PSIONIC Book One: Wild-born (Adrian Howell's PSIONIC Pentalogy) Paperback – February 12, 2013

The book had me interested in the characters from the first chapter. The plot was a little cheesy and predictable . I still enjoyed reading it. I look forward to book 2

There are a lot of mysteries to the mind, but not all of them are easily observable or easy to explain. Most of the mysteries of the mind that I deal with have to do with my students and how they have gotten to be where they are. Sometimes, vaguely, I wonder if their minds are connected to what they are doing. That is about the extent of my knowledge of mental powers.Well, that and what I’ve read about for shows like Stargate SG-1 and the X-Files and in the X-Men books.Anyway, I saw this one available for free when I was searching the Sci-Fi section of the Kindle store. Given the price (FREE!) and the cover (nice art), I thought I would give it a try. It was different than most of the items I normally read on my kindle (and Sci-Fi in general) so, it was worth it.The story is pretty straight forward – a tween named Adrian begins to develop peculiar psychic powers. He’s the equivalent of a blaster – his powers center around telekinesis and telekinetic damage. Naturally this is pretty awesome for Adrian until his powers attract the attention of other psionics, resulting in the death of his family and the disappearance of his sister. Adrian is introduced to several different groups of psionics running around each with their own agenda and motif. Some of the significant players aren’t even psionic themselves but represent places like the US Government. All of them are interested in any psychic development and almost all psionics are somehow affiliated with one (or more) groups.Anyhow, through a series of events, Adrian eventually ends up with a psychic older woman and her adopted psionic daughter. For the first time Adrian has a few moments of peace and some real character building before that collapses due to him being a typical tween. Regrets follow but not before he is captured by one of the competing factions. More troubles ensue culminating in a battle with a powerful whacko.The story is nothing particularly new and it moves along at a steady, if predictable, pace. This isn’t a horrible thing, but some shifts and differences occasionally would be nice for the reader. The many groups featured in the novel are only touched upon – something that the rest of the series is certain to flesh out – which can make it feel arbitrary to have an individual member of the cast appear and declare their affiliation to said group. Given that there are no significant differences featured in the actions of the various groups (they are mentioned when those groups are introduced but we don’t see those actions featured in any of the characters), these differentiated groups seem pointless. Given that this is a first in a series, I would not be surprised if this is fixed in later books. It would, however, have been nice to see those differences introduced a little better.The main cast is fairly well done. Adrian makes interesting claims and follows up on those claims fairly well. He is a typical ‘Tween boy, if a bit adult minded compared to most of the twelve year olds that I have worked with. As the main character his perspective colors many of the other characters in specific ways. Sometimes these contrasts of characterization are interesting and sometimes they are merely distracting; the author doesn’t seem to have a clear idea of what way he wants to go in making these contrasts.The psychic powers are handled well. Unfortunately, like the different psionic groups, the powers feel arbitrary and the combinations that define individuals seem to have no system or sequence to it. There is little to explain why X character has Y powers other than ‘that’s the way it is.’ I like a little more structure to my power systems and characters than that. It makes it too easy for characters to have new or undiscovered powers at plot convenient moments – something that would be easy to do given the loose nature of the powers as explained in this book. However, it is the first in a series and so the author has the rest of the books to clearly define them and I hold out hope that he does.On the whole, the book is a good introduction that was worth reading at the free price. I’m considering picking up the next two in the series just to see how things are handled, but I have some other gifted reading to finish first. On a whole, grab it while it is free, but don’t worry to much if it takes you time to get around to reading the story.Overall Rating: 3.2/5 Writing: 3/5 Characterization: 3.5/5 Setting: 4/5 Story: 3/5 Flow: 3/5 Value: 5/5 (Free), 2/5 (Standard Listing)

The best book of this genre I have ever read. Love, tragedy, adventure, characters to cheer for and characters that I loathed and many inbetween. Humanity at it's worst but also humans and humanity at it finest. This book and gifted author are a treasure. Expertly edited and it could stay as a standalone but thankfully this is evidently a pentology. I will read the next for sure but I will try to not read it so quickly. I want to savor this series. Get this, you will be amazed and touchsd.

Most self-publishing authors, especially in their first works, play things safe by clinging to more or less cliched subjects and characters. They start out with a little backstory on the hero, and then comes a shocking revelation of some kind followed by the introduction of the antagonist(s). After this, the hero suffers some form of defeat before slowly crawling back up and emerging victorious in the end. It’s an easy model to follow and has proven successful so often new authors seem to feel comfortable sticking to it at first.This series is completely different.First of all, the ‘hero’ is no hero at all; he does not aspire to do great things, he does not see himself as some sort of vanquisher of evil. Nor is he the almost as overused reluctant hero, he is simply a boy trying to survive in a world which he does not understand. None of this in any way detracts from the fact that Adrian is one of the best-developed characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. Every one of this series’ quite many characters has their own personality, their own motivations and their own back story; all of them are believable characters who the reader can really get to know. But Adrian really trumps them all. Since the books are all written in an autobiographical style (which works really well in my opinion) Adrian is on every single page of the series. This gives the author plenty of occasions to truly develop his character and he has capitalised on that greatly; over the course of the several years that the series spans we witness Adrian maturing in a way I have not seen in any other book. By the end of the series the reader knows Adrian as well as he does himself and I found myself truly captivated by his story.As the preface will tell you, there is no ‘good vs. evil’ story in this world. Both sides so plenty of evil, and perhaps some good on the side. In the author’s words, “Good is whichever side you think you are on, and evil is whichever side you are fighting, or running from”. Again, there are no heroes, nor any true villains. Sure there are some people who want to do things some would consider evil, but they all have good intentions even if their methods may be flawed. This setting creates a moral stalemate through which Adrian and those close to him (and consequently, the readers themselves) seek to weave their way through. Especially in the later books, Adrian is faced with dilemmas of a sort most ‘adult’ novels would not dare touch upon.Because of this, as well as the great depth of the story, cast and setting, readers who have outgrown the Young Adult audience should not shy away from this series, nor should any parent haphazardly gift it to their children. Even though the protagonist is a teenager the themes and the way they are developed and displayed are darker than one might at first expect. It is as mature a series as I have ever read and it has my strongest recommendation to anyone, provided they can stomach some physical and emotional abuse. This series is not for the fainthearted, but everyone else will surely come to love it.Wild born is now free, and it would be an absolute travesty not to give it a chance; Adrian Howell is as skilled an author as I have ever seen and well-deserving of every single star I have given him above as well as every penny he earns from his works.

I know this book is primarily written for children, as is the series, the under 18 crowd… And without too many spoilers, essentially there are two gangs that enslave people against their will, and fight for dominance,… After almost getting captured by ones slaver gang, he eventually decides to join the other slaver gang to help him find his sister… No qualms about joining people who enslave others, or the fact that he’s unwilling to kill slavers or anything of that nature, or that his actions cause an escaped slave to essentially have to rejoin a slaver gang a game… Some pretty big disconnects that make the character unlikeable and relatable… You can forgive some of the obvious mistakes the main character makes because he’s 13, but there are some real disconnects in the lack of any mental discussion around the merits of joining someone who once tried to enslave you so you can n help them enslave other….

Dear Author, Wild-Born kidnapped my sleeping hours! I had to admit, rather sheepishly to a close friend, that I had been up until the early hours(3am), finishing this first book.What a story! I did not expect much, because I read so many books and like to keep my expectations low, but Wild-Born exceeded all of my expectations ten-fold. Written in first person from the point of view of a young teenager, Adrian Howell (also the pen name for the actual author), Wild born was an intriguing read. It's not very often as readers that we get to see and experience a fictional world from the mind of someone so young. It was a refreshing change from all of the other books I have read recently.Well written and error free I was really surprised to find out that this author had self-published their work. It was flawless, which is amazing, usually there are a couple of typos in a self-published eBook. Obviously the author spent a lot of time and care with their work, either they are incredibly talented and super-human themselves, or they literally spent every waking moment going over this story (probably lost a lot of sleep too).The story-line is not unique (apparently), but it is so cleverly filled with details, thoughts, and multi-layered characters, that this story-line becomes nothing short of epic. You won't even realize how much this story has to give at first, as with any great masterpiece, the author has woven everything in, thread by thread, piece by piece. You go from the gentle life of a young teenager with very little in the way of concerns and worries, to the emotional and complicated adult world where the main protagonist has to grow up quickly.All in all, Wild-born contains a mixture of darker and happier elements. The story is mature and imaginative, and your eyes literally glide over the error-free pages. I can't even think of anything that this author could have possibly added to this story to make it even better. I have a backlog of books to read, but I'm definitely adding this series to the list. To the Author, keep going whoever you are, I can't wait to see what other books you come up with.More at: https://thebookigloo.wordpress.com/

The Psionic series is a pentalogy revolving around a highly detailed world of humans and Psionics. Psionics refer to people who have acquired extra mental capacities such as telekinesis, mind control and a whole range of completely original abilities too.The Pentalogy follows the story of Adrian Howell who coincidentally shares the name of the author. (Henceforth if I refer to Howell I mean the author and Adrian, the character.) Adrian is just about thirteen years old in Book One: Wild-Born although because of his size most people think he is a lot younger. Throughout his younger years things just happened around him. Things fell off walls and shelves. Because it had always happened he thought it was normal. Until he went camping and people started to call him weird.Imbued with curiosity and the imagination of a young child he starts to experiment. Nothing really comes of it until he has an accident. Lying in hospital recuperating his returns, out of boredom, to his experiments. For reasons he can't explain he simply can make things happen. Weakly at first he manipulates his environment. Then, out of hospital, his experiments become more ambitious to the delight of his younger sister, Cat.Adrian has absolutely no idea the consequences of this sudden power, but he is about to find out. He is tortured by headaches more painful than he has ever known. Then one night, a storm blows in and upsets the entirety of his life as he has known it.Howell's YA Urban Fantasy has enough gore, conspiracy and heart to appeal to the maturer reader also. It is set within our world but there is a secret undercurrent of warring factions and Psionics in hiding from various threats. Between the spaces of reality a whole world exists where anything is possible. A man with nightmares so powerful it shakes the very ground and warps anything near him; a entire underground operation that captures and tortures psionics to death or insanity, and an unlikely family that find and save each other.There are many characters that populate just the first book, but each is rendered in such detail and with such empathy that regardless if they are a main character or a side character holding the door open for them on their way out, they feel as real and as tangible as anybody else.The real action starts when the source of Adrian's headaches is explained. His whole world is turned upside down and a touching journey begins to bring his sister back to him. Howell maintains the pace without tiring the reader. Each setting is created with the same level of literary skill as the characters making for an entirely vivid read without getting too bogged down in the details.The Psionic series is entirely self-published by Howell and to date it is the best produced e-book I have seen. Not even a typo has managed to escape the author's notice. It really is a pleasure to read a book that has had so much care taken over it.

This book is the first in a five book series and if the remaining four are anything like it, then Mr Howell has an amazing series of books to his name.I found the main character, 13 year old Adrian, to be a well written individual and the author has managed to achieve joining the anxieties that go with any adolescent boy coupled with the weird, growing powers that he possesses.The book is split into three plots, all of which work well. The first part goes into his growing up and how he comes to recognize his powers, the second part of flight and escape after the "baddies" come to get him and the third part which I won't go into for fear of spoilers, but suffice to say, it certainly gives more insight into the world that the author has created.I found all of the supporting characters to be believable personalities, even with their psionic powers, and I look forward to reading book two.

This is one of the best young adult books I've read in a while. From the start there is action that demands attention as we follow the story of Adrian and the disaster his life seems to become. We follow him through some very tough growing up and some very tough decisions until he finally realises that not all is as it seems nor does it have to be a difficult road to travel. There is enough angst and attitude to keep any reader spellbound throughout the book - indeed I found it very hard to put down once I got the book underway.The characters are excellent in the depth that they have all been interwoven in the story and the plot line is superb at keeping the reader guessing right to the very end. There is that inevitable sting in the tale too that ensures the next volume will be on the must read list!

very Enjoyable psi-fi.A thirteen year old boy is forced on the run when he develops telikinetic abilities and is subsequently hunted by others with similar abilities.The story is episodic in format and deals with his discovey of a hidden subculture of psionics gathered into groups each struggling for control of psionic society.Very well done with great characters both likeable and unlikeable. Lots of twists and turns that are delightfun and unpredictable.Quite violent and has a very urgent realism which keeps you biting your nails and wondering wahts next.If you like psionic themed fiction this is a must read.Its part of a series of which ive read the first three and havent been disapointed with any of them so far.Its an underrated genre and this is a suprise find thats a compelling read.