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Psychs #1

PSYCHS

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It started with a feeling, followed by a realization, then ended up into a future. All that started by the tragic event of his birth and revealed by a near death, and ever since, he had never been alone. Sequential events started to occur in two cities, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, escalating into chaos. At that point, he finds himself in an enigma he’s not aware of the cause. Using his miraculous gift, which gives him knowledge and guards him, he will be placed in that chaos to try and figure out the truth, and for that, he is being marked. In these perilous times, he can only hope for a miracle other than the one he has.

418 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2012

8 people are currently reading
388 people want to read

About the author

Ahmed H. Alameen

6 books17 followers
A writer, a dentist, and artist, the sole survivor of Hiroshima, the true architect of the Trojan horse, and the academic adviser for Harry Potter.

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5 stars
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7 (14%)
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Kelsey Ketch.
Author 14 books359 followers
October 31, 2012
Psychs has truly the most unique style I have read so far in a novel. It’s a mixture of a first-person account from Hassan’s point of view during a modern timeline and an omnipresent third-person view of events that are occurring ten years into the future. At first, the style completely threw my head into a wild spin. I wasn’t exactly sure who I was supposed follow or where I was in the timeline. But as I settled into the plotline, I found it intriguing how everything was falling into place and the thrilling action fully captured my attention.

I enjoyed a lot of the characters, but out of all of them, Hassan and Elizabeth were my favorites. I especially loved it when they were together, which unfortunately seemed short lived. I liked how Elizabeth made Hassan feel and how she accepted who he was. A part of me even hopes, though I don’t expect it, maybe she and Hassan will meet once again in a later novel.

There was only one other thing I was disappointed in: the sparse character descriptions. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have noticed if it wasn’t for Adam – another character that actually sent shivers down my spine. When he had mentioned that Hassan had a face no one would forget, I realized I didn’t have a clear picture of what Adam was talking about. I had a default picture in my head, but I just started to wonder. Was there a scar? A certain feature? A reflection in his eyes?

In conclusion, Psychs is a wonderful thriller! Its action and suspense kept me glue to my seat, and I would definitely recommend it!

For more book reviews, you can also visit my website over at Ketch’s Book Nook. Thank you.
1 review
January 31, 2013
This book is amazing

A.H Amin completely nailed it in writing this masterpiece.
A story of heroism and revenge. This book is a wisely crafted masterpiece.
Full of twist and turns , an amazing plot and a jaw dropping end.
I wish to see more of a.h Amin work hopefully in a sequel to this great novel.
Profile Image for Ayat Al Bloushi.
32 reviews10 followers
August 24, 2014
I’ve never thought that I would ever love reading a “ghosts” story, but Psychs has flipped my view 180 degree. Other than the extraordinary plot, the novel discusses some interesting themes. What got my attention is the statement that the author opens the book with; it reads, “Good and Evil has no passport… and exists everywhere, even in the same person.” The novel seems to revolve around this major concept; good and evil living in one individual, and it manifests itself ostentatiously in two main characters. They are Hassan and Adam (Shark). I believe that the author has succeeded in showing the concept of Good and Evil in terms of transformation in these two men. He shows us that tough circumstances change people drastically. In Adam’s case, he is a good person, but when he is abused by his superior in the military, he transforms into a monstrous creature who thinks of nothing but how to avenge. The author has also highlighted this change by introducing cannibalism in the plot, where Adam starts to behave like a hungry animal and eats a human flesh and literally adopts the actions of his call sign; Shark. As for Hassan, readers cannot regard him as bad, but he sometimes tends to show his dark side when it comes to taking the lives of criminals. But, what distinguishes Hassan’s behavior from that of Shark is that Hassan shows signs of fear of becoming a bad person; he still has his human side, unlike Shark. But again, readers decide whether to sympathize with these two characters or condemn them (can they just tell on the criminals and report them to the police or do they have to act cruelly in order to get these criminals by themselves?).

As for the structure of the novel, it’s written in a non-chronological order, making it confusing for readers to make connections between the events and the time they happen. I personally love this kind of confusion because it makes me alert to time shifts in the reading, and I feel a sense of interaction with the novel. Moreover, a change of scenes exists within the same chapter in the same period of time to show readers what is happening simultaneously in another location to another character. This factor transforms the story into a movie, in addition to the vivid details of the fighting scenes that bring the story to life. The novel also undergoes shifts between first-person to third-person narration, making the latter act like a camera, while the former becomes the audience who experience Hassan’s role in the story.

The novel leaves the reader with questions; some can have an ethical dimension to them. The questions that have risen in my mind include; would we as readers attribute the goodness in the story to Hassan or the ghosts (his guardians as he calls them)? Who’s actually the hero in the story, since this narrative depicts conflicts between the good and the bad, Hassan or Shark? And if Hassan was the hero, would he still be so without the help of his ghosts, or he’d be an emasculated hero? Is the way Hassan gets information about criminals (by the ghosts’ help) to catch them ethical or not? Would we dismiss all these details and focus only on the ultimate good that Hassan brings to the world of the novel? To me, a novel becomes worth reading when it raises such questions in my mind and teaches me lessons that I would use in my life; to adjust (the biggest lesson I learned from Hassan). I believe that these questions and all the above observations make Psychs one of its kind.
Profile Image for Indira Mukhopadhyay.
26 reviews
July 25, 2013

Psychs by A.H.Amin


This is a story of a protagonist. since his childhood he felt a presence , someone watching him. When he was 17 years old then only he came to know why he was feeling like this .

While rescuing a woman and her children, he was beaten brutally by the woman's stoned jealous husband. He was rescued by police and admitted to the hospital. There he came to know about who were always surrounding him and why. He became less fearful of them. From then on his life was never same again. He learned a lesson,No matter who you are, it's not always who you'll become.

They were eight ghosts, including his mother. Why they were there, for what purpose and how they helped him in his fight against social evils is the suspense of the story.

Under the cover of a psychiatrist, with his non-visible, to others, helpers, fighting evil becomes aim of his life.

In a very well written, unique manner, writer tells his story which is full of action. He makes you believe in the protagonist Hassan and his aids. Revealing more will kill the suspense and the joy of reading it.

The best compliment I can give to the writer is that I'm already looking forward to his second book of the series of five.

This is one of the best suspense thriller I have read. I will recommend this to all my friends.
Profile Image for Lianne.
43 reviews34 followers
August 23, 2014
I won this in a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Before you read this review, note that I did not finish the book and only read 59 pages of it.

Psychs is a mess.

The blurb was vague, but that didn't deter me. I got stuck in and immediately came to a halt. I had no idea what was going on. The writing style was choppy with no structure whatsoever. Within the first few pages I noticed grammar and spelling mistakes, and the author kept switching between past and present tense.

Between chapters 1 and 2, we were thrown into an entirely new situation with a new character, and the tense changed yet again from past tense, third person to present (and often past) tense, first person. This scene was also very confusing, and before you knew it the (presumably) main character was thrust into a situation where he was trying to save a woman and her children from an abusive husband. This was where Hassan (his name, as we come to learn a few pages down the line) meets the "ghosts" for the first time. They cannot help him or hear him or even talk to him, but they manage to point out the abuser before he takes a bat to Hassan's head and knocks him unconscious.

The characters lacked development. They were wooden and unlike-able, and seemed to be thrown in at random to suit whatever was happening at the time. The ghosts were barely distinguishable from each other, except that they had different names and one of them joked a lot.

To make matters worse, chapter 3 opened with an unknown man going through his morning routine. With the appearance of the ghosts we realised that this man was actually Hassan, but he seemed more familiar with the people he had only just met in the last chapter. I was lost until I remembered a review in the front of the book that told me Psychs switches between the present and 10 years into the future. The chapter title gives no indication to this change in time, and I was left feeling frustrated.

The scenes are poorly written. In one, a mother is screaming at her child because he wants a chocolate bar. A few sentences later, they start signing to each other and we discover that the child is deaf, conveniently giving Hassan a way in which to communicate with his new ghost pals. It felt cheap and rushed. Another example is when we were told that the main character had been adopted by his aunt, and yet he flips between calling her mother, step-mom and aunt; the same happens with his "father", who he also refers to as step-father despite the fact that we learn that this man is not his biological parent.

The only aspect of the book that I actually liked was the idea that the main character had been trained by the ghosts to protect people. I also enjoyed that he had to use sign language to communicate with them—it was different and I liked that. If it had been written better and thought through more solidly, it could have been a great story. As it was, the execution was sloppy and I would definitely not recommend this. A very disappointing read.
Profile Image for Gateacre.
80 reviews14 followers
August 11, 2014
Firstly, I won this book as part of a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you to all authors and readers who support this excellent scheme.

The premise of this book is solid - it is a fast moving, action thriller set in the more unusual surroundings of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The protagonist, Hassan, is a young man who can see and communicate with the ghosts of 8 US soldiers killed during the Gulf War. He and his ethereal companions are drawn into a widespread and dangerous conspiracy involving senior commanders in the US forces. Dovetailing into this is the story of "Shark", a US Navy Seal, who having been incarcerated for over a decade, is seeking revenge...

The plot is well structured and paced, perhaps reflecting the authors aspirations as a scriptwriter. The pace is televisual, although on a few occasions the demands of the plot don't resonate - when he first finds out about the ghosts they all agree to learn sign language bit not to discuss how they became ghosts until the can fluently communicate - thus enabling a coherent info dump sessions. That might work in a televisual environment but doesn't make much sense here - surely you'd be learning there story as you were learning to communicate? But these are minor complaints- the overall plot and structure are strong.

Characterisation is a bit weaker. The characters are memorable but there is a bit too much telling us about them rather than showing us them. The biggest problem, however, is Shark. Having one hand removed would have been good but both? For me it's a bit too OTT, and maybe taking it a good idea too far. But being honest, when I look at what authors like Reilly are doing I'm not sure the market would necessarily agree with me.

The main issue to be addressed, however, is the grammar, spelling and punctuation. If I had read this with a highlighter pen I doubt there would be a page unmarked. I got into the rhythm after a while but nonetheless on occasions whole sentences would just collapse in themselves. It's important to point out this is not stylistic - it's poor editing. I have no doubt that that a lot of casual readers would abandon because of these issues.

On the positive side, the presentation and packaging is top notch. The cover is very dramatic, the font and layout easy to follow and there's a nice Q&A session at the end. Good stuff.

Overall, its a promising story with a great setting and memorable characters. Sometimes its a bit OTT for its own good but its real problem is the terrible editing. Mr Amin has talent, no doubt, and hopefully the execution will only improve.
1 review
January 4, 2013
It is well known how the supernatural affect our believes in real life and the possibility of a life force roaming around us in this world of science, a world where it is obsessed by the arm's race between nations that make wars their daily routine along with unknown mercenaries that have their share of the tragedy. A.H. Amins sought to show this idea in an intertwine between two worlds, the supernatural and scientific tactics. This book illustrated the growing process of a man born with a special attribute that maybe his curse and his blessing. It is refreshing how the process of explaining the tactics and strategies in various situations in a precise manner that which enables the reader to easily picture the situation and the dilemma. Also, an interesting part of the story is picking the occupation of the main character, a psychiatrist. The human mind is always a vast territory of fear and love that in this book clearly showed both. I really enjoyed reading this book and hope to read much more in the near future if Mr. A.H.Amin would kindly allow us.
Profile Image for Sarah Ahmed.
1 review
January 5, 2013
Psychs is a book, full of suprises. In the beginning I didn´t expect more than just an ordinary thriller. But this book is diverse and multi-faceted. It leads you into exploring parts of the human psyche, that you never imagined to visit. It is about love, passion, revenge, adjusting, finding your own identity and shows how thin the line between justice and injustice is. I caught myself struggling and trying to find out what is right and what is wrong. From Hassans perspective self-administered justice was the right thing to do, especially because he had the superhuman support of the ghosts. But from an objective perspective he led a double life, not allowing a lot of people to enter.
In the end this book taught me that people are not always who they seem and their actions are not only black and white. I highly recommend this book, because it is about more than just one genre, it´s fresh and exiting! I really look forward to the sequel and hope to hear more from Hassan, Shark & Co.
Profile Image for Atheer Naeem.
96 reviews27 followers
January 5, 2015
Reading psychs was almost like watching an action movie in my head with my eyes moving so fast trying to catch as much words as i could to complete the next scene.
I enjoyed it though i wished the writer was better i mean the book didnt 100% seem like the other english stories the arabic was there somehow and.
I know it's weird to do, but i try to find the spelling mistakes in any book i read which wasnt really hard with psychs cuz it kinda was full of mistakes ( im exaggerating ) ..
Profile Image for Sophi Frost.
61 reviews26 followers
April 27, 2013
A.H. Amin weaves an exciting thriller. I enjoyed the main character, Hassan, and how the author develops his backstory. I found his special relationships intriguing and the fast paced action riveting.
Profile Image for Jay  The Crippled God.
157 reviews26 followers
July 16, 2012
the story is so beautiful i really enjoyed it but at the end i was going fast to end up becuz too many unneeded stuff
Profile Image for adam-p-reviews.
159 reviews7 followers
November 23, 2012
Based in the near future, set in the two great cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Psychs tells the story of Hassan, a man with a unique gift. Hassan has eight spiritual guardians who protect him throughout his life. One of them is his mother Sara and the other seven are U.S. soldiers who died in the attempt of protecting Sara from Iraqi soldiers during the First Gulf War. The ghosts protect Hassan as he grows from a boy into a man and guide him throughout his life in Abu Dhabi and his days as a student in Liverpool.

However, the ghosts also teach him some of their own skills that give Hassan an edge. These include first aid, martial arts and other techniques that the ghosts learned during their time in the U.S. army. Hassan believes that the ghosts were sent to protect him for a reason and that with this gift, he can do real good in the world. Hassan decides to use his guardians and the skills they have taught him to become a vigilantly and help stop bad people from operating in his city. However, when an international terrorist organisation plans to destroy parts of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Hassan soon finds that he is in over his head. He will need help not just from his ghosts, but also from a former U.S. Seal to overcome this threat!

Although I did enjoy the story behind this book, I did have some issues with it. The first of these was A.H. Amin’s style when writing. At times, it really confused me. I found the grammar in the book hard to read and in some parts; it just did not make sense! For me, this made the book really hard to get into because sometimes you’d have to stop and re-read the sentences to understand what was been said/meant. At first, I thought the grammar was unintentional, but after reading some other reviews of Psychs, I discovered that other people enjoyed this style. I don’t know if it was me or if Amin’s writing style went totally over my head, but I just couldn’t get into the book as much as I usually would.

Another problem I had was the dialogue between Hassan and the ghosts. I found it difficult to follow what was been said by them and who said it because the characters were so similar. The ghosts were also always chopping and changing between who went to scout, or who was communicating between Hassan and another ghost or who was watching the bad guys. This further confused me when trying to picture which ghost was where! Plus, when you add in the fact that I was having problems following the story anyway, this issue made it even harder to get into the book!

I know it probably sounds like I’m making this book sound totally unappealing but I am giving an honest review and these were the problems I had with it. Of course, there were parts of the books I enjoyed. I really liked the idea of the ghosts and them teaching Hassan their skills and him using them for the greater good. I also liked that the fact that it was set in the UAE, because it was refreshing reading a book that was not based in Britain or America. But most of all I really liked Adam’s story; I just wish Amin did a better job putting that story across to me!

Overall, I did enjoy the book but couldn’t get into it because of how it was written. I would suggest this book to anyone who enjoys these sorts of paranormal thriller novels.

For more book reviews check out http://adam-p-reviews.blogspot.co.uk/
Profile Image for Melysah Bunting.
215 reviews5 followers
August 21, 2014
I have to say that I agree with Adam-p-reviews's review (http://adam-p-reviews.blogspot.co.uk) of Psychs (Book 1) by A.H. Amin. I couldn't really get into the book due to grammatical issues. I do, however, think the story is unique and can see why others gave the book good reviews. If you're into paranormal, military themes with a distinct main character, this book is for you. I am more of a paranormal, romance fan. So, this wasn't my genre, per se.
Profile Image for Indira Mukhopadhyay.
26 reviews
July 25, 2013
I like this book as it is written in unique, simple and effective style. It is an action packed , interesting thriller, suspense keeps you engaged up to the end. It brings out the strength of ones mind over body to fight for evil and justice if one is determined to do it.
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