Author: Dima Zales
Genre: Science Fiction
Published on: October 29, 2015, self-published
This second entry in the Mind Dimensions series picks up shortly after the ending of the previous one. Les Pousseurs de Pensée (I read the French editions of this series) continues the story of Darren Goldberg. He’s a seemingly average man in his mid-twenties who works as a hedge-fund analyst in New York. The story takes place in our contemporary time. What’s different is that there are two groups of people with special mind abilities. Darren is a Thought Reader, which is self-explanatory. And as he discovered recently, he’s also a Thought Pusher: someone who can control the minds of regular people. Darren found out by accident while trying to save his new friend Mira Tsiolkovsky’s life. It seemed like they might be attracted to each other, but Mira is now furious with Darren and won’t talk to him.
There’s a good reason why Mira is acting that way now. She and her brother, Eugene, had already told Darren that Thought Readers and Thought Pushers hate each other. They have been warring for centuries. As if that wasn’t enough, one of them murdered Mira and Eugene’s parents. Whoever this Pusher is, he or she is still around and gunning for the siblings. Now this person seems to have Darren on their sights. He only narrowly escapes a murder attempt thanks to his newfound Pusher ability.
By this point, Darren has only known he’s a Thought Reader/Pusher for barely a week. He unwittingly activated his power for the first time in childhood. Darren told his mothers (yes, he has two but no dad) about it: that he phased out of his body. They didn’t believe him, and eventually Darrren went to therapy to reassure himself of his sanity. His shrink, Liz, gets a significantly expanded role in this book. Darren learns something about her that he’d never even suspected. It changes not only his but also the reader’s perspective on this world. Things aren’t as cut and dry as they seemed, especially not when it comes to Thought Readers and Pushers.
In the first novel, Darren learned about the world of the Mind Dimensions and found the Community of the New York Thought Readers. Now, a previous character introduces Darren to the world of the Thought Pushers. They don’t call themselves that, as it sounds harsh to them. Instead, they call themselves Guides. And they have a “harsh” term for the Readers: Thought Drainers. Darren also discovers more about his biological family. He has a past very much like that of the Tsiolkovskys’. The introduction of the community of Guides also leads to Darren finding two new friends–both Guides, of course–who may end up becoming valuable allies.
Les Pousseurs de Pensée was about as fast-paced as the first entry in this series. The story takes place over a short period of time. Darren and his friends, new and old, accomplish a lot during this time. The book also expands on the powers of the Readers/Drainers and the Pushers/Guides. It reveals why Darren is from both camps, and how that makes him unique. He’s also really powerful, vastly more so than expected. It doesn’t lower the stakes, though, as whoever the main antagonist is likely has as much power. The confrontation at the end of the story is thrilling…and at some points shocking. Darren’s new friends really come in handy in this one. I can’t wait to learn what’s next for them.
My rating: ★★★★
4 stars - Definitely enjoyed it!
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