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Mind Games: An ABC Sci-Fi Mystery for Young Adults
Action and suspense await the reader in this young adult sci-fi mystery…
When Della’s foster father is murdered, she leaves their tough life of
the Dark Domes on the planet Sanctuary, vowing to find his killer. The
fourteen-year-old girl learns to use her psi powers and makes new friends
among normals, humans as well as ETs and androids, all of them helping
her with her quest.
The reclusive and ageless A. B. Carolan lives in Donegal, Ireland, where
he spends most of his time writing stories for young adults and adults
who are young at heart. There are rumors in Donegal that A. B. was
raised by leprechauns. He says they like to joke a lot there. Other rumors
in the Donegal area saying that he’s a distant relative of the great Irish
harpist and composer Turlough O’Carolan are more believable—he loves
O’Carolan’s music. He is good friends with author Steven M. Moore and
communicates with his American friend a lot, as all good collaborators
must do. Readers can reach him via the contact page at Steve’s website,
http://stevenmmoore.com.
What one reviewer said about the author’s previous book, The Secret of
the Urns:
“A. B. Carolan creates a story of a young girl approaching adulthood
on a remote world. Ignored somewhat by her human family, she seeks
friendship with the native Fistian culture, and has a best friend among
them. The book is an interesting read for young adults and somewhat
older adults.... It is a tale of good and bad, and cultural perceptions and
differences. A good story and message in our current times.”—Debra
Miller in her Amazon review.
When Della’s foster father is murdered, she leaves their tough life of
the Dark Domes on the planet Sanctuary, vowing to find his killer. The
fourteen-year-old girl learns to use her psi powers and makes new friends
among normals, humans as well as ETs and androids, all of them helping
her with her quest.
The reclusive and ageless A. B. Carolan lives in Donegal, Ireland, where
he spends most of his time writing stories for young adults and adults
who are young at heart. There are rumors in Donegal that A. B. was
raised by leprechauns. He says they like to joke a lot there. Other rumors
in the Donegal area saying that he’s a distant relative of the great Irish
harpist and composer Turlough O’Carolan are more believable—he loves
O’Carolan’s music. He is good friends with author Steven M. Moore and
communicates with his American friend a lot, as all good collaborators
must do. Readers can reach him via the contact page at Steve’s website,
http://stevenmmoore.com.
What one reviewer said about the author’s previous book, The Secret of
the Urns:
“A. B. Carolan creates a story of a young girl approaching adulthood
on a remote world. Ignored somewhat by her human family, she seeks
friendship with the native Fistian culture, and has a best friend among
them. The book is an interesting read for young adults and somewhat
older adults.... It is a tale of good and bad, and cultural perceptions and
differences. A good story and message in our current times.”—Debra
Miller in her Amazon review.
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
Published May 11, 2019
About the author
A.B. Carolan
4 books2 followersI am a collaborator of the American author Steven M. Moore. We met at Blarney Castle in Ireland (appropriate, don't you think?). After a wee bit of chatting there and emails to and fro, I signed on to be his collaborator for all his YA books. I love writing for young adults and adults who are young at heart. Some people think I'm related to that great Irish harpist and singer, Turlough O'Carolan, but who knows?--I don't think any of his DNA is around to check. Others say I was stolen and raised by leprechauns. We do a lot of kidding in Donegal, but maybe they know something I don't.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 30, 2019
Rating: 1.8/5
Review: I guess teens could get into this, but it is a stretch to think so. And wtf is up with that cover art?
The foreshadowing is rampant as are the deus ex events that conspire to render a simplistic story line. Add in a huge dose of super speshully Della with “enormous budding PSI powers on top” and the recipe is set.
Not much to say here what with a novella length feature.
Review: I guess teens could get into this, but it is a stretch to think so. And wtf is up with that cover art?
The foreshadowing is rampant as are the deus ex events that conspire to render a simplistic story line. Add in a huge dose of super speshully Della with “enormous budding PSI powers on top” and the recipe is set.
Not much to say here what with a novella length feature.
July 26, 2020
DNF at 10%, so 1 star.
I have stopped forcing myself to read books that I don't like, and this one didn't make the cut.
I get that the main character (Della?) is 14 and this is a book aimed at a younger audience, but the writing was absurdly juvenile, stilted, and all tell and no show. This is the way I used to write when I was 13 and writing Percy Jackson fanfiction (and trust me, it was bad).
Nothing was happening (I know I was only 10% in, but we have been on the same topic in the same room for five chapters now).
The author didn't even give the guy who is (from my understanding) the Hitler-equivalent of this society a name (they were just called, I shit you not, "The Psychotic Human"). MC has mentioned that it's been a few centuries since TPH's rise to power and subsequent fall, but she makes it clear that TPH's beliefs and agenda changed the basis of this interstellar society and lead to prejudice against a certain type of person that still persists at the time of the story... or at least that's what I was able to glean from the info-dumps (it was really hard to pay attention because I was so bored, okay? lmao). I am 90% sure it's because there was going to be a big reveal that TPH somehow lived through all these centuries and is MC's dad or close friend or something. I don't really care enough to find out.
I have stopped forcing myself to read books that I don't like, and this one didn't make the cut.
I get that the main character (Della?) is 14 and this is a book aimed at a younger audience, but the writing was absurdly juvenile, stilted, and all tell and no show. This is the way I used to write when I was 13 and writing Percy Jackson fanfiction (and trust me, it was bad).
Nothing was happening (I know I was only 10% in, but we have been on the same topic in the same room for five chapters now).
The author didn't even give the guy who is (from my understanding) the Hitler-equivalent of this society a name (they were just called, I shit you not, "The Psychotic Human"). MC has mentioned that it's been a few centuries since TPH's rise to power and subsequent fall, but she makes it clear that TPH's beliefs and agenda changed the basis of this interstellar society and lead to prejudice against a certain type of person that still persists at the time of the story... or at least that's what I was able to glean from the info-dumps (it was really hard to pay attention because I was so bored, okay? lmao). I am 90% sure it's because there was going to be a big reveal that TPH somehow lived through all these centuries and is MC's dad or close friend or something. I don't really care enough to find out.
June 19, 2019
Mind Games is a fast-paced sci-fi mystery novel. The author jumps right into the story with Della coming "home" to find her foster father dead on the floor. She's numb from the shock of this because while they live in the Domes murder is a rare thing. She knows that he has a past, but she never once thought that it was something worth being killed over. She's immediately determined to find out who killed him, why and is more than willing to break the promise she once made to him to not use her psi skills to do so.
This is the second book that I have read by this author and I have to say that overall I enjoyed it the most. The storyline is not slow and moves at quite a bit of a clip. I enjoy the pace of the story as it keeps me engaged, but I do feel that some opportunities are missed with descriptions and further exploration. Della is an engaging character, and I like that she is using her unique skills, but I wanted more. Every time she exercises her abilities the other characters are quick to accept and seem completely okay with what she is capable of. I wanted some sort of reaction in more than just then like "oh wow you have psi abilities." There is a nice amount of mystery and even danger in this story as Della is seeking information that a specific group doesn't want her to have.
While this is a decent book overall, it is not without its flaws. I wanted an actual description of Della. We get bits and pieces here and there, but I wanted to know what she really looked like. I feel like there are some missed opportunities with this book, but I also feel that this book is meant more for teens and preteens as well. There is some danger, but nothing to the extreme.
I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed this book, but as I said before I feel that there are some missed opportunities with this story. There could have been some more drama written in, more intense moments, and even some expounding on the planets, and aliens.
This is the second book that I have read by this author and I have to say that overall I enjoyed it the most. The storyline is not slow and moves at quite a bit of a clip. I enjoy the pace of the story as it keeps me engaged, but I do feel that some opportunities are missed with descriptions and further exploration. Della is an engaging character, and I like that she is using her unique skills, but I wanted more. Every time she exercises her abilities the other characters are quick to accept and seem completely okay with what she is capable of. I wanted some sort of reaction in more than just then like "oh wow you have psi abilities." There is a nice amount of mystery and even danger in this story as Della is seeking information that a specific group doesn't want her to have.
While this is a decent book overall, it is not without its flaws. I wanted an actual description of Della. We get bits and pieces here and there, but I wanted to know what she really looked like. I feel like there are some missed opportunities with this book, but I also feel that this book is meant more for teens and preteens as well. There is some danger, but nothing to the extreme.
I am rating this book 4 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed this book, but as I said before I feel that there are some missed opportunities with this story. There could have been some more drama written in, more intense moments, and even some expounding on the planets, and aliens.
June 21, 2019
This one is a good sci-fi mystery. Della is a young girl, who has to find out what happened to the man who raised her, Ferdie. She is on a distant planet with few humans, and she is the exception, being able to psychically read peoples' minds. She also can do various other unusual things. The story, at first is a little hard to follow with all the different alien activities and places. But then, as Della is captured and transported to Earth, it gets easier to to read and more interesting. I like the way she uses her gifts to escape and know what people are thinking. She quickly makes some allies who agree to help her find her friends from the other planet. Meanwhile, she's trying to solve the mystery of why Fergie was murdered. It's a wild adventure and quite a different story than most, and those who enjoy sci-fi and mysteries will enjoy this book, Mind Games.
June 7, 2019
This was not my favorite story, but it was a fast read and kept my interest throughout. The author has developed an interesting story world and his characters are likeable although not as well developed as they could be. There was a lot of foreshadowing and not much action in some areas, but tons in other areas. If you like YA Sci Fi, this book is for you.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
June 17, 2019
This is a wonderful book not only for young adults, but for everyone. It has a wonderful story line that keeps you turning the pages to find out what happens next. It is a wonderfully thrilling Journey following a young girl and her Quest. Her multitude of experiences and how she handles them make this an excellent book. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and exchange for a free copy.
June 21, 2019
An awesome, fast-paced story that will compel you from the first page to read all of the way through. And so difficult to put down! There are such wonderful characters in this story you become invested in their adventures and their well-being. I highly recommend this!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
May 27, 2019
I received an arc of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I liked:
-Not everyone was evil
-Creepy mineshaft thing? awesome!
Didn't like so much:
-There seemed to be a lot of bouncing around and nothing much seemed to happen in a lot of parts.
Overall, this was an average book for me, okay, but not good enough to reread.
I liked:
-Not everyone was evil
-Creepy mineshaft thing? awesome!
Didn't like so much:
-There seemed to be a lot of bouncing around and nothing much seemed to happen in a lot of parts.
Overall, this was an average book for me, okay, but not good enough to reread.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews