Lee Barwood

Review of Mind Over Mind

Deryl was committed to an exclusive sanitarium years ago by his family when he became irrational and suicidal. He’s still there, and what his family doesn’t know is that his symptoms are caused by his psychic and telepathic abilities: he not only can read the thoughts of others, but he feels their emotions – a problem that, of course, has become even more difficult now that he is surrounded by the mentally unstable and even the elderly Holocaust survivor down the hall, stricken with Alzheimer’s, whose memories about his terrible ordeal are a misery that Deryl has finally learned to manage. Somewhat.

Oh, and then there’s the Miscria, the mysterious being that summons him from time to time to demand that he learn about all sorts of arcane subjects, from medieval weaponcraft to triage to military strategy to space reconnaissance. Then he must report to the Miscria on all he knows. To the Miscria, he is known as Ydrel – the Oracle – for the knowledge he imparts.

And there’s also the Master, who appears in his dreams and teaches him to fight. But the bruises are there when he wakes up.

Because it’s real.  Read More 

Please welcome today's guest blogger, Karina Fabian. Karina has written a fascinating book about what the realities in the life of a telepath might bring -- mental illness, loss of control, even commitment to a mental facility -- rather than the facile picture we often have of what a telepath might endure. And that's all in addition to the troubles that result when Deryl, the telepath, is sought out by an alien race trying to survive.

But make no mistake: Mind Over Mind, the first volume in the Mind Over Mind trilogy, will draw you in on the first page -- review will follow later this week. In the meantime, please enjoy Karina's guest post, and leave a comment -- or ask a question!

I stand in the middle of huge, boisterous crowd, the din pressing down on me. I can hear every voiced thought--no matter if it’s a whisper or a scream. Desire and disappointment, logic and emotion, fear and exultation--they crowd in on me, demanding my attention. His debt; her depression. She hates her parents; he looks at his newborn with so much hope. I wish the noise would beat me numb, but just as I think the cacophony might reach white noise, something new and piercing catches me by surprise. There are no pills to ease the pain; no meditation to drown out the noise, and no way to get everyone to shut up. Read More