​STRANGER THINGS: SUSPICIOUS MINDS: THE FIRST OFFICIAL NOVEL BY GWENDA BOnd

A Stranger Things world expert casts a critical eye over the first official novel

“Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds” is a prequel to the show “Stranger Things” of which I am a huge fan of. This first official literary spin-off follows the character Terry Ives (Eleven’s mother) and covers the period leading to Eleven’s birth. The story is set in the late 1960s/early 70s in the state of Indiana and at first I was unsure how it was all going to fit together because the story is not set in our beloved, strange town of Hawkins. But in getting over that initial surprise I found it an easy and engaging read but continually wondered whether it was aimed at teenagers or adults. At £20 no kid is going to afford that!

I was also unsure how it would work as a book because I feel “Stranger Things” would not transfer too well as it relied heavily on period references, however, I think Gwenda Bond did a nice job with this plot and if there were sequels I would be interested in reading them. It almost holds its own against the award-winning show, once you realise none of those characters are going to show up and was a nice addition to the series.

If you have watched the TV show then you will know how the book ends and what is going to become of Terry and her child and that in itself makes it rather predictable. Also, I think the pace was at times a bit too fast and it gave away too many secrets and big reveals, such as the test subject Eight and it lost some excitement towards the end. Also, when you get to the end you realise there really was not too much to the story, which might have been more ambitious. I did wonder how much the author enjoyed the TV show? The novel doesn’t go into a lot of detail or set the scene, it just dives into the MK Ultra backstory and shows the history of Eleven. Overall though it ties in the series well without it feeling too forced, but I couldn’t help thinking the amazing TV show deserved something better?

By knowing how the novel ends, it does create sympathy for Terry and her friends, because in the series she is completely broken and drained, but in this novel she is young and full of life and I thought that was a nice comparison. It does add a feeling of dread knowing the direction the book is heading into. It doesn’t have much of an ending because its really just the beginning of the end and most of the people who read this book are going to be “Stranger Things” fans who know what happens. I doubt it will have any interest for non-fans of the TV show.

Overall, I doubt this book work for people who are new to the series as it is aimed at the fans. However, the fans should find it entertaining with likeable characters and a nice balance between “Stanger Things” and the important back-story. In the end though I was disappointed that nothing much new was added to the world the Duffer Brothers had created and it felt drawn out and forced references to the show into the story. If you’re looking for huge WOW reveals you will not find any, but it was still a decent read.

My dad said if I wanted the real thing I should check out Stephen King’s “Firestarter” which this has a lot of similarities to!

A mysterious lab. A sinister scientist. A secret history. If you think you know the truth behind Eleven’s mother, prepare to have your mind turned Upside Down in this thrilling prequel to the hit show Stranger Things.

It’s the summer of 1969, and the shock of conflict reverberates through the youth of America, both at home and abroad. As a student at a quiet college campus in the heartland of Indiana, Terry Ives couldn’t be farther from the front lines of Vietnam or the incendiary protests in Washington.

But the world is changing, and Terry isn’t content to watch from the sidelines. When word gets around about an important government experiment in the small town of Hawkins, she signs on as a test subject for the project, code-named MKULTRA. Unmarked vans, a remote lab deep in the woods, mind-altering substances administered by tight-lipped researchers . . . and a mystery the young and restless Terry is determined to uncover.

But behind the walls of Hawkins National Laboratory―and the piercing gaze of its director, Dr. Martin Brenner―lurks a conspiracy greater than Terry could have ever imagined. To face it, she’ll need the help of her fellow test subjects, including one so mysterious the world doesn’t know she exists―a young girl with unexplainable superhuman powers and a number instead of a name: 008.

Amid the rising tensions of the new decade, Terry Ives and Martin Brenner have begun a different kind of war―one where the human mind is the battlefield.

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