Mind Writer by Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees

Mind Writer

Born with a rare genetic mutation, Eighteen-year-old Rinee Newburgh has been kept in a secret government facility all her life. Trained to enhance her skills as a Mind Writer, her unique talents give her the ability to transfer a person’s thoughts, memories, personality—their soul—into a clone created for those deemed vital to society’s continued survival.

When Rinee’s friend and right hand to the President, Andrei Malotetnev, is nearly killed in an assassination attempt, she discovers the terrible truth—that Mind Writers are regarded as disposable, and life outside the Facility is nothing more than a pollution-filled world on the brink of collapse. She also learns of Malotetnev’s plan to kill millions of people as a means of freeing up dwindling resources needed by the government. Horrified at the thought of a modern day holocaust, Rinee escapes the Facility in a desperate attempt to warn the people of his evil intentions.

Locked in a race against time, Malotetnev sends his most trusted assassin with orders to eliminate Rinee at any cost before the truth can be revealed. What he didn't count on was an assassin with a conscience.

The Guru's Review: 

This is the first novel I have read by Lynch and Godfrees and I am glad I have done so. I have seen Lynch's books around Amazon and have another of his in my kindle but not read. It was this new novel that encouraged  me to read from this author. This is the first of anything I have read of Lisa Godfrees.

I love this novel. Lynch and Godfrees write well and seem to be compliment each other in writing and developing this futuristic, science fiction, dystopian, medical based story. In a novel such as this, it needs to flow well, without any overly descriptive narrative. Having the latter, would only derail the plot and its flow and detract from the reader's enjoyment and attachment to the characters and story. This novel does not suffer from this. The authors are very competent in this aspect. I would not hesitate to read another novel of theirs either individually or if they team up in the future. Of the latter, I hope they do. They are a writing dynamo together!

I don't believe that in today's world with its advancements in medical/science, technology and research, and how the experts in these fields seem to push the envelope and ignore all boundaries on ethics, morals etc, that any reader would be surprised or shocked with the premise of this story. To use a well used and common cliché, it seems to be a case of not if but when! It is against this background that makes novels like Mind Writer such great escapism and enjoyable experience, but gives the reader an introduction into what could be an example of our future.

What I especially enjoy about Christian fiction is for its authors to take such futuristic and/or speculative topics such as what is in this novel and develop it against a Christian worldview.

The authors spend a considerable amount of the novel developing the antagonistic and protangonistic characters, the medical technology and practice of mind writing and the corruptness and deceit of those in charge of this, including a world depleted of resources on every level and suffering from the environmental effects of world war. We become endeared to the protagonists especially Rinee, Clixon, Saminy, her daughters and even the very sick Tory.

We also learn to despise, dislike, (or hate!) the antagonists of Blackstone, Malotetnev and others, and be angered at their evilness, corruption and deceitfulness. When the authors have the protagonists coming to the end of themselves and in dire circumstances with no apparent way out, the authors then introduce the spiritual aspects that make up this worldview.

Who do Rinee, Clixton turn to when they only have each other to rely on and that is becoming self limited? Which protagonist holds the key to the future of the circumstances that they find themselves in? It is here that this protagonist introduces these characters to the Three, (the Trinity of the biblical God) and the underground Christian church. The church members come to their aid, allowing their active faith to be a platform for the presence of The Three to destroy the actions and plans of the antagonists. Here also, the authors introduce the biblical ethics of the practice of mind writing and whether this is compatible with The Three's Sovereignty and veracity of His Scriptures.

For me, reading the last quarter of the novel, where all aspects of the plot come to a head, it was inevitable that some of the protagonists find the salvation offered from God. This not only reflects what happens in real life, in most circumstances, but also honours the Gospel of Jesus Christ and its power unto salvation.

From this point of view, I applaud the authors for what they achieved in presenting the Christian worldview of this medical practice and the Sovereignty of God. However, I would have liked more of the biblical ethics of mind writing to have been explored from this worldview. I just felt that what was presented was too short or too concise and thus run the risk as being seen by a reader as a weak biblical worldview.

I do believe that this may not have been what the authors intended. What they did present is relevant to the biblical ethics of transferring a person's soul into another. Would more of the biblical ethics of this issue detract from the action, suspense and flow of the story? I don't think so. I feel more would have challenged both the Christian and non-Christian reader to consider on a deeper level the biblical ethics of this practice, the nature of God and how totally Sovereign He is. I don't believe this would have detracted from any of the novel's construction or the reader's enjoyment of it.

I offer this as positive feedback. I realise that any Christian author would find it a fine line striking a balance between how much spiritual/biblical content to present and how much not to. Too much or too in-depth presents as preachy to the reader and derails the plot, its flow and characters. Too little, or none at all, presents the novel with questionable Christian/biblical content and whether it can be considered Christian fiction at all.

I have stated in many other reviews that I am not a fan of romance as a genre. However, I do enjoy romance when it is a subplot or a minor plot line. My enjoyment is even more pronounced when written by a male Christian author. Such was the case with the romance developing between Clixon and Rinee. If this was mainly developed by Lynch, then I am one happier camper than if it was mainly by Godfrees. No offence intended to you, Lisa Godfrees! The inclusion of romance not only added some light relief to the suspense and tension of the action scenes, but added more depth to these two characters. 

A thoroughly entertaining and thought provoking glimpse of what our future could look like when medical science is manipulated through greed, deceit and the boundaries of morality and spiritual ethics are ignored or suppressed.

I am very much looking forward to the next novel (or a previous one) from each of these authors.

Strongly Recommended.

World Building 5/5

Characterisation 4/5

Story 5/5

Spiritual Level 4/5

Enemy Spiritual Level 3/5

Average Rating 4.2/5 Stars

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Spiritually, based on my review and on the following reference booklet, A Spiritual System for Rating Books by David Bergsland, and that Mind Writer contains elements of the criteria of what constitutes Christian Redemptive Speculative Fiction outlined in this booklet, I award Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees with

The Reality Calling Christian Redemptive Speculative Fiction Award

Congratulations Mike Lynch and Lisa Godfrees!

To read a preview of Mind Writer, click on the Preview button below: 

The Dragon King: First Emperor of China (Chronicles of the Watchers Book 1) by Brian Godawa

Book Description: 

Two Epic Storytellers and a Clash of Ancient Cultures

Brian Godawa, best-selling author of ancient historical fantasy, teams up with Charlie Wen, the past visual director of Marvel Studios, to tell an action-adventure romance rooted in the ancient history and spiritual reality of China.

Written through the Watcher paradigm that was familiar to readers of Chronicles of the Nephilim.

East Eats West

Antiochus takes with him his longtime friend, Balthazar, a member of the Magi order of Babylon, responsible for both the religion and science of the empire. But Balthazar also carries with him a dangerous secret that could destroy Antiochus’ plans and plunge the world into chaos.

They sail beyond their maps into the mysterious and uncharted Eastern Orient. They are discovered and escorted inland to the empire of Ch’in (now known as China), ruled by the first emperor, Ch’in Shi Huang Di. The emperor is a brutal ruler and is on the edge of insanity in a mad quest to find the elixir of immortality.

Antiochus meets and falls in forbidden love with a beautiful concubine of the emperor, Mei Li. But she also harbors a secret that can bring down the mad emperor. It’s the truth of China’s spiritual past that is mysteriously connected to the ancient Hebrews and the Tower of Babel.

And there are spiritual principalities and powers who seek to stop them all. These are the Watchers, who have their own plans to rule the world. Finding and capturing a dragon is the least of Antiochus’ difficulties in this action-adventure clash of cultures and war of gods.

Part of the Historical Fantasy Series Chronicles of the Watchers

The Dragon King is the first book of the Historical Fantasy Series, Chronicles of the Watchers, that charts the influence of spiritual principalities and powers over the course of human history. The kingdoms of man in service to the gods of the nations at war. Completely based on ancient historical and mythological research.

The Guru's Review:   

I could not resist accepting the author's offer of an advanced reader's copy on condition for an honest review. This is my first reading of Godawa's novels. I have all his Chronicles of the Nephilim series and have not read them yet much to my frustration of having too many books to read and my passion for reviewing new authors novels and specific genres in Christian fiction! So in this situation, The Dragon King is one very good introduction to the writing and creativity of Brain Godawa.

Godawa writes very well, specific, not too descriptive, no excessive difficult words. You know exactly what he is describing and depicting. I felt like I was in a Greek culture despite not being in Greece (but in Mesopotamia instead), as well as China, especially the latter, as this culture and environment were created very life like. I guess what helped me in this was the list of the English pronunciation of the Pinyin translation of Chinese words and of the English translation of Greek words used in the text. This is also an example of the research and creativity to make this novel realistic and credible. Godawa has joined the dots in his research of the Watchers and the Nephilim and how these are is connected to the Bible and virtually every culture and it is very consistent with much of the research and reading I have conducted myself concerning these topics. I had not specifically joined the dots myself with these and the Tower of Babel, and I loved how the Chinese have characters in their language that specifically relate to this biblical account and also that there was a Greek alternative of this as well. I loved the action and adventure that is very much interspersed throughout the plot especially where it takes place in the East, in the region of Ch'in, which we now know as China. Godawa seems to be quite a master at pace, characterization, and action. There was no slowness of pace or troughs in the plot. I would love to see this as a movie. It would translate well and I am not surprised at this given Godawa's background.

I must say that another construct I loved was the depiction of the Magi that we know from the Bible, even though their names as given in this novel are not mentioned in the Bible but whose names we know from other non-biblical sources as Balthazar, Melchior, and Gaspar. Interestingly, that we tend to think that there were three Magi (wise men) in the Biblical account because there were three gifts presented to Jesus, but the Bible it says that either wise men or Magi came from the east to worship Him, not three wise men or Magi. However, Godawa runs with these three Magi and has them as the ones who mention the coming Messiah from their prophecies in the beginning of the novel and who pursue this prophecy at its end. I loved this poetic license and look forward to seeing further pursuance of this plot line in future novels in this series if that is planned by Godawa. I really enjoyed the banter/bickering and competing with each other for the position of high priest between Gaspar and Melchior, these two were a bit of comic relief for the novel but had great respect for each other and submitted to each other as well as to Balthazar who appeared to be the elder type figure of the three. 

I am not one for romance taking over the plot or it being the main genre of the novel but really enjoy it when it is part of the plot and I love how Godawa has developed this between Antiochus and Mei Li. It is not sugary sweet or all consuming but just in the right balance. I appreciate in a Christian novel like this that Godawa has not overemphasized or included for that matter occurrences of lust; yes, there was a mention of desire but that can be very normal in its rightful place and Godawa has this in balance. He has included here a Godly romance that is based on their new found faith in Shang Di (God). I am not sure if the next novel concerns these characters or not, but I would love to see the relationship develop more between these two. I just felt that their relationship was left a bit short at the end of the novel. 

Godawa has created a well relatable character in Antiochus. As the main character and protagonist, Godawa places the reader right next to him from the first page. I was attached to this General. I can see that this was because of the opening scene showing the concern that Antiochus expresses towards his King and sets the scenes for secrets from both his and the King's past. From here, this novel becomes all about these secrets and how they are intertwined with the rest of the plot. Despite all the action, and subplots, spiritual elements, warfare, the reader never loses sight of Antiochus, he is centre stage even when he is not included in the scene at the time.

I loved the spiritual elements that Godawa has developed. He ties in very well those elements from the bible relating to the Nephilim, the Tower of Babel, and how this has created the mythology of the gods of every culture, in this tale it is of a demonic entity called The Dragon, known in Ch'in culture as Yu Huang, or the Jade Emperor, while Antiochus sees parallels from this to his own culture. I loved how Godawa showed the power of Shang Di and how this was the final piece in the attainment of Antiochus' faith and of Mei Li and those of the rebels. Very nice example of redemptive fiction here. 

I am very pleased with this novel being my introduction to Godawa's novels and I look immensely forward to reading the series Chronicles Of The Nephilim as well as the ones to follow in The Chronicles of the Watchers.

Highly Recommended. (5/5 Stars)