Mind of Mine
by C.F.E. Black
PLOT SYNOPSIS
V has been raised to put science above herself. Genetically engineered to be a superior human being, she shares thoughts with fifteen others like herself. Together, they work to improve humanity, slaving away in a secluded research facility to develop and bring the next big thing to the masses. But the privilege of intelligence comes at a price. She has never known freedom, not of actions, of choice, or even of thought. Will V have the gumption, the fortitude, and the strength to break out of the prison of her existence? And if she does, will life be any better on the outside?
Series: Single Book
Age Recommendation: 13+
Warning: Scenes of violence and mildly disturbing content
Faith Based: Yes
ISBN: 978-16452-6185-8
Overall
Characters
Story/Plot
Writing
Setting
Consistency
THE BOTTOM LINE
This unique look at society, mind, and mental sovereignty fumbles the ending a bit but its exciting plot and unique characters make it a necessary addition to any reading list.
THOUGHTS…
It is not often that I admit a book is unequivocally better than my own, but credit where credit is due on this one. Mind of Mine is imaginative, well-written, and impressive for the first offering from a new author. I got off on the wrong foot with this book since it is written in first-person, present tense (my least favorite viewpoint of all time). This is normally a writing gimmick to artificially make the reader feel more invested in the protagonist, but such was not the case here. Ms. Black expertly used the point of view to showcase V’s emotions and feelings and deeply explore them. The plot of the book is engaging and well-written. During the first part, V displays an incredible level of agency, and her decisions drive the events of the story. Unfortunately, this changes in the second portion where she seems to just be along for the ride. Though the plot was still engaging, stripping V of her ability to affect the story makes this portion feel less important, as if anyone could have filled the spot and the events would have played out the same way. The book really shines in its use of sci-fi elements, avoiding genre clichés like aliens, space wizards, and laser guns while blazing new trails. Keeping one foot grounded in reality allows it to make solid commentary on our world today and where we are heading while avoiding the trap of becoming preachy. But for a few faults, Mind of Mine is a well-written, easy-to-read book with fleshed out characters, a creative plot, and some real meat on its proverbial bones and is worth putting on your reading list.
RANTS AND RAMBLES (SPOILER WARNING)
- I want to make clear that my job when I review books is to discuss both strengths and weaknesses of the books in question. It seems that weaknesses and inconsistencies are the easiest to discuss and pick apart and so tend to dominate my discussion. Nevertheless, any particular rant (and, yes, they can be long-winded) does not necessarily have special bearing on my overall opinion. Please refer to my overall star rating for my unified opinion of the book as a whole.
It is not a surprise to anyone who knows me that I hate the first-person, present tense (1PP) viewpoint in books. 99% of the time it is a gimmick to make you feel more invested in the main character. It is often used to simply tell the reader things via thoughts rather than show them through actions and interactions. C.F.E. does not fall into this trap but utilizes the 1PP viewpoint more skillfully than I think I have ever experienced before. Far from simply telling the reader what the protagonist is experiencing and thinking, she uses 1PP to explore thoughts and feelings, postulate ideas and pontificate on their merits, and generously fill out the character of V. Additionally, since the book is about the mind (including the sovereignty of one’s own mind), I believe this may be one of the few books out there where the 1PP viewpoint is better suited to the telling than third-person.
In the climax of the book, the bad guy is shot in the leg (not accidentally, but on purpose) which is a horrible trope of movies and books. First of all, a leg is not a large target comparatively, and hitting it on demand would be a challenge (in high stress situations, only about 30% of bullets actually hit their intended targets). Second, and more importantly, this decision to not kill the big bad guy is usually played up as some sort of a morally superior action, but how does this make sense? The hero has usually mowed down dozens of underlings to get to this point yet staying their hand on the one person who deserves to die more than anyone else somehow makes them morally upright? This is a massive case of cognitive dissonance, undermines either the ending or the body of the story (depending on how you look at it), and is a cliché that needs to fade into obscurity. If taking life is a bad thing, henchmen deaths should not be glossed over, but if the killing of henchmen is not bad, the same ending should not be spared the main villain simply because of their status to the story.
Weapon familiarity is clearly not one of the author’s strengths. Representing an Uzi as a long-range weapon is comically inaccurate while referring to an AR-15 as a machine gun is one of my biggest pet peeves. I know that authors tend to write what they know and make up the rest, but fumbling these types of details makes it painfully obvious that these are fictional characters living in a fictional world. This takes me, and probably anyone who is familiar with weaponry, out of the story right at the climax when we need to be most invested. This is especially unfortunate since these problems could have been easily rectified with proper editing from someone who knows the subject matter.
Navigation: Home Store Book Reviews