What can you see in Mind-space?

Bought the title on sale and enjoyed the narrator and the narrative. Adam is a junkie and spends a fair bit of time resisting the siren call of his drug which happens just enough to empathise with his guilt and his pain. The narrator has the right voice for the character and makes it work well for the narrative. Plenty of strong female characters, and the story crackles along at great pace. Told in a non-linear style many of the reasons for Adam's thoughts and actions don't become clear until well into the story. I like that in an author, making a reader think and wait a while. Dresden Files fans may enjoy this entry in the genre.

22 people found this helpful

Some good, Some annoying!

Unique & interesting story but over use of many phrases and lines. Off the top of my head, here are a few. "She took in a deep breath and blew out a line of air" used way too many times. The main character, Adam, smokes and constantly complains about his lungs and how hard it is for him to breathe when he exerts himself but never speaks of quitting and in the next scene is smoking again only to complain more. He also talks about "The one thing you learn in the Guild is..." And throughout the book points out MANY of the one thing the Guild teaches them. It's little things like this that put me off to the book but the storyline is interesting enough that I went ahead with the second book. I have to say I had a hard time following the second book starting halfway through. But that will be in that review.
The narrator did a good job but his voices for the women needs work. I'm sure it's hard for a man to do justice to a female voice but his portrayal for the women was just awful except for the main female character.
I'm not sure if I would recommend this book. If you are ok with the over use of phrases and so on then give the book a chance, it may not be as annoying to everybody else as it was to me.
Happy Listening!!

35 people found this helpful

I Really Liked It....

Would you listen to Clean again? Why?

Probably not again, but I will listen to the next 2 books in the series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Clean?

I would say at the end, the way the book was tied together. Poignant and clever.

Have you listened to any of Daniel May’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Fantastic job. He captures the regret of the main character without making you feel sorry for him. This book was surprising to me. It is part film noir, part X Files but it does not feel derivative. It feels familiar, enjoyable and the characters feel like new characters. It is dark but the crime scenes are not gruesome or uncomfortable. The author hit just the right notes and I look forward to the next 2 books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I rarely do that but I did find myself listening to it when I usually don't listen to books. This indicates that I was involved an entertained.

Any additional comments?

I am not someone who listens to crime or paranormal books. I am a Sci Fi fan, but I thought I would try something new. I am glad I did. The characters are great, which is ultimately what makes any book worthwhile for me. I found myself invested in the characters, the story was interesting and the narrator was fantastic.

9 people found this helpful

Totally enjoyed

Any additional comments?

This was a totally engrossing, interesting book. The future envisioned by the author was believable and convincingly written. The main character is an addicted telepath that is currently clean, but at times coming close to losing his sobriety because of job stress and personal stress. He is very human in his weaknesses and it makes the story more interesting and draws you more fully into his world. The narration was good and did not detract from the story in any way. I am looking forward to adding the second book in this series to my library and listening to another good book!

8 people found this helpful

Gripping SF-noir

"Clean" is an excellent start to what I hope will be a long-running series.

It succeeds on many levels. It is a gripping story of a police investigation of a serial killer that draws upon familiar archetypes - a cop/consultant with a shady past and an addiction problem who has a strong, beautiful, karate black-belt partner (also with a painful past) who stands up for him because it's the right thing to do but still doesn't want him in her head - while breathing enough personality and context into them to make them feel fresh.

It skilfully builds a picture of a future Atlanta, coping with doing things manually after the Tech Wars have devastated the Western World. The ideas are seeded carefully without resorting to clumsy info-dumps.

It gives an insight into a Guild of people with "abilities" in Mindspace - telepathy, teleportation, and telekinesis - amongst other things that is original, credible, intriguing and left me hungry for more.

The prose is crisp and clear. The action scenes, including the ones requiring special powers, are exciting and fully visualised. Best of all, Alex Hughes' first-person story-telling is as compelling as any noir-fiction writer I've ever read, including Chandler. I loved that we barely get to find out the main characters name because he already knows it and seldom has to bother introducing himself. The main character is flawed in a very unglamorous way. He is often self-absorbed. He lacks social skills. He is an addict who constantly craves his poison. He is also brave and loyal and trying hard to get his shit together.

I listened to "Clean" as an audiobook. It's perfectly suited for the medium and Daniel May does a great job in giving the main character a a convincing voice.

6 people found this helpful

Fun Worldbuilding

If you could sum up Clean in three words, what would they be?

Sci-fi with personality.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Clean?

When Adam faces his poison, and decides he wants to be clean.

What about Daniel May’s performance did you like?

Really great characterization. Recognizable voices that I could easily tell apart. Good level of emotion. This character goes through a lot, and May portrays it without getting overdamatic or crazy-sounding.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Sections of it were. It was so fast-moving and high emotion that I ended up needing a break sometimes.

Any additional comments?

I thought the world building was interesting. In a place without technology, mind-powers are more prevalent. Loved that people were basically afraid of things like cell phones, etc. And she did a great job of maintaining it throughout. Finished it this morning, already downloaded book 2. :)

6 people found this helpful

Sci*Fi at its best!!!

I loved the story line. I am glad to see someone with great abilities with issues beyond their control. I could not understand why the book was called "Clean," until his addition struggle was over shadowing his every thought. I also enjoyed the ending not ending with the capture of the bad guys becoming the main focus of the book.

10 people found this helpful

Hmmm. . . You’re thinking of telepathy

I read mostly read/listen to nonfiction. Some of it is fun, like Amy Stewart’s 2013 “The Drunken Botanist.” Most of it is detailed, thought provoking, and sometimes difficult to understand – like Simon Baron-Cohen’s 2011 “The Science of Evil” or Marc J. Seiffer’s 2011 “Wizard”, which is a biography of Tesla.

When I need a break, I listen to light fiction – mostly murder mysteries. I thought I was just getting detective fiction with a future twist with Alex Hughes’ 2012, “Clean: A Mindspace Investigation Novel, Book 1”. Clean is set in a future Atlanta after a tech war reminiscent of James Cameron’s “Terminator” movies. Human telepaths save North America. After the war, ‘The Guild’ (of telepaths) enter into a treaty to govern and discipline themselves.

The hero/narrator was kicked out of ‘The Guild’ after developing a serious ”Satin” drug problem. “Satin” sounds a great deal like heroin, and ‘Satin’ could easily be ‘Satan’. Hughes’ spends a great deal of the novel talking about the pull of ‘Satin’ and the deadly temptation to return to the drug. The future has Narcotics Anonymous and the same 12-Step program we have today.

As a means of redeeming himself personally, the protagonist uses his telepathy to help the police with investigations. The techniques and training Hughes describes are imaginative, and not improbable.

I liked Daniel May’s Audible narration. It reminded me a bit of audio versions I’ve heard of Dashiell Hammett’s books. Hardboiled. I don’t know what May looks like, but I would have expected him to do this narration wearing a grey suit with a narrow tie, and a fedora.

With “Clean” I was expecting a bit of distracting book candy. What I got was a dystopian thinker and a real description of addiction. It was a little rough to follow in places, but I liked it well enough that I’ll get the next book in the series.

26 people found this helpful

Loved this

Any additional comments?

I saw Alex on a authors panel at C2E2 last weekend. She was so funny and interesting. Her love of science really came through. I actually bought the book sitting there in the audience. I now wish I could go back in time. At the time I didn't understand the references or questions, now I do and I have my own questions. For such a happy, funny person, she created quite a dark character with very serious issues. In many ways he reminded me of Harry Dreasdon. I can't to listen to the next one and what she has in store.

8 people found this helpful

Good , but not great

What I liked:
5 stars for the flawed main character. I really liked who this person was. So many fantasy/sci fi stories go into invincible superman territory. I liked that this guy was human.

What I didn't like.
Predictable story. Common. Anyone that didn't know exactly how this would end 1/4 of the way through just wasn't paying attention.

Bad editing. Oy Vey! Someone should have worked on chopping out 90% of the drug addiction angst. It got old and repetitive. I like that the character was struggling with it. Its just that there was way way way way too much of it.

Dude feeling like an outsider and feeling sorry for himself. Enough self pity already.

3 people found this helpful