Mindjacker by Sean Patrick Reardon

As I was reading Mindjacker I kept thinking what an insane ride the story was. It is fast paced, to say the least, and I'm not sure you really know what is going to happen until it happens. It reminds me of an amusement park ride in a way. That said, it also is the type of book I normally wouldn't read, since I'm not a big sci-fi fan. I did however enjoy the book, and I think Mr. Reardon accomplished what he set out to do according to this interview where he says

The audience I had in mind when I wrote it would be adults around ages of thirty to fifty, who enjoy pop culture and may not be avid readers. I think it is a known fact that men are not reading much overall. I wanted to write a story that a guy could read in a few sessions, be entertained, and maybe decide to start reading some of the great crime fiction that is out there today.

Mindjacker is the story of Joel Fisher, a rather egotistical and manipulative psychologist who seeks to create a device to control the minds of anyone he chooses. He, unbeknownst to his human guinea pigs, tests out his mind control device, the Dreemweever, and not only attempts to control their future, but does so by recreating their past. He isn't gentle in his test either...

"Enjoy the show," Mr. Kite's voice whispered through their speakers.

Ballroom Blitz blasted inside Scott's headset and the ride started. he really did feel like he was sitting behind the wheel of a car driving at night time. The ride moved his body with the visuals. Everything about it seemed realistic. The road was familiar and Scott recognized it was the 101, as the headlights beamed out over the road ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw something speeding toward him on the horizon. it flew at eye level, gaining speed, and then stopped in freeze frame just as it was going to smash into the windshield. Scott saw it had Tom's face. The screen unfroze and the black cloaked figure veered to the right, landing in the grass on the shoulder of the road.

the car cut hard right and crashed into the overpass abutment, slamming Scott's upper body against the torso restraint. The screen went black. Scott struggled to push the headset off, but it wouldn't move and he couldn't squirm out of the shoulder restraints.

Get me out of this fucking thing.

The shrieks and profanity laden screams coming from the other adult riders caused Scott to struggle harder.(pg.31)

Scott doesn't realize it, but that was the easy part. Eventually however, the testing is done, and as Joel is right on the verge of completing his project, and selling it to his investors, the Dreemweever is accidentally stolen by car thieves and Joel must figure out a way to move his pawns and get the device back..quickly.

Along with writing, our author also seems to be a fan of music from the 1970's, and wrapped throughout the story is a playlist of music the characters enjoy as their journey unfolds. You always know what music is playing in the background, and, If you're interested, a complete list of songs from the novel can be found here, along with a list of songs that inspired the author as he was writing. I personally don't think I've listened to any of them, but I was only a few years old during that time so I figure I have a valid excuse.

To find out more about Mindjacker, and Sean Patrick Reardon, you can visit his blog of the same name here

Mindjacker