I'm going to be blunt with this, because I had such high expectations going into it, and felt so utterly let down by it that I am glad I marathon listened to it over three days. (Spoilers abound, you’ve been warned)



This is a very wordy novel with not a lot to say. What was pitched to us as a peek into the backstory of Eleven's conception/birth and of what MKUltra experiments led to the catatonic Terry Ives we meet in Season 2 was more like the framework of an "original" work that was adjusted t

I'm going to be blunt with this, because I had such high expectations going into it, and felt so utterly let down by it that I am glad I marathon listened to it over three days. (Spoilers abound, you’ve been warned)



This is a very wordy novel with not a lot to say. What was pitched to us as a peek into the backstory of Eleven's conception/birth and of what MKUltra experiments led to the catatonic Terry Ives we meet in Season 2 was more like the framework of an "original" work that was adjusted to contain the Stranger Things universe.



Our story begins with Brenner’s entrance to the Hawkins laboratory which has become an integral part of the ST lore. We get a small glimpse of his relationship with Kali in the form of him getting her set up and comfortable in her new home. We are also introduced to the cold, calculating Brenner that we know and love from the show. This will however rapidly change.



Enter Terry Ives, a very average university student posing as her roommate to make a quick $15 ($100+ when adjusted for inflation) a week undergoing psychological testing on her college campus. She is obviously quickly found out, but inexplicably allowed to continue participating in the study. Enter also: A very stilted and awkward depiction of college students engaging in mild use of drugs and alcohol. Any time drug use is brought up within the story, we are given very ABC Afterschool Special descriptions and word usage, as well as depictions of behavior that push the limits of suspension of disbelief. Within the first chapters of the book we are berated with things to remind us that we are /IN/ the 60s. The moon landing, Nam, the draft lottery, Terry being treated with little respect for being a woman on her own, the draft lottery, the sheer absurdity of a woman of color being admitted to the Biology program at the university, the draft lottery. Have I mentioned the draft lottery? Because nearly every chance she gets, the author smears on foreshadowing that grows tired by the third time in a single chapter.



In short order we are introduced to our main cast of characters, none of whom are really developed until the final act of the book. These characters are all participants in Brenner's studies, each displaying a talent which he manipulates via application of LSD treatments and acquisition/regurgitation of knowledge.



From the beginning, only the accidentally admitted Terry has anything to show for it, though the others’ skills eventually emerge.

Alice is used to fairly gracefully dip our toes into what we know to the the Upside Down, as well as introducing the Demogorgon and Demodogs. Not much is done with this knowledge, other than occasionally reminding us that it is there. Her real time to shine is when she can capitalize on her visions, and use them to the gain of the team.



Gloria’s skills include the memorization and compartmentalization of facts (coordinates mostly), but while this is never used to further the plot, she is taught various “Superhero*” skills that do help. (*one of her defining traits is being a fan of comics, which is actually quite nice and used well)

Ken never truly comes into his own until the final pages of the book. He is the only male in the experiments, and while we are told along the way that he is a psychic, he is more like a precog in that he “gets a feeling” regarding certain events or actions, whether already passed or future. This comes in handy multiple times, allowing him to ultimately bring Terry a shred of hope regarding her stolen baby girl.



Outside of the laboratory testing we also get to know Terry’s boyfriend. Barely. There is a specific scene where Terry mentions that Andrew “turned out to have a personality” after all, but we as readers never get to see it. Andrew is mostly distilled into a grab bag of anti-Vietnam tropes. He spends a large quantity of time passively protesting the war, including an active protest that becomes the lynch-pin for his unceremonious disposal. He is also incapable of entering a scene without some combination of cracking a beer for himself and offering it to anyone else in the room.



Brenner suffers the most in this story. Throughout most of the events of “Suspicious Minds” he does not act anything like the man we are introduced to in the opening pages. A man who commanded an entire room was suddenly transformed into a man who missed obvious misdirections, and truly had no control over the staff he was supposed to be in command of. There are constant plot holes forged when Brenner attempts to discipline a staff member by firing, which is never followed up on, and the author never takes even a second to explain how he’s keeping this people bound to their NDA’s. Desperate to reclaim the personality that the Duffers have conditioned me to, I chose to believe he executes them and writes them off as casualties of war. A man who was steely and kept you on your toes in the show was reduced to a fist-shaking Lex Luthor by the end of this novel.



The final thing that feels completely mishandled and a bit story breaking is Terry’s pregnancy. We are not introduced to even an inkling that Terry might be pregnant until well into the second trimester. Even then, it is a one-off exchange between Brenner and an orderly following a blood draw done on Terry. Not once does anyone suspect anything may be “up” with her, nor does she experience symptoms for most of the book. Shortly before the “Big Reveal”, she begins to complain that none of her pants fit and she’s switched exclusively to skirts (Never commented on by other characters including her roommate). By the time the secret is blown wide open to Terry herself, no one around her believes she could have possibly been pregnant all along.





All in all I wanted to like this novel. I was thrilled to receive something to expand the universe of ST. But I was let down so badly by what was essentially a YA Novel for grades 8-12. It didn’t fit the tone or the storytelling style of the source material, and felt like it was more foreshadowing than actual content. In closing, nobody skips Tom Bombadil unless they want to miss out on the experience of a wordy novel with a wordy point to make. I can only hope we go up from here.





