have to bring their problem to the surface). To do that, you have to go undercover, which is always fun reading about.

So, Justine is chosen for the team, and though she doesn't want to hurt anyone, she wants to be free of her fear more. Plus she really wants to belong somewhere and here she is special.

“You generate such a high volume of fear. It’s a rare ability.”
“Thanks,” I mumble, blushing stupidly. Nobody ever admired me for being screwed up.

The member of the team are:

Monk,the most dangerous disillusionist. Destroys people’s faith.
Shelby, who infuses targets with grim clarity about impossibility of happiness.
Carter,rage issues
Helmut’s disillusionist specialty is dread about the big picture—about the world situation
Vesuvius, self-esteem issues
Simon, gambling

Some of them feature prominently, some are just mentioned. I really liked the idea of using our problems and faults for changing people, making them better. But to do that, you have to hurt them first. Break them. Take away everything they are and make them see what they are and what they've done.

"...We stripped away his illusions, his rationalizations, and his creature comforts. Now he sees things clearly."

My feelings&issues

As I said, I really liked the idea of the disillusionists. I liked the idea of Justine as a heroine. However, put into practice I found it all hard to relate to. For most of the book I didn't feel invested into it at all. Vaguely annoyed, sometimes, by Justine but not caring one way or the other. I also disliked the issues she has with Packard.(view spoiler)[ Her, "I want to be free" rants and her feeling of betrayal caused by Packard might be reasonable, I just felt they were overblown. She would have done it, she was desperate and decided hurting people was all right, after all. He should've told her, but I just disliked the whole thing (hide spoiler)]. That plot direction just didn't work for me. It also took me a long time to like Plackard. Now, I do, but he still didn't feel as a particularly real character and the chemistry between him and Justine was just..."Ok, whatever", for me, as I didn't see why or how they have this "thing" between them.

The Love Triangle(s)

Yes, I can see your surprise, it caught me off guard, too. A love triangle in a UF or a YA, *gasp*, what a shock!

I usually dislike them very much, and though I can't say I liked it here, but... I have to admit it went a long way into making this book more exciting. Mostly because I dislike the other guy more than Packard. He's just... Agh! It just made me read the pages faster, waiting when she gets rid of him. Unfortunately, she hasn't...Yet!

I'm on a Packard Team on this one.

Just to clarify, I mean the 2nd Love Triangle in the book, not the first.


General Rant about Love Triangles

This has become way too standardized lately. Why does every heroine need two guys panting after her? What do all these guys see in those girls? And no man would put up with the constant Yes/No/Maybe Rollar Coaster.

It would be different for a change to read a UF book with no triangles. Or even better, a LT with a guy and two girls. That way, there'd be no more of this Team nonsense, you'd know who to cheer for. It would also make me like a heroine more. Fighting for your man is cool...Jerking him around, sleeping around and not being able to make up your mind is not.

Although The Triangle scheme kind of worked to motivate me in this one...But it didn't make me like the book more.

Conclusion

I like the originality of this one and I'll probably pick up the sequels eventually, but I don't feel terribly eager. I guess my main complaint is that this book didn't engage me. I can cope with characters annoying me in a book I find interesting, but this whatever feeling is just...Meh.

You'll note however, that it's just my reaction. I found nothing wrong with the plot, not that much with the characters and I did like the ideas. I know plenty people who've liked this book and there's plenty here to like. It just didn't "click" for me, for some reason.

---------EDIT-------------

A scene I liked, which I forgot to post....

A conversation between Disillusionists...

“It’s not dread about the world situation,” he says. “It’s clarity about the world situation. I help people see that they live in dangerous and threatening times.”

Shelby sniffs. “Nothing to be done.”

Helmut glares at Shelby; I can feel the ruthless power of his anguish sure as I can feel the cloth napkin between my fingers. “It’s reality,” he adds. “The water wars will be what kills us.”

“Unless a horrible disease gets you first,” I say. “Your own body’s working overtime right now finding ways to self-destruct.” It’s wonderfully liberating to be able to talk like this without upsetting myself.

“Who cares?” Shelby says. “We have no chance for happiness anyway."