Mindwalker by A. J. Steiger (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Mindwalker by A. J. Steiger April Spisak Steiger, A. J. Mindwalker. Random House, 2015 [400p] Library ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49714-4 $20.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49713-7 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-553-49715-1 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 8-10 Lain is training to be a Mindwalker, an elite therapist who uses neural linking technology to explore the minds of patients and then erase all that troubles them. Steven is a teen who has accepted a legal suicide pill but hasn’t taken it yet. In their world, your psychological ranking is the key element in determining your status, freedom, access, and abilities, and Lain is clearly levels above Steven. She also wants to save everyone, however, which is how she ends up trying to help Steven get rid of his memories through illicit channels. The disturbing secrets she finds in his brain, though, reveal some truths about Lain’s beloved late father and change her forever. The world-building is effective and sharp; readers will have a clear sense of how the psychological guidelines evolved into mandates. However, there is a numbing sameness to the novel’s events that becomes particularly problematic given the book’s length: Lain slowly grasps one new thing about society at a time, Lain goes into Steven’s brain multiple times, Lain makes the same mistakes repeatedly. This makes for an imperfect novel, but it’s one with undeniable creativity and political savvy. Readers who have even a little bit of experience with psychological diagnoses or inscrutable treatment plans may find this world chillingly familiar; those who haven’t may find the notion of one’s psychological health as a determinant of one’s status to be a memorable, disturbing concept. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois