Today, I asked Heather to come by and talk about Mind Games by Carolyn Crane, since I know it’s one of her favorite books. You should all go check out Heather’s awesome blog Darkly Reading. You can also follow her on Twitter! Here’s Heather!
Top 5 reasons to read and love Mind Games:
1. A flawed heroine I can relate too. Let’s face it – most urban fantasy heroines are flawed but in such extraordinary ways it’s hard to relate too – daddy’s the big bad destroyer of worlds and damaged your childhood, if you fall in love with someone you might suck away their life, your bad breath could destroy humanity (ok so that is not really an affliction from a book but some mornings I think I might have this superpower). But if you ever think to yourself maybe this potato salad at the family reunion will be your last or you forgot to wash your hands at a public restroom and are therefore destined to get a flesh eating bacteria then I have the perfect heroine for you - Justine. She uses her powers of hypochondria for good to break down the bad guys and man would I like to believe my own personal idiosyncrasies could lead to super powers.
2. Picking a team (and a man for Justine) is like picking a food group. So by the end of Mind Games there are clearly two men going for the leading hero slot in Justine’s life – Otto and Packard who have been dubbed Team Cucumber and Team Kebab, respectively. They both have a lot going for them – Otto wears a beret and capes and is the hero of Midcity while Packard is a little dangerous and has that whole living in a Mediterranean restaurant while running a vigilante group thing going for him. I see Sanchez as Benjamin Bratt while Kevin McKidd makes a great Packard.
3. Superpowers through environmental pollution. Let’s face it – the way the environment has been abused lately it would be nice if someone could say..”hey I destroyed this pristine coastline but all the children born in this area will have the ability to destroy me with their mental powers.”
4. There has never been a supernatural called a disillusionist or highcap before. After all the vampires and werewolf books you’ve read lately isn’t it nice to add a new supernatural group to the family.
5. I wouldn’t call Justine a slut but she does see a lot of “action” in the book. I can’t help it – I love the smutty parts too ;)
Well that’s my quick top 5 – I would love to hear who ends up on Team Kebab or Team Cucumber and who is your favorite disillusionist?
