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The Mind's Eye
For centuries, men have been dreaming of telepathy, the power to read and influence the minds of others. Now, all around the world, telepaths are finally starting to appear. Men and women are developing awesome powers with the potential to dramatically change society. Governments are soon starting to become aware of them, even recruiting them, while striving to keep knowledge of their abilities hidden from the general public. Academic researchers too are discovering telepaths and it isn’t long before awareness of their existence starts to spread. But non-telepaths, ordinary people, don’t want to have their minds read or controlled; the telepaths soon find themselves widely regarded with fear and hatred. Inevitably, some of them want to fight back. In this alternative history, albeit set in the near-future, Christopher G. Nuttall explores the likely impact of the appearance of telepathic abilities in some members of the human race. While telepathy and related psionic abilities have long been a mainstay of science-fiction, the impact of their emergence has not been as well imagined as, say, that of fantastic mutations. Almost everyone has something to hide, thoughts they wouldn’t want made public. Governments have secrets they wish to keep, whether for national security or just to hold on to power. How would the general populace react to mind-readers in their midst? How would telepaths respond when threatened by a frightened mob, or constrained by politicians fearful of the disclosure of scandals and long-buried secrets. Intelligence agencies would be both alarmed at the threats and intrigued by the possibilities. Would all nations respond in the same way? And then there’s the endless possibilities for criminals and terrorists…
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 22, 2015
Originanlly published at Risingshadow.
Christopher Nuttall's The Mind's Eye was a pleasant surprise for me, because it was a good and entertaining novel. This science fiction novel appealed to me and my imagination, because there was a nice balance between entertaining elements, action and intelligent speculation about telepathy and its dangers and possibilities.
I'm sure that all readers, who have read science fiction and are aware of the different genres and elements within science fiction, will notice that Christopher Nuttall has chosen to use the "What if?" element in this novel in an interesting way. It's great that he has chosen this element, because I've always enjoyed reading speculation about what would happen if something strange were to happen. In this novel humans have suddenly gained telepathic powers and the author writes about what happens when telepaths begin to appear among us.
One of the best things about this novel is that the author manages to avoid using too many thriller elements. There are a few elements which are clearly thriller elements, but on the whole the story is pure science fiction. The author concentrates fully on speculating about what kind of an impact the telepathic powers have on the society and how people react to these powers. He also writes about what happens when the telepaths feel threatened by other people and their opinions about telepathy.
Here's information about the story:
- Lieuetenant Art Russell is on a mission in Afghanistan and suffers from headache that is growing worse. Suddenly he hears noise, screaming and shouting in head and he collapses into blackness. When he wakes up, he finds out that he can sense things and hear voices that others can't (he can read minds). He is taken to the CIA base where he meets Alice Spencer. He learns to control his ability and is being tested in different ways.
- Art is told about the Project Looking Glass and ESP research program. He is a priceless asset to the CIA, because he can read minds. He begins to help the CIA and other officers. Soon other people are tested to find out if they also have telepathic powers...
- Elizabeth Tyler participates in ESP tests and meets Professor Zeller who has previously worked for the CIA. She suffers from headache and suddenly develops telepathic powers and notices that she's able to read minds. Soon others develop similar powers. Professor Zeller wants to tell the world about what has happened...
- When more and more telepaths suddenly emerge and people are made aware of them, things begin to change. There are many who don't wish their minds to be read by telepaths, and there are those who permanently want to get rid of telepaths...
This is the beginning of one of the most entertaining science fiction novels of the year.
Christopher Nuttall has a good understanding of human nature and feelings. He writes fluently about how Art feels about his job and his responsibilities. He also writes well about how Art feels about having telepathic powers. The descriptions of Art's feelings concerning his powers feel believable and realistic, because he could sense many voices and background noise caused by people.
The author also writes well about Elizabeth and what happens to her. In my opinion he wrote about her life and experiences in a realistic way. It was enjoyable to read about how she became a telepath and what happened to her.
Christopher Nuttall deserves congratulations for approaching telepathy from a bit different angle than other authors. It's been a while since I've read speculation about telepathy's dangers and possibilities in this kind of way, because not many authors write about it. The author speculates about telepathy and everything that is connected to it in a refreshingly entertaining way and doesn't let his readers get bored.
It's great that the author writes and speculates about the happenings from many different perspectives in an intelligent and intriguing way. It was interesting to read about how the different individuals and officers felt about what's going on and how telepathy affected them. The characters think about the legal issues concerning telepathy. For example, they think about whether it is acceptable to read minds without permission or not, because there are no laws about telepathy. Keeping delicate information secret has become nearly impossible, because telepaths can read minds and expose truths about many things that would've otherwise remained hidden. In other words, some of the characters feel that there may not be privacy any longer and telepaths need to be controlled.
The author writes fascinatingly about a sense of ethics concerning telepathy. It's nice that he writes about how people feel about their private thoughts being read without permission and how dangerous telepathy could be if used for wrong purposes by bad people. In safe hands telepathy is a valuable tool to officers who fight against terrorism etc, because the person using telepathy is able to get information from the terrorists and can reveal hidden information, but in wrong hands it could cause havoc and destruction.
I think it's nice that the author writes about the experiences of the different telepaths, because it adds depth to the story. The telepaths experience fear and hatred, because there are many who don't wish their minds to be read by telepaths. Telepaths are considered to be a threat to people and their privacy.
Reading about how the telepaths reacted to the news of being controlled by the government's Telepath Corps was fascinating. Because telepaths considered themselves to be the next phase in human evolution, they didn't want to be controlled. They wanted to live their lives freely like anybody else. They feared that people might kill them in order to get rid of the gene that causes telepathy to appear in humans.
It was interesting to read about how people with telepathic powers acted and what kind of choices they made. I won't go into details, because I want to void writing spoilers, but I'll mention that there are interesting descriptions about what certain telepaths are capable of doing and how they use their powers to do good and evil things.
The political issues are handled well in this novel. Christopher Nuttall writes surprisingly well about how the President feels about telepaths and how he wants to handle the situation. I enjoyed reading about the President's job and his decisions, because Christopher Nuttall is one of those rare authors who manage to keep political issues interesting and don't alienate their readers with them (I think it's nice that there are authors who manage to write about politics in an interesting way).
The action scenes were also well written scenes. For example, in the first chapter the author writes well about what Art does for living and how he handles things. In my opinion the author writes fluently about combat action.
I think it's possible to say that The Mind's Eye is a novel about change, because humans have gained new powers that they didn't have before. The author demonstrates that change can be difficult and painful for all who are involved in it. In this novel normal people feel threatened by telepaths (there are also religious groups that fear telepaths and consider them to be evil). Telepaths also fear the change, because they think that normal people can't accept their existence.
Christopher Nuttall never ceases to amaze me with his novels, because he's one of the few modern authors who are capable of writing consistently good and interesting entertainment. He's also occasionally capable of surpassing what he has written before in terms of style and entertainment values, because there have been times when I've been amazed at his ability to entertain his readers with fresh ideas (he has an ability to write about well-known speculative fiction elements in a fresh and entertaining way). He has his own distinct writing style that he has honed to perfection. In my opinion he's one of the best authors when it comes to writing entertainment. I think that this novel is a good example of his ability to offer good entertainment to his readers.
If you've never read any of Christopher Nuttall's novels, The Mind's Eye is a good starting point. If you enjoy reading this novel, I urge you to read his other novels too, because they're also excellent entertainment.
Christopher Nuttall's The Mind's Eye can be recommended to all readers who enjoy reading entertaining science fiction novels, because it's pure science fiction entertainment from start to finish. If you're interested in ESP, telepathy and what people can do with their minds and want to read entertaining stories, you should consider reading The Mind's Eye, because it's a well written novel with a fresh approach to ESP and telepathy.
Good and well written science fiction entertainment!
Christopher Nuttall's The Mind's Eye was a pleasant surprise for me, because it was a good and entertaining novel. This science fiction novel appealed to me and my imagination, because there was a nice balance between entertaining elements, action and intelligent speculation about telepathy and its dangers and possibilities.
I'm sure that all readers, who have read science fiction and are aware of the different genres and elements within science fiction, will notice that Christopher Nuttall has chosen to use the "What if?" element in this novel in an interesting way. It's great that he has chosen this element, because I've always enjoyed reading speculation about what would happen if something strange were to happen. In this novel humans have suddenly gained telepathic powers and the author writes about what happens when telepaths begin to appear among us.
One of the best things about this novel is that the author manages to avoid using too many thriller elements. There are a few elements which are clearly thriller elements, but on the whole the story is pure science fiction. The author concentrates fully on speculating about what kind of an impact the telepathic powers have on the society and how people react to these powers. He also writes about what happens when the telepaths feel threatened by other people and their opinions about telepathy.
Here's information about the story:
- Lieuetenant Art Russell is on a mission in Afghanistan and suffers from headache that is growing worse. Suddenly he hears noise, screaming and shouting in head and he collapses into blackness. When he wakes up, he finds out that he can sense things and hear voices that others can't (he can read minds). He is taken to the CIA base where he meets Alice Spencer. He learns to control his ability and is being tested in different ways.
- Art is told about the Project Looking Glass and ESP research program. He is a priceless asset to the CIA, because he can read minds. He begins to help the CIA and other officers. Soon other people are tested to find out if they also have telepathic powers...
- Elizabeth Tyler participates in ESP tests and meets Professor Zeller who has previously worked for the CIA. She suffers from headache and suddenly develops telepathic powers and notices that she's able to read minds. Soon others develop similar powers. Professor Zeller wants to tell the world about what has happened...
- When more and more telepaths suddenly emerge and people are made aware of them, things begin to change. There are many who don't wish their minds to be read by telepaths, and there are those who permanently want to get rid of telepaths...
This is the beginning of one of the most entertaining science fiction novels of the year.
Christopher Nuttall has a good understanding of human nature and feelings. He writes fluently about how Art feels about his job and his responsibilities. He also writes well about how Art feels about having telepathic powers. The descriptions of Art's feelings concerning his powers feel believable and realistic, because he could sense many voices and background noise caused by people.
The author also writes well about Elizabeth and what happens to her. In my opinion he wrote about her life and experiences in a realistic way. It was enjoyable to read about how she became a telepath and what happened to her.
Christopher Nuttall deserves congratulations for approaching telepathy from a bit different angle than other authors. It's been a while since I've read speculation about telepathy's dangers and possibilities in this kind of way, because not many authors write about it. The author speculates about telepathy and everything that is connected to it in a refreshingly entertaining way and doesn't let his readers get bored.
It's great that the author writes and speculates about the happenings from many different perspectives in an intelligent and intriguing way. It was interesting to read about how the different individuals and officers felt about what's going on and how telepathy affected them. The characters think about the legal issues concerning telepathy. For example, they think about whether it is acceptable to read minds without permission or not, because there are no laws about telepathy. Keeping delicate information secret has become nearly impossible, because telepaths can read minds and expose truths about many things that would've otherwise remained hidden. In other words, some of the characters feel that there may not be privacy any longer and telepaths need to be controlled.
The author writes fascinatingly about a sense of ethics concerning telepathy. It's nice that he writes about how people feel about their private thoughts being read without permission and how dangerous telepathy could be if used for wrong purposes by bad people. In safe hands telepathy is a valuable tool to officers who fight against terrorism etc, because the person using telepathy is able to get information from the terrorists and can reveal hidden information, but in wrong hands it could cause havoc and destruction.
I think it's nice that the author writes about the experiences of the different telepaths, because it adds depth to the story. The telepaths experience fear and hatred, because there are many who don't wish their minds to be read by telepaths. Telepaths are considered to be a threat to people and their privacy.
Reading about how the telepaths reacted to the news of being controlled by the government's Telepath Corps was fascinating. Because telepaths considered themselves to be the next phase in human evolution, they didn't want to be controlled. They wanted to live their lives freely like anybody else. They feared that people might kill them in order to get rid of the gene that causes telepathy to appear in humans.
It was interesting to read about how people with telepathic powers acted and what kind of choices they made. I won't go into details, because I want to void writing spoilers, but I'll mention that there are interesting descriptions about what certain telepaths are capable of doing and how they use their powers to do good and evil things.
The political issues are handled well in this novel. Christopher Nuttall writes surprisingly well about how the President feels about telepaths and how he wants to handle the situation. I enjoyed reading about the President's job and his decisions, because Christopher Nuttall is one of those rare authors who manage to keep political issues interesting and don't alienate their readers with them (I think it's nice that there are authors who manage to write about politics in an interesting way).
The action scenes were also well written scenes. For example, in the first chapter the author writes well about what Art does for living and how he handles things. In my opinion the author writes fluently about combat action.
I think it's possible to say that The Mind's Eye is a novel about change, because humans have gained new powers that they didn't have before. The author demonstrates that change can be difficult and painful for all who are involved in it. In this novel normal people feel threatened by telepaths (there are also religious groups that fear telepaths and consider them to be evil). Telepaths also fear the change, because they think that normal people can't accept their existence.
Christopher Nuttall never ceases to amaze me with his novels, because he's one of the few modern authors who are capable of writing consistently good and interesting entertainment. He's also occasionally capable of surpassing what he has written before in terms of style and entertainment values, because there have been times when I've been amazed at his ability to entertain his readers with fresh ideas (he has an ability to write about well-known speculative fiction elements in a fresh and entertaining way). He has his own distinct writing style that he has honed to perfection. In my opinion he's one of the best authors when it comes to writing entertainment. I think that this novel is a good example of his ability to offer good entertainment to his readers.
If you've never read any of Christopher Nuttall's novels, The Mind's Eye is a good starting point. If you enjoy reading this novel, I urge you to read his other novels too, because they're also excellent entertainment.
Christopher Nuttall's The Mind's Eye can be recommended to all readers who enjoy reading entertaining science fiction novels, because it's pure science fiction entertainment from start to finish. If you're interested in ESP, telepathy and what people can do with their minds and want to read entertaining stories, you should consider reading The Mind's Eye, because it's a well written novel with a fresh approach to ESP and telepathy.
Good and well written science fiction entertainment!
July 16, 2023
I tried to put it down but failed
Compelling and thought provoking, but also scary.
Only one correction to the non-U.S. writer: Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There is no Congress plus the Senate.
Did not deter from enjoying the book.
Compelling and thought provoking, but also scary.
Only one correction to the non-U.S. writer: Congress consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There is no Congress plus the Senate.
Did not deter from enjoying the book.
June 27, 2015
Good story, interesting premise. As people somehow developing mental abilities and powers, they divide into good and bad groups.The good guys protect and defend the untalented regular people and society while the bad guys try to create chaos and destroy humanity.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews