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A Mind Full of Scorpions
A young boy, kidnapped, only to be returned, talking of aliens. A witch destroys a cult and a coven in a quest for ultimate power. A witchdoctor unleashes zombies on a planned neighborhood in Miami. A mysterious unnamed man in a suit may be more than he seems. A murdered Chicago detective needs help discovering who killed him.
In A Mind Full of Scorpions, book one of the Eyes-Only trilogy, former FBI agent Adam Richardson has had his mind broken after a violent end to a haunting case. Diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, Adam moves back home to Northwest Arkansas under the care of his younger brother. As Adam settles in, he begins to suspect that some of the things he sees are real. Like the Shimmers, the princes of Hell who embody the seven deadly sins. When Adam’s former partner comes asking for assistance hunting down the paranormal, a new danger rears its head. Now Adam must find a way to stop the forces aligning against him and his friends as he struggles to quiet the voices in his head once and for all.
In A Mind Full of Scorpions, book one of the Eyes-Only trilogy, former FBI agent Adam Richardson has had his mind broken after a violent end to a haunting case. Diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, Adam moves back home to Northwest Arkansas under the care of his younger brother. As Adam settles in, he begins to suspect that some of the things he sees are real. Like the Shimmers, the princes of Hell who embody the seven deadly sins. When Adam’s former partner comes asking for assistance hunting down the paranormal, a new danger rears its head. Now Adam must find a way to stop the forces aligning against him and his friends as he struggles to quiet the voices in his head once and for all.
318 pages, Paperback
Published July 3, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 21, 2022
During an investigartion into a cult suspected of indulging in human trafficking and ritual sacrifice, the FBI team faces a setback. That results in death of several people, and loss & trauma on part of others. But one injured Agent starts seeing things thereafter. Those things had been mentioned by members of that cult before.
Is he losing his mind?
Or is he actually getting to see the world as it is, instead of its appearances?
Thus begins this crisp book full of violence and agony. There is no joy to be found here. No humour. No dry wit. Just violence— past, present, future.
For me, biggest problem with this was the deeply entrenched Amercian South mindset, that refused to visualise or depict supernatural in any non-Biblical form. Also, it's extremely reliant on suspension of disbelief from the very beginning— which destroys the X-Files-esque pleasures of reading.
But yes, it was a crisp read indeed.
Your call.
Is he losing his mind?
Or is he actually getting to see the world as it is, instead of its appearances?
Thus begins this crisp book full of violence and agony. There is no joy to be found here. No humour. No dry wit. Just violence— past, present, future.
For me, biggest problem with this was the deeply entrenched Amercian South mindset, that refused to visualise or depict supernatural in any non-Biblical form. Also, it's extremely reliant on suspension of disbelief from the very beginning— which destroys the X-Files-esque pleasures of reading.
But yes, it was a crisp read indeed.
Your call.
December 19, 2021
Started and finished the book in one day! It was the craziest ride, but I absolutely enjoyed every minute of it.
The plot was alarmingly fast, but in the best way. There was never a dull moment, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat.
My favorite character had to be Dr.Blake, she was beautifully written.
The ending sentences of this book are something that keep sticking in my mind because of how poetical they are.
Overall, I’m ecstatic to continue this trilogy. Great start to the series!
The plot was alarmingly fast, but in the best way. There was never a dull moment, and I was constantly on the edge of my seat.
My favorite character had to be Dr.Blake, she was beautifully written.
The ending sentences of this book are something that keep sticking in my mind because of how poetical they are.
Overall, I’m ecstatic to continue this trilogy. Great start to the series!
January 24, 2018
Billingsley’s Eyes Only Book One: A Mind Full of Scorpions is the first installment of a planned pentalogy of novels featuring Adam Richardson, an ex-FBI agent suffering from visions of a world not seen, who, with the help of his psychiatrist, brother, and ex-partner in the FBI, travels the world in pursuit of some of this world’s most dangerous creatures—including witches, aliens, and demons. The book is expansive in its ideas, drawing on a rich vein of popular culture tropes to deliver a fast-paced read that, despite its many flaws, remains at least interesting.
The obvious faults of Eyes Only are Billingsley’s prose, which is hardly consistent and often uneven. That Billingsley has the technical ability to be an excellent writer is evident in several surprisingly delicate passages, though these passages are few and far between. Most of the prose in the novel is otherwise competent, but unassuming, although there are more than just a few passages where the clumsiness of the prose can break up the otherwise swift reading. In the copy I read, there were a number of grammar issues or typographical errors, though I am told many of those issues have been addressed in recent print.
Billingsley’s dialogue is also crude at times, and characters can sometimes feel like they are talking past one another rather than having any real conversation. His villains, too, use awkward language that can break some of the novel’s immersion. Characterization feels largely inconsistent at times, as characters can suddenly run off and make decisions that don’t seem to hold in with their established personalities, and some of the conflict of the novel rings as cliché, existing for the sole purpose of existing.
One example of conflict that feels like it never quite has a place in the novel is Richardson’s psychosis. Although Richardson is diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, the perceived threats to Richardson are almost all revealed to be true in time—even to the story’s alleged skeptics. Characters will often accept that Richardson’s “delusions” are not delusions at all after having been given substantive proof of their existence, yet still demand that Richardson is ill anyway. This inconsistency from chapter to chapter cheapens much of the narrative, and contributes to a sense that many character interactions are superficial, folds that exist to add only the illusion of depth.
Still, Billingsley does with his text something fairly novel, which is to present the novel as though it were the outline of an ongoing television series. Each chapter of the novel contains what is ultimately a self-contained episodic story in the lives of the various characters. Although there does exist an overarching narrative in the novel, the novel reads much more as a series of individual episodes. This narrative construction contributes to the feeling of familiarity in the novel. Influences of Stephen King and—perhaps most notably—The X-Files are most evident through the novel’s structure, and, oddly enough, the episodic storytelling is the novel’s most interesting feature.
Indeed, because of this episodic structure, the book can often feel as though it is imminently binge-readable, which feels very much like a different kind of reading experience altogether. The story may not be consistent on a chapter-to-chapter basis, but it also feels like the gaps in the story are ultimately more excusable because the format of the novel can comfortably encourage those who would enjoy reading the book all at once and those who would enjoy reading the book in portions, enjoying, perhaps, a chapter an evening. That it is so easy to pick up and begin reading again at the beginning of any one chapter is a real credit to Billingsley’s vision for the novel—his characters may rely more on archetypal depictions of the heroes and villains of popular media, but those archetypes become more serviceable in a series of stories that revolve less around character interaction than weird situations, and the story is very much driven more by situation and plot than it is anything else.
The overall impression of Eyes Only is a narrative that is flawed, but still enjoyable. Billingsley has some interesting notions for stories in the novel, and while little in the book feels like it breaks established tropes, it is an entertaining read and holds promise as the first entry to a longer series. I look forward to reading the next novel in the series, and eagerly anticipate seeing Billingsley stretch and grow as a writer.
*Edit* On further reflection of the book, I've come to appreciate more what Billingsley does with his novel, and the format in particular has stuck with me as an important novelty in trying to create a popular literature that has real potential for different kinds of stories. While I still think that the prose is less complex and inventive than I've seen in other novels, I'm left remembering more of the bigger ideas in Billingsley's novel than I'm left remembering specific lines or details. Moreover, I genuinely do want to read the next novel in the series as it comes out, and I can honestly say that that anticipation is something I wouldn't have really expected. I'm upgrading my rating of the book from three stars to four, because I didn't merely like the novel--I really liked it, and while I think my criticisms are still a valid evaluation of the book, I also think that Billingsley has tremendous potential for the series. That's really worth something.
The obvious faults of Eyes Only are Billingsley’s prose, which is hardly consistent and often uneven. That Billingsley has the technical ability to be an excellent writer is evident in several surprisingly delicate passages, though these passages are few and far between. Most of the prose in the novel is otherwise competent, but unassuming, although there are more than just a few passages where the clumsiness of the prose can break up the otherwise swift reading. In the copy I read, there were a number of grammar issues or typographical errors, though I am told many of those issues have been addressed in recent print.
Billingsley’s dialogue is also crude at times, and characters can sometimes feel like they are talking past one another rather than having any real conversation. His villains, too, use awkward language that can break some of the novel’s immersion. Characterization feels largely inconsistent at times, as characters can suddenly run off and make decisions that don’t seem to hold in with their established personalities, and some of the conflict of the novel rings as cliché, existing for the sole purpose of existing.
One example of conflict that feels like it never quite has a place in the novel is Richardson’s psychosis. Although Richardson is diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, the perceived threats to Richardson are almost all revealed to be true in time—even to the story’s alleged skeptics. Characters will often accept that Richardson’s “delusions” are not delusions at all after having been given substantive proof of their existence, yet still demand that Richardson is ill anyway. This inconsistency from chapter to chapter cheapens much of the narrative, and contributes to a sense that many character interactions are superficial, folds that exist to add only the illusion of depth.
Still, Billingsley does with his text something fairly novel, which is to present the novel as though it were the outline of an ongoing television series. Each chapter of the novel contains what is ultimately a self-contained episodic story in the lives of the various characters. Although there does exist an overarching narrative in the novel, the novel reads much more as a series of individual episodes. This narrative construction contributes to the feeling of familiarity in the novel. Influences of Stephen King and—perhaps most notably—The X-Files are most evident through the novel’s structure, and, oddly enough, the episodic storytelling is the novel’s most interesting feature.
Indeed, because of this episodic structure, the book can often feel as though it is imminently binge-readable, which feels very much like a different kind of reading experience altogether. The story may not be consistent on a chapter-to-chapter basis, but it also feels like the gaps in the story are ultimately more excusable because the format of the novel can comfortably encourage those who would enjoy reading the book all at once and those who would enjoy reading the book in portions, enjoying, perhaps, a chapter an evening. That it is so easy to pick up and begin reading again at the beginning of any one chapter is a real credit to Billingsley’s vision for the novel—his characters may rely more on archetypal depictions of the heroes and villains of popular media, but those archetypes become more serviceable in a series of stories that revolve less around character interaction than weird situations, and the story is very much driven more by situation and plot than it is anything else.
The overall impression of Eyes Only is a narrative that is flawed, but still enjoyable. Billingsley has some interesting notions for stories in the novel, and while little in the book feels like it breaks established tropes, it is an entertaining read and holds promise as the first entry to a longer series. I look forward to reading the next novel in the series, and eagerly anticipate seeing Billingsley stretch and grow as a writer.
*Edit* On further reflection of the book, I've come to appreciate more what Billingsley does with his novel, and the format in particular has stuck with me as an important novelty in trying to create a popular literature that has real potential for different kinds of stories. While I still think that the prose is less complex and inventive than I've seen in other novels, I'm left remembering more of the bigger ideas in Billingsley's novel than I'm left remembering specific lines or details. Moreover, I genuinely do want to read the next novel in the series as it comes out, and I can honestly say that that anticipation is something I wouldn't have really expected. I'm upgrading my rating of the book from three stars to four, because I didn't merely like the novel--I really liked it, and while I think my criticisms are still a valid evaluation of the book, I also think that Billingsley has tremendous potential for the series. That's really worth something.
September 28, 2018
Eyes Only is a powerful story that blends the psychic with psychosis. The blurring of realities and the terror of supernatural entities that can't easily be defeated is tightly woven throughout this tale of FBI agents, former and present, and the psychologist who struggles to not face a reality she cannot bring herself to believe in. Billingsley does a terrific job of painting a treacherous world where everything goes awry in the strangest ways. The novel is well written and the main characters so nicely developed that it's easy to identify with their struggles as they are caught up in the evilness of the supernatural while living in the 'normal' world that rejects such an alien landscape. If you crave a well-told horror story that will creep you out, this book will satisfy. Billingsley does not disappoint.
November 13, 2021
A Mindful of Scorpions by JR Billingsley was full of all the elements I’m looking for in a good supernatural tale. There were also some new twists that added depth to the main character, Adam.
Adam has been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, however not every visual or auditory hallucination is due to illness. And it’s up to the reader to decide what they believe.
I loved the dynamic between the main character and his “team”. His brother, Chris, his partner at the FBI, Marion, his psychiatrist, Samantha and his ‘ghost”, Leo Knight. They all come together to try and solve strange cases part of a shadow government group.
Really solid world building and characters. I’m interested to see what this group does and if any of the mysteries get answered in the next books!
Adam has been diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, however not every visual or auditory hallucination is due to illness. And it’s up to the reader to decide what they believe.
I loved the dynamic between the main character and his “team”. His brother, Chris, his partner at the FBI, Marion, his psychiatrist, Samantha and his ‘ghost”, Leo Knight. They all come together to try and solve strange cases part of a shadow government group.
Really solid world building and characters. I’m interested to see what this group does and if any of the mysteries get answered in the next books!
October 7, 2021
THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD
I personally have never read anything like this but when I first read the synopsis I was hooked
I had to pace myself so I didn’t finish it in one day
Each page is absolutely gripping down to the last page. it mixes poetry in the best way possible
And I can’t wait to read more from J R Billingsley
And read more when the rest of the trilogy comes out
My overall rating 5/5!
April 25, 2022
Call it 3.5 stars rounded to 4.
Could've been 5 but to me this book suffers from a disjointed writing style and poor transitioning. It reads as if the chapters were short stories that were hastily edited into a novel. Luckily the story(ies) is excellent and compelling which made me forget enough about the style and just enjoy it, which I very much did. The characters were mostly enjoyable and the premise was well fleshed out. It has aliens, witches, zombies, pretty much something for everyone!
Could've been 5 but to me this book suffers from a disjointed writing style and poor transitioning. It reads as if the chapters were short stories that were hastily edited into a novel. Luckily the story(ies) is excellent and compelling which made me forget enough about the style and just enjoy it, which I very much did. The characters were mostly enjoyable and the premise was well fleshed out. It has aliens, witches, zombies, pretty much something for everyone!
September 8, 2022
X-Files meets novel! Loads of mysterious goings on and loads of both evil and benign (maybe) supernatural creatures. The plot revolves around Adam, a paranormal investigator, his philandering brother Chris, his partner Marion, and his shrink Dr. Samantha Blake. Harrowing horror scenes abound. Sometimes the good guys win . . . and sometimes they don’t. Strong characterization and involving scenes thread together very well.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews