Mind Games (The Disillusionists, #1) in Dangerous Hero Addict Support Group

Oct 08, 2010 Mariya rated it really liked it

Shelves: urban-fantasy

MIND GAMES was definitely a book that I could not stop reading. It is labeled as urban fantasy, but I found it very different and unique. I find the characters in here more like superheroes. Justine Jones suffers from vein star syndrome and it rules her life completely. She fears of death and every time she has to go to the hospital just to check it out and she cannot stop. She just wants it gone and to be able to live a normal life.

One night she goes out to dinner with her boyfriend, Cubby at M ...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Mrs. Badass rated it really liked it

Shelves: nook, favorites

See here: Ode to Carolyn Crane

Ever pick up a book and just think, “Wow, does this book sound…odd” But you figure, what the heck, you need something different, and this sure sounds like it fits the bill. Not only is the book odd, but it’s weird in the most fantastic way possible, it was an extremely interesting, well thought out, and twisty read! Author Carolyn Crane has some serious issues I tell you. In order to come up with this psychological hit squad, and this world filled with mind bending ...more

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Oct 15, 2010 Peep (Pop! Pop!) rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-in-2010, adult-cravings, what-the-heck, character-id-punch, pretty-much-hated, your-cover-lies

Really, I did start out liking this one. Honest. Up until 3/4 of the way through, I was all set to ignore my dislikes and give this one 3.5 stars. But then, it just went straight downhill. Really!

I laughed out loud a few times, and I wanted to know what would happen next. Sitting at the bar with Simon and the cabin scene had me laughing out loud.

Justine was an OK protag. I had to remind myself that this was an adult novel, and not one of my YA books. Really, her train of thought kept making me ...more

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Jan 25, 2011 Fiendishly Bookish rated it really liked it

Shelves: witches, crack-city, noirish

There is power in fear and better yet….a lot of money to be had if you know the right people….

Justine Jones might be a hypochondriac and a neurotic…and yes she might have chased away a few boyfriends with her ridiculous fears, but her personal demons rise to a new level when she is recruited by a shadowy group that makes it their mission to rehabilitate criminals by disillusioning them. That is tactilely invading their psyche and breaking them down emotionally. Once you’re in, you can’t quit, yo
There is power in fear and better yet….a lot of money to be had if you know the right people….

Justine Jones might be a hypochondriac and a neurotic…and yes she might have chased away a few boyfriends with her ridiculous fears, but her personal demons rise to a new level when she is recruited by a shadowy group that makes it their mission to rehabilitate criminals by disillusioning them. That is tactilely invading their psyche and breaking them down emotionally. Once you’re in, you can’t quit, you can’t leave….or you’re dead.

In this “intacto” urban fantasy, Carolyn Crane ventures into graphic novel territory with a plot that can either be interpreted as campy or interesting. I found I really gravitated towards Crane’s vision of MidCity, plagued by a constant onslaught of terrorizing crimes perpetuated by rogue highcaps, a fringe group of telepaths, precogs, and telekinetics who possess the genetic disposition for extraordinary psychic ability. Even some MidCity residents believe they are myth, and the high caps have never come out of the closet so-to-speak….so essentially they exist as an urban bogeyman. But for others like Sterling Packard who has been imprisoned in a tawdry ethnic restaurant for eight years….he knows they exist. After all…he is one.

Mind Games was highly entertaining, suspenseful, fresh and astoundingly unique and has an overwhelming graphic novel feel to it-like a stunningly rendered urban fantasy in neon blazing with quirky style. Conflicts like The Brick Slinger and the Dorks are classic comic kitsch, as is Justine’s crush on Chief Otto Sanchez. And Packard’s psychic assault team? They are essentially nothing more than vigilante super heroes; but warm and fuzzy vigilantes with a mission.

The best thing a writer can do is break the rules…and break them well. Yes, there are cases that this has failed miserably in other novels, but Crane has succeed, done that effectively blurring the line between good and bad, interjecting quite a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor…um yeah…the vein star syndrome thing…classic. Crane reveals an even bigger ethical conflict with the highcaps. Is Justine doing the right thing as a disillusionist? What is Packard hiding? Cranes bigger picture of the highcaps, and their plight as they infiltrate MidCity society on all levels, is clearly a set-up for action in Double Cross, and further for the third installment. I envision an all-out psychic war on the horizon.

I loved Mind Games because it was so different that the typical urban fantasies I’ve read chock full of snarky humor at every page turn. I’ll definitely be going to read Double Cross, Crane’s sequel.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat)
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May 29, 2010 Yulia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal, fantasy, urban-fantasy

I liked the book.
Guessing who Henji was really easy. Through the book (after Henji was mentioned) I was kinda sure it's the police sherrif...
Dam that boyfriend of her's, Cubby, I would've slapped him on a tour around the world for that. And he was crappy even before that, cuz after she got zinged again and that part where they go to sleep and she realizes he was going to break up with her... WTF? only that was enough reason to dump his ass.
And Packard - fck tard? O_o when I try to read his name ...more

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