Review:

Mindtouch (The Dreamhealers 1) MCA Hogarth

I am a great fan of storytelling that inspires us to create a healthy and humane future. These sorts of stories can come from many different genres. Right now I am focussing on #solarpunk, #hopepunk, and #cosycore. Also, I am adding my own literary genre #funkyfi. This is fiction to do with functional behaviour in basically functional worlds. Utopia can set unrealistic expectations. Good things and bad things will continue to happen for as long as we exist, but if we all learn how to behave in a functional manner, we are more likely to sort things out.

Mindtouch is about a future where animals and even some humans are the result of genetic engineering. The sapient animals were created to perform dangerous tasks for humans, and at some point in the past left Earth in order to find freedom. As such they chose to colonise distant solar systems. One set of humans, the Eldritch, were developed to live long lives. Despite the long lives, they are not reproducing sufficiently to preserve their species.

The story itself is about the friendship that develops between a “Pelted” person and an Eldritch person when they become roommates at a medical university. Part of this relationship is also shared with a group of child patients who are terminally ill.

We do get a certain amount of futuristic technology, but it’s not clear if this is particularly appropriate technology, ie solar-powered. However, we do have alien peoples who have learned from human mistakes. We also discover the wisdoms of their various cultures, as well as some of their weaknesses. Ultimately, this story is about how these peoples uniquely and well sort out their various emotional challenges through introspection, friendship, and kindness.

Hogarth writes in an intelligent manner with enough twists and turns in the plot to keep things interesting. Mindtouch is not high literature, but it is exceptionally competant, and quite an achievement for someone without the help of a professional editor. We can all use professional editors for long projects like this! I felt uplifted by it, and have ordered the second book in the duology in order to find out what happens to the characters. This has all the charm of a Becky Chambers book. I can recommend it!

Peace and kindness,

Katherine