Science fiction meets psychology in this eerie glimpse into the potential benefits and ramifications of regression therapy.
How did I not know about this?
Finding a new author you’re excited about is one thing.. but finding out that that author is actually the pen name of a writer you already love is another matter entirely.
Mira Grant, pseudonym of Seanan McGuire, the genius behind the fast paced and addictive urban fantasy series ‘October Day‘(a personal favorite of mine) and her fantasy fiction series ‘Wayward Children‘..
Once again, I’m blown away.
Suspend belief.
Follow this author for a reading experience both beautiful and remarkable.
Spoiler Alert!
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Publication date: April 2017
Pages: 112
Genre: Horror, Science fiction, Thriller
Standalone
Dedication: For Mishell who, like me, would probably enjoy
therapy more if it came with a chainsaw.
First Line: THE WOOD is dark and the wood is deep and the trees claw at the sky with branches like bones, ripping holes in the canopy of clouds, revealing glimpses of a distant, rotting moon the color of dead flesh.
Esther is a journalist with a dark past determined to expose Dr. Webb’s program as the fraud it is and winds up getting more than she bargained for.
Dr. Jennifer Webb is the top of her field, the technology she created for dream therapy is as ground breaking as it is unbelievable.
Is trauma holding you back? Spend a few sessions in one of her pods! Under a heavy cocktail of sedatives and psychotropics, you will enter a vivid dreamscape expertly designed to elicit an emotional response capable of creating a lasting, permanent change.
Using your response to fear as a catalyst to remap unwanted experiences into pleasant memories is still highly controversial.. But Dr. Webb is dedicated to seeing her project change that.
We could help you, if you let us—but that’s not what I’m proposing. I want you to let me show you that we’re not monsters. We just make imaginary ones.”
Esther hesitated. “That isn’t exactly unbiased reporting,” she said finally.
“Miss Hoffman, nothing you did here was ever going to be,” said Dr. Webb. “Will you let me show you?”
After a long, long pause, Esther nodded.
Esther’s every intention is to debunk Jennifer’s program.. if it will put an end to one more immoral step towards our own self destruction, all the better. Losing her father very young because of similar experiments drives her mission to give a voice to the very real dangers. The technology is too powerful and the consequences far too costly.
“Yes, but how does that justify what some have called ‘borderline emotional torture’?” asked Esther. “Surely the risk you’re taking with these peoples’ minds is more careless than therapeutic.”
Jennifer then makes a split second decision that will forever change the women’s lives.. Esther’s participation in the program gives her the perfect opportunity to create a bond through her technology, linking them together with a lifelong emotional connection. She’s hopeful it will give her leverage with Esther’s article and further public acceptance.
No matter how hard he attempted to steer the psychological conditioning away from her, she would wake with a newly-formed lifelong friendship to the Hoffman woman boiling along her neural pathways.
If all goes well.. they’ll be the greatest of friends.
But all doesn’t go well.
While the two women lay drugged and unconscious, sharing a nightmare as their younger selves, another woman watches on. This stranger, sent by a rival company, has killed the technicians and now controls the system. And after removing the safety protocols and tweaking the girls’ circumstances, the stage is set for them to fail.. because the doctor must die for the stranger’s mission to be complete.
Calmly, humming quietly, the new conductor of the bloody symphony reached for the keyboard and began to type.
The girls race through a town under siege by beautifully twisted monsters intent on devouring the living.
It’s just a dream.
It isn’t.
Their terror being a very real thing, and unable to escape the scenario, the young version of Jennifer realizes something has gone very wrong.
Far away and very close, in a pod designed to keep its occupants safe and dreaming, Dr. Jennifer Webb stirred, eyes moving fast behind closed lids, subconsciously aware that something had changed: that she was not supposed to be dreaming herself as a teenager, impressionable and wild and so wrapped in the embrace of her own changing brain chemistry that she was, at times, more horror than human.
Jennifer’s only goal now is to protect Esther.
Her friend must escape.
The only thing that matters to Esther is Jennifer.
She must survive.
The two desperately fight for their lives and for one another.. their loyalty a beautiful, unshakeable thing.
Their story has no chains to hold it down.
Meanwhile, their deadly watcher is running out of time. Soon the Doctor’s absence will start drawing attention. And so.. She directs the girls further down the rabbit hole.
Under the wrong circumstances, with the wrong chemical cocktail in their veins, subjects could quite literally be frightened to death.
Deep inside their minds.. a horrific encounter with the undead ends with Jennifer being violently ejected from the program.
Her only thought.
Esther.
In the present tense, she can do anything, if anything will mean saving Esther.
What follows is a mystery even science can’t explain.
Five Stars!
I picked this book up for a quick read, my curiosity peaked, not really certain I’d enjoy it.. And was so pleasantly surprised.
Esther has had some unfortunate past experiences because of programs similar to Dr. Webb’s and it’s made her a headstrong and lonely young woman. I really appreciated Esther’s faith in her friend.. her trust brought a level of humanity to the chaos. She’s flawed but doesn’t let it define her.
Jennifer is intelligent and closed off. We don’t hear anything about her past or how she’s become who she is.. Which I found a little frustrating. The importance of her work and what she hopes to accomplish with it is only a small facet of the person we see Jennifer later become in the dreamscape.
The pace is dictated by the characters’ circumstances. One moment gently easing through quieter moments.. or racing along pulse pounding with desperate abandon.
The plot was brilliant. I was completely fascinated with the idea of immersive technology and regression therapy being combined in such a way, so much so, that I was unable to put it down.
Question after question challenged me to really consider the possibilities. With how many people suffer from mental health issues.. Could this actually work?
It’s been estimated that 26% of adults in America in 2021 have a diagnosed mental illness of some kind. 4.5% of those are severe. Could a breakthrough of this kind be more beneficial or potentially harmful for us as a species? So much can go wrong.
Would you allow a stranger into your head, reconstructing your most vulnerable self, if it meant living more peacefully?
Liked: Grant’s writing is flawless.
Flowing from one scene to the next will have you all too eagerly devouring pages. The relationship that forms between Jennifer and Esther is heartwarming and beautiful. You’re rooting for these girls, frightened for them, only able to follow helplessly in the wake of their terrifying story.. a prisoner in their darkly captivating nightmare.
Disliked: The book was so short that some parts felt rushed and I would have liked to see more of the girls, the aftermath, and the resulting relationship that forms in the aftermath of their experiences.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in science fiction or psychology, fans of beautiful writing, or just looking for a short (but sweet) read to get lost in.
How would you feel if regression therapy were available?
Do you think people would benefit from it or abuse it?
Would you try it?
I had no idea Seanan McGuire wrote under another name. This book sounds very good. Wonderful review!
Omgosh, I didn’t know either! And her books under ‘Grant’ look so wickedly interesting. This book is really good but.. It ended too soon for me, I wanted more of it. I hope that if you read it(which I highly recommend!) that you enjoy it.
And thank you so much! Have a beautiful day! 😊🌹