Mind Games (The Disillusionists, #1) in Book Bloggers Anonymous

Sep 05, 2010 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: para-other

Main characters that have nearly paralyzing mental issues make me wary. Usually, in the face of extreme neurosis, story lines suffer due to the extreme constraints the main character puts on themselves. That is most definitely not the case in Mind Games. Carolyn Crane does a superb job of creating a character that not only has a debilitating psychological problem, but goes on to utilize this problem in a unique and fascinating way.

At the start of Mind Games, Justine Jones is a hard character to ...more

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Jan 01, 2010 Caitlin Wyatt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2010

I loved this book it was intense from the very begining. I have not read anything like this before it was so unique. Justine Jones is a quirky real character, and the plot was intense. Packard her new boss and the high-cap or physiologically gifted man is a huge mystery. Justine is trying to solve the mystery behind Packard, but she still needs to maintain her normal life. Justine finds herself doing things she would never normally do, or is it really who she is? Justine and the Russian Shelby i ...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Ellz Readz rated it really liked it

My thoughts...This first book in the Disillusionist Trilogy by Carolyn Crane. The book started off by setting the stage with Justine's phobias. It kept a steady pace for about the first 75 pages, then it took off full speed and did not stop until the end. The plot is full of nail-biting, edge of your seat suspense. I did not know who to trust, who was crazy or sane, or what was going to happen next. The Disillusionist team takes criminals and transfers their weaknesses to them. For example, Just ...more

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Oct 14, 2010 Carrie rated it it was amazing

This book wasn’t what I was expecting…in a good way. From the cover (yes, I judge a lot of books by the cover) I imagined that this book would be darker than it was. Justine is hilarious! I wasn’t sure how a hypochondriac would work as the heroine, but Ms. Crane makes it work. MIND GAMES has a feel of a comic book type story. The characters aren’t really superheroes, but they do have special enhancements that enable them to do something extra. The world of MIND GAMES is incredibly well written a ...more

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Jun 27, 2010 Athenna rated it really liked it

Justine was a over active hypochondriac, she would blow the smallest feeling in her head way out of proportion. She annoyed me at first I'm like just get a grip woman. but then as she started to get involved with Packered and learn she has the power to send all that negative energy she has out in to others and relive her self, i grew to like her better. Justine is a very stubborn loving character. She finds out that Packard has lied to her to get her to help him with his mission to help reboot t Justine was a over active hypochondriac, she would blow the smallest feeling in her head way out of proportion. She annoyed me at first I'm like just get a grip woman. but then as she started to get involved with Packered and learn she has the power to send all that negative energy she has out in to others and relive her self, i grew to like her better. Justine is a very stubborn loving character. She finds out that Packard has lied to her to get her to help him with his mission to help reboot the criminals they go ofter, Justine still stuck it out and trys to help Packard . She is willing to do almost anything to help save Packard even though she doesn't feel he deserves here help.

Packard was imprisoned in his Mongolian restaurant for eight years and he has put to gather this elite group to help out people who seek justice. They fight those who have committed horrible crimes but the law cant deal with them. So Packard can see into them and decipher there weakness's and pinpoints exactly witch disillusionist will best help break down this person and sends them in . after the process is complete the person has the chance to reboot and rebuild a new person that is void of the evil that lurked in them before. Packard dose enjoy helping these people and the fellow disillusionist that work for him but he never looses sight of the originally plan to free him self of the prison he is stuck in. I like Packard i thought he was a great character . I was not thrilled with how he treated Justine but i understand why he did what he did and I'm sure any one else in his place would have done the dame or worse. I was just a bit disappointed that i did not get the ending i was wanting i see why it happened the way it did but i wanted it to go another way.. and i know what you guys are thinking well what happened .. but you need to read the book and see what happened.. heee..

I enjoyed this book allot, it was so very different than what i normally read but it was great i loved the characters and the story line was fantastic i hope to see more in this series there is some things i would still like to see happen. I would recommend this book and i am eager to read more. ...more

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Apr 23, 2010 Alexia561 rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Thought that this book was one of the most original, clever stories I've come across in a long time! Loved Justine, the hypochondriac heroine. And the whole idea of a team of disillusionists was incredibly unique! To actually put together a team of people who use their fears to disillusion their targets, basically rebooting them, was very clever. I didn't exactly get how they transferred their fears into their victims, but they had it down to a science and it seemed to work. And the team was mad ...more

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Oct 18, 2009 Anna rated it did not like it

Shelves: urban-fantasy, read-2010, shouldn-t-have-bothered

Review originally posted at http://bookstobrightenyourmood.blogsp...

I'm sad to say it but i couldn't finish this book...I really tried to get into it and although i rarely leave something unfinished i couldn't continue reading this one.

I didn't like Crane's writing style,everything was so confusing,for me anyway.It was like throwing bits of information the whole time with no order.Anyway,those bits of information didn't manage to grab me in the story.I also didn't like the main heroine.And not b Review originally posted at http://bookstobrightenyourmood.blogsp...

I'm sad to say it but i couldn't finish this book...I really tried to get into it and although i rarely leave something unfinished i couldn't continue reading this one.

I didn't like Crane's writing style,everything was so confusing,for me anyway.It was like throwing bits of information the whole time with no order.Anyway,those bits of information didn't manage to grab me in the story.I also didn't like the main heroine.And not because she was hypochondriac ...Since i'm a psychologist i have dealt with far worse conditions and believe me when i say it,i can't find anything annoying.I sympathise with people dealing their problems whether they are aware of them or not.So,that wasn't the reason i didn't like the heroine.In fact,the profile of a person suffering from this neurosis was quite acurate.My problem was that this girl didn't know what she wanted.Her attraction to Packard didn't catch my interest,nor her relationship with Cubby.Granted,she stayed with him for what he representated in her life,but apart from that?Her life was a total mess,without a reason apart from her neurosis.Ok,i know,believing the whole time that you'll die out of a fatal disease kind of messes up your life but that wasn't the case again...I felt the whole time that something was missing,something annoyed me and i can't really pinpoint what.

But i could overcome all of the above,cause,let's be honest,things might get their explanation further on and could get better.What i couldn't overcome was the main idea behind the book.Using one's neurosis to punish criminals....???It's disturbing in first sight,sick,coming to think of it again.No matter how bad is someone,who could,outside of the law system in addition,decide how to punish them.I felt annoyed that a person who could get a psychological insight of people he met,would use that power for his profit,cause let's be honest,that's what Packard did...He got paid to unleash his colleagues's neurosis at people who were criminals by his own definition.Believe me,i don't care if that get's explained later on the book,the mere idea made me sick.I've seen how people suffer in such situations and it's nothing that should be passed to another one,no matter what.Maybe i'm oversensitive with the matter but i can't help it.
But the thing doesn't stop here.The other idea behind the book,that you could,in order to preserve your own sanity,unleash bits of it to anyone that's compatible with you is even worse...It's like "your death,my life",a moto i never aspired.

As i said,i stopped reading the book really soon,so maybe some of the things i didn't like,got better in the process,but i don't think that the main idea,the one where neurotic people use their condition to punish others,could change much.So,in case things get better,i'm sorry about my harsh opinion but i'm not sorry i won't continue with this book ever.Maybe,i'm overreacting,but i think that even the worse criminals,deserve to be judget before being punished,and i don't really think that everyone knows what's best for someone and change him in that direction.Because after all,that was what it was all about this book.Punish criminals and make them suffer from anxiety or hallucinations in order to make them better persons.Really,in that case,what is so different from the belief in early 1900's that a lobotomy did good to schizofrenics? ...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Larissa rated it really liked it

{Previously Published on my blog: Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life"

I love it when an author surprises me. I mean, there so many Urban Fantasy novels and series out there that it is quite hard nowadays to bring something new to the table. Carolyn Crane does that with Mind Games, giving us a new world and characters to sink out teeth into, not to mention a flawed but likable heroine and different kinds of supernatural beings.

Justine is hypochondriac, obsessed with vein start disease. Her mother w {Previously Published on my blog: Welcome to Larissa's Bookish Life"

I love it when an author surprises me. I mean, there so many Urban Fantasy novels and series out there that it is quite hard nowadays to bring something new to the table. Carolyn Crane does that with Mind Games, giving us a new world and characters to sink out teeth into, not to mention a flawed but likable heroine and different kinds of supernatural beings.

Justine is hypochondriac, obsessed with vein start disease. Her mother was also hypochondriac and because of that, people never listen to her when she complained about pain and illnesses, until one day she died of her worst fear, vein start syndrome. That, along with her father’s obsession with bulking up their home for the end of days has made Justine a very paranoid woman, who biggest wish in life is to simply be normal.

In Mind Games we find Justine doing her best to achieve that goal. She has a nice boyfriend and a steady job, if it weren’t her attacks of fear and her trips to the ER to get checked out, she could be like any other girl in the world.

Her life changes when she meets Packard, a man who promises that he can save her life by ridding her of that all consuming fear. She then learns that by zinging him, giving him all her fear, she can be normal for the first time in her life. But the effects are temporary and in exchange for helping her, Packard wants her to join his group of disillusionists, men and women that take their mental disabilities like: fear, anger, hypochondria, etc… and give it to the people they are hired to hit. They basically break down that person little by little, emotionally and mentally, until the person is rebooted and ready to be someone completely different than who they started out being.

Packard is a Highcap, one of many people that were born with extra mental capabilities that translates into powers, such as: Telekinesis, Mind Reading and so on. One thing that I really enjoyed about this story was that the villain is never really clear and it makes for such an incredible and interesting adventure.

Justine is a character that I had a hard time liking. She is stubborn, hardheaded and just annoying at times. However, I can understand that her fear of the disease and her single-minded obsession with being normal have blinded her to see a lot of what is right in front of her.

The one thing that bothered me in the novel was the abrupt ending of each chapter, it felt weird. Despite that I really enjoyed the book. Mind Games is a great for Urban Fantasy readers everywhere. A great new world that I can’t wait to read more of! ...more

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Mar 08, 2010 Heather C (Darkly Reading) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-firsts

This book is an absolutely unique entry into the urban fantasy genre and I loved every word of it! The heroine of this story, Justine Jones, suffers from an affliction that I'm passingly familiar with, hypochondria. She is convinced she has vein-star syndrome, and this fear leads her to late night trips to the ER, scans, and disbelief when the doctors tell her she's okay. She has a life changing event when she stalks a childhood enemy with her boyfriend Cubby into a Mediterranean restaurant and This book is an absolutely unique entry into the urban fantasy genre and I loved every word of it! The heroine of this story, Justine Jones, suffers from an affliction that I'm passingly familiar with, hypochondria. She is convinced she has vein-star syndrome, and this fear leads her to late night trips to the ER, scans, and disbelief when the doctors tell her she's okay. She has a life changing event when she stalks a childhood enemy with her boyfriend Cubby into a Mediterranean restaurant and meets the enigmatic Packard. Packard offers Justine something she cannot refuse, a chance at a normal life without fear. When Justine gets one hit of what Packard has to offer she eventually comes back for more and agrees to join Packard's team of disillusionists - people with heightened phobias, anxieties, and vices that have learned to channel their fears into others as a way to break down criminal's illusions so that they reform. And Packard is no normal vigilante group mastermind - he is also a highcap that due to genetic changes has extra-human powers. And we quickly learn that Packard isn't the only highcap out there and that there are others with supernatural powers, criminals and otherwise.

Justine is the epitome of the reluctant heroine, she is constantly questioning her involvement with the dissillusionists and the motivations of Packard. Which is good because the more we learn about Packard, the more murky his intentions and dealings with Justine seem. Though that doesn't stop him from being mysterious and sexy even while he is sneaky. While Justine struggles to maintain her normal and stable relationship with Cubby she is constantly tempted by Packard who thinks she needs something more, and those two aren't the only potential love interests for Justine. I think Justine is the first urban fantasy heroine that I've read who is part of a love square perhaps or rectangle...maybe a love parallelogram. Such tough decisions! Justine also has a huge crush on Midcity police chief, Otto Sanchez, who is trying to save the city from an evil serial killer.

Although the beginning of the book was a little slow for me, the ending more than made up for it. I was never quite sure what was going to happen and there were so many interesting twists and turns, both in the plot and in Justine's love life that I raced through the last pages hungry to see what happens with Justine. I loved the side stories of vein star syndrome and the Osiris virus as the diseases that Justine disillusions others with - they definitely kept me a little twitchy while reading them. And with the ending of the book I can wait to read what happens next in Double Cross which comes out in September.

4.5 out of 5 stars for me, Love a hypochondriac set-up as the heroine in a world with a Gotham city vibe - and a love square! ...more

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Apr 05, 2010 Julie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, read-in-2010

“Mind Games” is the first book in debut author Carolyn Cane’s ‘Disillusionists’ trilogy. And if this instalment is any indication, this series is going to be fantastic! The story is a wild ride from beginning to end. Just when you think you’ve figured out where you’re headed, something else happens that takes you by surprise. But then you think about the new development and agree that it totally makes sense! Carolyn Crane is a very talented writer. She’s created a dark yet cool world where peopl “Mind Games” is the first book in debut author Carolyn Cane’s ‘Disillusionists’ trilogy. And if this instalment is any indication, this series is going to be fantastic! The story is a wild ride from beginning to end. Just when you think you’ve figured out where you’re headed, something else happens that takes you by surprise. But then you think about the new development and agree that it totally makes sense! Carolyn Crane is a very talented writer. She’s created a dark yet cool world where people with special ‘mind based’ abilities exist. The concept is very interesting and adds a rich flavour to the plot and to the characters. It can be easy for an author, while writing a fantastical world, to try too hard and jumble up the story with too many details. Yet Ms. Crane writes it with ease and flair. Incredible!

The main characters are really well written. They have real depth to them. The heroine Justine Jones is a hardcore hypochondriac. When her ‘attacks’ are described, you feel like you could see every sweat drop and every panicked glance in her eyes. It’s fantastic. Justine is inexplicably drawn to Packard, and who can blame her. Packard is the good guy in this tale – or is he?! For the entire book, you wonder on what side he belongs. And again, just when you think you’ve got him figured out, something throws you for a major loop and you are left re-thinking everything you’ve learned so far. That not only happens with Packard, but with Otto too! Now none of these revelations cause you to smack your forehead out of frustration. They make you jump up and down and cause you to not want to put the book down to see if your newest theory is the right one. Let’s go back to Otto. I must admit that, when he was first introduced as a sexy man who wears a beret, I was a little “say what?!” because I have never considered ‘sexy’ and ‘beret’ to belong in the same category. But after a while, you just accept it and you thank goodness it’s not a beanie — and Otto becomes almost as yummy as Packard.

By the end, you are left wondering if you really found all of the pieces of the puzzle, or if there are still a few missing. And that’s the perfect way to end a book belonging to a series. It leaves you wanting more without leaving you frustrated. And I love that this is a trilogy – you know you won’t have to wait through 27 books for everything to be resolved.

The second book in the ‘Disillusionists’ series, “Double Cross”, is due out in stores September 28th 2010. If you enjoy slightly dark urban fantasy tales with a quirky edge to it, you’ll really enjoy “Mind Games”. ...more

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