Mine

Brett Battles is a great writer. I have read several of his novels and enjoy his originality. Mine is by far his most creative endeavor yet and I hope it is the beginning of a series? Mine is a complex story starting with the very title Mine, which as a pronoun means a form of the possessive case of I, but as a noun means an excavation made in the earth: In this novel the title means BOTH DEFINITIONS! It is important to grasp that early on as the “double entendre” is an important part of this unique story. Another salient point is NOT TO GIVE UP TOO EARLY ON THE STORY! It starts rather simplistic and seems to be a pre-teen story of summer camp, au contraire good reader it is so much more! So continue reading.
This is a very tough story to review without giving away numerous spoilers that are key to Mr. Battles ingenious storytelling. So, let me just say that as you continue reading the story evolves from a summer camp late night exploration of summer camp, something we all have done, to a horror worthy of an early Stephen King story. Yet, there is always this nagging, niggling thought in the back of one’s mind, “What IF...............”
No gratuitous language, sex or violence. Just great writing in the style of HP Lovecraft or Arthur C. Clarke as a collaboration: Horror mixed with Aliens.
Character development was excellent and a central theme of this wonderful story.
So many books, so many stories, so little time! So when something original comes along I must blow the clarion trump to serious readers that here is something new and different yet interesting and thought provoking. Obviously, this tale will probably become a series of sorts but for the life of me I can’t see how or where it will go? But I know it will, and is not that the fun AND THE MYSTERY! Thank you Mr. Battles and may you live long, prosper and continue to write great stories!!

A fascinating read. It's impossible to put it down once I started reading. I wanted to find out what happened to those kids in the summer camp. Unlike some of the other books, I couldn't figure out until way at the end. The ending doesn't disappoint. Maybe the start of a new series?

4.5*
In July 2005 a group of friends from Camp Red Hawk decided to go on a night hike. The camp’s security was weak, the counsellors more interested in drinking beer and smoking pot after curfew than keeping an eye on the kids. Joel Madsen, Leah Bautista and Mike Hurst, along with four other friends, hiked into the woods. Dooley, one of the group, had found an old, restricted government property the previous summer, which was surrounded by a chain link fence. Now they could see an opening. Despite some slight reservations they entered. What they found there changed their lives forever. Three of the group returned with no memory of their leaving camp or anything that happened afterwards. And they have no memory of each other or their other friends.

In the following years it becomes obvious something in Joel’s and Leah’s make up has altered drastically. They are able to do things that should be impossible and it’s a huge effort to cope with the unsettling turn their lives have taken. Somehow they have to find each other, and Mike, in order to work out and try to understand what happened that night in the woods.

I’ve enjoyed several of Brett Battles’ books (both the Eden Project and Logan Harper series) and, as this is a departure from the thrillers into the realm of science fiction, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I didn’t need to worry. It definitely has a thriller element alongside the sci-fi and I was drawn in from the start.

Short, snappy chapters from alternating points of view move the story along at a cracking pace, following Leah and Joel as they struggle with their altered perceptions and search for the truth. With a bit of a stretch, the science fiction aspect of the story isn’t beyond the realm of possibility and I like the fact the reader’s knowledge of events unfolds with the characters’. I guess that’s why the suggestion is to read the companion book, Mine: the Arrival, after reading Mine. Mine: The Arrival is a novella, it’s a quick read and I did enjoy reading what came before.

The characters are well defined, developed and realistic. The behaviour, characteristics and dialogue exactly as you’d imagine. The way the personal challenges and morality issues in the wake of the night hike are dealt with is credible and convincing. It’s an interesting, compelling and well written book.

Great story line I am now getting three more in the series...can't wait to start!!