Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing

This is my second time this year dipping my toe into the worlds of Hailey Piper, and just like with BENNY ROSE, THE CANNIBAL KING, it was a thrilling experience. In just these two novellas she has already shown a fair amount of diversity in what she is capable of writing, but there are things it seems you can expect from a Hailey Piper story:

* Visceral imagery
* Evocative prose
* Well-examined characters
* Straight-up fun

This novella takes the reader into the realm of Space Horror, which is always an arena worth jumping into. In YOUR MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING, communications specialist Alto wakes to find their new lover (and therapist) missing, and they are dropped in the middle of a fight for life and ship as they try to find her, save themselves, and escape the strange creatures onboard. The story incorporates themes of mindhacking, modding/flesh hacking, and growth, while also putting forward a positive representation of self with a character who genuinely loves their body, no matter the horrors that are thrown at them.

The story is quick, sexy, action-packed, and filled with enough disturbing imagery to make anyone happy (doesn't that make you happy?). Delving into the experiences that make and change a person, it comes across as a true celebration of self.

For the writers out there, this novella has things to teach you, so pay close attention. Piper has created a masterclass in the concept of “en media res,” but without the pitfall of confusing the reader with too much happening at once. The story starts with a relationship, two characters who want each other and the difficulties that may cause. It trasitions beautifully from that into the opening mystery and the horror that follows. It introduces characters and makes you care, but does not feel like the dreaded “Intro Scene” that often happens when authors set out to do just that.

Piper also displays a lot of fun, very pronounced and exaggerated voices in the dialogue of different characters, which was always a fun time, and the narrative itself is laced with evocative metaphor (see “brain full of glass”) and imagery.

This novella absolutely pulled me through, and I've yet to have a disappointing experience with the author. Hailey Piper, I will be reading more of you!