Friday, March 20, 2015

Book Review: Mindstorm: Parley at Ologo

Today's book review is Mindstorm: Parley at Ologo by Cindy Koepp.

From the "Back of the Book:"

"Psionic healing. Psionic combat. Inside the mind, there's a landscape like glass.

Thomas McCrady, a telepathic negotiator from Haidar Station in Earth orbit, is faced with his biggest challenge yet when he is sent to broker peace with only a rookie partner to help him. Worse, she's the doctor he blames for the death of his last partner.

Calla Geisman's telepathy is not the same as a standard Haidarian's. Some people think she's a waste of space. Some people want her dead. But she's assigned to go with Thomas to Ologo anyway, and must gain his respect before she can play her part in the war's end."

Fast review: If you liked Anne McCaffery's Pegasus, or Tower and the Hive series, you'll love Mindstorm.

Long review:
Koepp has a gift for writing great sci-fi that sucks you into the story, and Mindstorm doesn't disappoint. The characters are likeable, and are complex, have issues, and grow throughout the story. The two main characters are summed up pretty well in the "back of the book" text, so I wont elaborate on them here much. The nicest thing is that most stories about telepaths and such focus on the most powerful. This story focuses on one of the least powerful, and how even though someone may seem insignificant, they still have special, useful talents that can save the day.

The other major players in the story are the alien races that are at war on the planet Ologo. Koepp does a really good job with aliens. They're a very different culture, nicely fleshed out, and the reasons for the war make sense. I'd say more on that topic, but can't without getting into spoilers...

Couldn't put it down, want more in this story universe; Five stars!

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