The Thought Readers (Mind Dimensions Book 1)

Zales and Zaires create a fast paced adventure with realistically flawed but likable characters. The fantasy elements seem believable and the dramatic tension drew me in emotionally. I care what happens next. I've started the second book. A entertaining ride.

The story line and first person narration were great. I both liked and disliked Darren the main character. He's a very believable regular guy and that of course has its ups and downs. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger and definitely leaves you wanting more.

This was a truly imaginative story. Quite intriguing, full of action and danger. Definitely worth reading! I personally like the protagonist of the story, and also the moral dilemmas he had to face regarding his abilities.

The main character is well developed and the mind dimension is believable. I find in many of these types of stories that the main interest of the main character is an unreasonable pain in the ass yet the main character keeps subjecting himself to this pita...with no real explanation except possibly hormones. As a diver for the narrative it runs pretty thin and I'm not sure why Darren didn't just tell her to pissoff. As such, I'm not inclined to read the second story...which is a bit of a very cheat since this story really didn't come to a conclusion only a cliff hanger like some primetime soap opera. Not a bad story, engaging even, well written just felt gyped at the ending and I don't reward that with more purchase.

Thinking of taking a chance on a first-person narrative? Don't waste your time on this one! Writing is juvenile and feels like a first draft that needs to be beta read and thoroughly revised. Main character is unlikeable and largely unrelatable. The story feels 'told' not 'shown'. Scenes are cliched and overdone, it reads like something out of a bad b-list teen movie, starting with the introduction of the main female character ("hot", long hair, tight skirt, high heels; a trite and purely physical description...that took two paragraphs). Author is also unimaginative in places, playing on genre stereotypes like "phasing". Also, I HATE when first person narratives break the fourth wall. That wall is there for a reason, imho. I was intrigued by the description and I wanted to like the book, I even gave it a chance despite its iffy preview pages and first person perspective. I usually have a hard time not reading books to the end, even bad books, but I didn't have any difficulty putting this one down midway at all! My advice: save your money!

This book, written from the perspective of Darren, who goes into what he calls "the quiet" during which only he is aware and all other parts and people of reality are frozen. He seems to have a very well balanced attitude about this ability, which he thinks only he has. Turns out there are others and he meets some of them.
This book is Darren having some adventures with these others, as well as learning more about his "gift". There is some action, pace is quick, premise is interesting.
However, the book ends very abruptly and unsatisfactorily. I wouldn't call it a cliffhanger, because though their adventure is concluded, there is so much more to learn about these other characters and the actual premise of Mind Dimensions.
It's more like the series should be a book and this is chapter one, The Thought Readers. I intend to continue with the series, only because the premise really intrigues me. It really seems more like a short story than a novel.

Certainly a different approach to the idea that the mind has many dimensions. Can we really move around inside our own thoughts? Interesting idea. Perhaps we're only constrained by the boundaries we accept about our selves.