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lyndajdickson's review
4.0
UnCommon Minds is a collection of 20 short stories from 20 different authors, each featuring a central character with an unusual mind. They include AI, aliens, lunatics, ghosts, and creepy children with technologically enhanced brains, mathematical genius, or paranormal abilities including telepathy, telekinesis, dream walking, and mind control. Various genres are covered, including science fiction, fantasy, horror, paranormal, humor, and romance, both contemporary and futuristic.
In "Inamorata" Tehra, a digital mind whore, does a favor for a friend and gets more than she bargained for.
In "Chief Canis and the Helpful Locals" army dog handler Luis Canis uses telepathy to communicate with his dog.
In "The Arms of Mother" Mina's mind has been altered to accommodate her future as a helper, but something seems to have gone wrong.
In "Trouble Signs" Anna's mother-in-law has the ability to manipulate minds and a penchant for stealing signs, but she also has a sense of humor.
In "Juliet's Possessions" Adam spends the night in an old insane asylum for children, which he inherited from his grandmother, with only the tape recordings of eleven-year-old former inmate Juliet for company. I love this double-meaning title.
In "Through Dreams She Moves" Sarah uses her Gift of being able to enter people's dream to help Damien awake from a coma.
In "The Machine Needs Fuel" Lydia's parents take her to the unconventional Dr. Gordon in an attempt to find out why she is always so tired.
In "Sitala" Mika finds the wreck of a spaceship, but what she finds inside is even more extraordinary.
In "LEGION Protocol" Zane is part of the Holmes Initiative of detectives with brain enhancements.
In "The Dissertation" Jane presents her dissertation on Leah, an eight-year-old mass murderer with an abnormally high-functioning brain.
In "11.11" Renée knows how and when people will die, just like her father before her.
In "The Enemy Beyond the Walls" a young girl with an extraordinary mathematical ability helps protect her city from the enemy.
In "Dragons on the Train" 12-year-old Callie uses her mind to help her catch and eat dragons with the help of her mind-tether.
In "Whatever Lola Wants" Annie visits her sister and has an unusual encounter with her dog Lola.
In "In Loving Memory" Lana creates an AI in her image and gives it all of her memories and emotions, bar anger.
In "Mixers" machines erase anything that breaches copyright infringement. But what happens when they get access to our memories?
In "Lost and Found" a young girl is sent to a mental institution because of her unusual behavior.
In "Buddy Bolden's Last Stand" Buddy ends up in the mental asylum after his mind is ruined by alcohol but, when he plays music, everyone shares his madness.
In "Subliminal" Lim wakes up in a cell and can't remember why he's there.
In "A Twentieth Century Death" Coreann dies in a car crash, but her mind can't seem to move on.
All of these stories will leave you thinking about the remarkable abilities of the human mind and our ability to make it even more powerful. My favorite stories: "Juliet's Possessions", "The Machine Needs Fuel", "The Dissertation", "11.11", and "The Enemy Beyond the Walls". I just realized these all feature creepy children and horror elements. Hmm ... must say something about my preferences!
Anyway, there's bound to be a story in this collection that's to your taste!
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (21 January): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/01/uncommon-minds-by-p-k-tyler.html
In "Inamorata" Tehra, a digital mind whore, does a favor for a friend and gets more than she bargained for.
In "Chief Canis and the Helpful Locals" army dog handler Luis Canis uses telepathy to communicate with his dog.
In "The Arms of Mother" Mina's mind has been altered to accommodate her future as a helper, but something seems to have gone wrong.
In "Trouble Signs" Anna's mother-in-law has the ability to manipulate minds and a penchant for stealing signs, but she also has a sense of humor.
In "Juliet's Possessions" Adam spends the night in an old insane asylum for children, which he inherited from his grandmother, with only the tape recordings of eleven-year-old former inmate Juliet for company. I love this double-meaning title.
In "Through Dreams She Moves" Sarah uses her Gift of being able to enter people's dream to help Damien awake from a coma.
In "The Machine Needs Fuel" Lydia's parents take her to the unconventional Dr. Gordon in an attempt to find out why she is always so tired.
In "Sitala" Mika finds the wreck of a spaceship, but what she finds inside is even more extraordinary.
In "LEGION Protocol" Zane is part of the Holmes Initiative of detectives with brain enhancements.
In "The Dissertation" Jane presents her dissertation on Leah, an eight-year-old mass murderer with an abnormally high-functioning brain.
In "11.11" Renée knows how and when people will die, just like her father before her.
In "The Enemy Beyond the Walls" a young girl with an extraordinary mathematical ability helps protect her city from the enemy.
In "Dragons on the Train" 12-year-old Callie uses her mind to help her catch and eat dragons with the help of her mind-tether.
In "Whatever Lola Wants" Annie visits her sister and has an unusual encounter with her dog Lola.
In "In Loving Memory" Lana creates an AI in her image and gives it all of her memories and emotions, bar anger.
In "Mixers" machines erase anything that breaches copyright infringement. But what happens when they get access to our memories?
In "Lost and Found" a young girl is sent to a mental institution because of her unusual behavior.
In "Buddy Bolden's Last Stand" Buddy ends up in the mental asylum after his mind is ruined by alcohol but, when he plays music, everyone shares his madness.
In "Subliminal" Lim wakes up in a cell and can't remember why he's there.
In "A Twentieth Century Death" Coreann dies in a car crash, but her mind can't seem to move on.
All of these stories will leave you thinking about the remarkable abilities of the human mind and our ability to make it even more powerful. My favorite stories: "Juliet's Possessions", "The Machine Needs Fuel", "The Dissertation", "11.11", and "The Enemy Beyond the Walls". I just realized these all feature creepy children and horror elements. Hmm ... must say something about my preferences!
Anyway, there's bound to be a story in this collection that's to your taste!
I received this book in return for an honest review.
Full blog post (21 January): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2017/01/uncommon-minds-by-p-k-tyler.html
bookwormbunny's review against another edition
5.0
Uncommon Minds is an anthology of short stories by a series of authors who introduce us to a variety of characters. Each story is as unique and different as the authors themselves. In one story we get introduced to a digital lover who ends up infected with malware when she agrees to do a favor for a friend of hers. But what she now has to decide is whether to show loyalty to this friend or to trust the malware that is now running rampant in her system telling her not to trust him. Then we are thrown into a military situation of where they have been captured but one of the group has a special skill that has stayed under the radar with the others but now will be exposed but the “helpful locals” will be well worth it if they get out alive. Next is a little girl how is different from the rest. She’s allowed to be bullied by a little boy in her group, the Protectors and Watchers see but they do nothing but tell her she must not ever be angry. She hears the whispering call of Mother but she’s not allowed to touch until one day she decides to take matters into her own hands so that Mother will no longer lonely and sad.
These are just a few of the stories that will engage you in this Science Fiction anthology mixed with some mystery and a variety of other things. The uniqueness of each of these authors comes together to make this anthology truly engaging and interesting. Some will leave you wanting more while others will come to a nice and neat closure. If you’re looking for a good read then this is a series that I definitely recommend you take the time to pick up and read. 5 out of 5 stars.
These are just a few of the stories that will engage you in this Science Fiction anthology mixed with some mystery and a variety of other things. The uniqueness of each of these authors comes together to make this anthology truly engaging and interesting. Some will leave you wanting more while others will come to a nice and neat closure. If you’re looking for a good read then this is a series that I definitely recommend you take the time to pick up and read. 5 out of 5 stars.
laffingkat's review
3.0
Anthologies can be hard to rate, because often a reader will really enjoy some of the stories and not care for others. I enjoyed some of these stories, but I felt like too many of the stories were either horror (which I'm not fond of) or just a bit too sad or dark for my taste. That said, it's a fairly diverse and interesting collection of short speculative fiction, and not entirely doom and gloom.
I have to give a shout out to "Trouble Signs," which was really funny. I wish more humorous stories were being published in speculative fiction anthologies! I also really enjoyed "In Loving Memory," a gentle, optimistic story of an AI learning about human emotions.
Most of the stories are relatively well written, although I found a couple a bit difficult to follow. Others I found frustrating because, despite a promising start, I was disappointed with the ending (possibly just a matter of personal preference). The proofreaders missed a few typos and wrong words, but the editing and formatting seemed ok otherwise.
I volunteered to review an advanced reader copy of this book. It's worth checking out if you generally like short scifi, fantasy, and horror. Note that there is some sex and violence.
I have to give a shout out to "Trouble Signs," which was really funny. I wish more humorous stories were being published in speculative fiction anthologies! I also really enjoyed "In Loving Memory," a gentle, optimistic story of an AI learning about human emotions.
Most of the stories are relatively well written, although I found a couple a bit difficult to follow. Others I found frustrating because, despite a promising start, I was disappointed with the ending (possibly just a matter of personal preference). The proofreaders missed a few typos and wrong words, but the editing and formatting seemed ok otherwise.
I volunteered to review an advanced reader copy of this book. It's worth checking out if you generally like short scifi, fantasy, and horror. Note that there is some sex and violence.
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