Among the Living (PsyCop, #1) in Pick-a-Shelf

Dec 28, 2011 D.G. rated it really liked it

Shelves: novella, urban-fantasy, queer

Really liked this! Review to come...

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Jan 23, 2014 Rebo rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m, paranormal-supernatural, psychic

3.5 Stars (Original rating: 4 stars)

This was my second time reading this book, since I decided to go back and re-read the series. I still like Vic, but the book is really too short (I know, I know, it was written for a novella-length competition), but since it's part of a series, I can forgive that, I suppose.

What I like most about the PsyCops series is the fact that Vic is an underachiever. He's not your typical eager-beaver, out-to-save-the-world kind of guy. He's also not shockingly handsome 3.5 Stars (Original rating: 4 stars)

This was my second time reading this book, since I decided to go back and re-read the series. I still like Vic, but the book is really too short (I know, I know, it was written for a novella-length competition), but since it's part of a series, I can forgive that, I suppose.

What I like most about the PsyCops series is the fact that Vic is an underachiever. He's not your typical eager-beaver, out-to-save-the-world kind of guy. He's also not shockingly handsome or fit or smart or anything like that. Really, he's an awkward, introverted drug addict who happens to be able to see and talk to dead people.

It surprised me how little substance there really is to this first book, but you should really look at this one as an "introduction" to the series. For example, you get suggestions of how bad his time at "Camp Hell" (Heliotrope Station, where he was trained in his psychic abilities, but really was experimented on) as well as his backstory of how he was institutionalized for years as a schizophrenic before the government recruited him, realizing that psychics were real and he wasn't hallucinating.

I also always liked the idea that Jacob has a kind of psychic fetish and is drawn to Vic because he's such a powerful psychic (an idea that is developed more in later books). I'm not sure I would really classify this book as a romance though, because, kind of like the Adrien English books, their relationship develops over the course of the series rather than just one book.

I also was really struck by the two female psychics, Carolyn and Lisa, and don't think I've ever seen anything like them quite done anywhere else. Carolyn is a human lie detector--she can tell if someone isn't telling the truth, the downside being that she can't lie herself. Lisa has a unique precognitive ability she calls the "si-no" (yes-no). If the questions are specific enough, she can answer yes or no to them, which makes her a pretty good asset, even if she ends up losing her job since she isn't a "stiff" (or NP, non-psychic).

The Mindspace novels remind me a LOT of the PsyCop novels, except the former are set in the near future and the MC is straight and has different psychic abilities. But both Adam and Vic are police (or work with the police), both are outsiders, both have a love-hate relationship with their abilities, and both are addicts (even if it takes a while for Vic to really admit it). I do think that, in general, the Mindspace novels do a better job dealing with addiction, especially connected to the powers, than the PsyCop novels do, but I still find the PsyCop novels an enjoyable series that really does get better as it progresses and we see Vic developing his abilities and as a character. ...more

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Oct 01, 2021 Sassafrass rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, audiobooks, glbt, paranormal-romance, mystery, kindle, 1-whispersync, paranormal, added-in-2011, a-audible-owned

This has been on my TBR for over 10 years! I can't believe it but there you have it. I'm glad I finally got around to listening/reading it because it was fun and interesting. I thought Jacob and Vic were great together and I look forward to delving more into this world.

It's very short so there wasn't anything too in-depth here but I'm looking forward to getting more development and depth to these characters! ...more

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