Mindscape by Tal Valante

From the blurb:

The truth will set you free.

Mark Sayre joins the Interstellar Navy for the money—his only goal is to keep his little brother out of the colony mines that sent their father to an early grave. With concepts like duty and honor floating high over his head, he hardly expects to fall for the serious, idealistic Shane Cawley. Not to mention that Shane is his commanding officer . . . and his Resonance partner, a one-in-ten-thousand mental connection so profound that they can travel in each other’s mindscapes.

Shane Cawley is carrying on the family tradition by serving in the Interstellar Navy. He hardly expects to fall for the quirky, happy-go-lucky Mark Sayre. But as the Resonance between them grows, neither can deny what he feels for the other.

When war breaks out, Mark and Shane find their military training and their Resonance link tested to the edge of sanity. Shane is haunted by memories and flashbacks, and Mark becomes trapped in his own mindscape. But with help from an unlikely ally, they may be able to salvage their futures and the love they share.

Review:

This is a sweet novella dealing with the difficult subject of PTSD and saving the one you love.  

Mark joins the Interstellar Navy, Spavy for short, and during his time serving, he falls in love with his superior officer, Shane Cawley.  Mark initially joins solely because it pays well and will keep his brother from having to work in the mines.  As time progresses, Mark's perspective changes and serving in the Spavy becomes about duty and honor for him.

During the war, however, Mark is captured by the enemy.  After living as a POW, his mind is not the same.  Shane tries desperately to save him through their mind connection.

I really love how the narrative unfolds from two different points in time.  One which is in the present, explaining Shane's attempts to save Mark, the other from their past, depicting their romance.  It's a great balance between established romantic couple and blossoming romantic couple.

The idea of a Resonance, having a mind connection with someone, is not exactly new, but I think Tal Valante does it well.  Firstly, Resonance isn't exactly super rare with a match of one in every ten thousand.  But it's clear that once you've found a match, they are a kind of soul mate and it's hard to let them go.  In terms of a conceit which drives characters together, this one works quite well and doesn't feel forced.  Resonance is, in this universe, grounded in biology and that gives it credibility.

I would have loved to spend more time with the blossoming romance between Mark and Shane. But maybe I'm just greedy.

Overall, Mindscape is a lovely story about the power of love, the tragedies of war, and the horrors of PTSD.

More Information:

Title: Mindscape

Author: Tal Valante

Genre: Sci-fi/Romance
Length: Novella (25k)

Publisher: Riptide Publishing

Publishing Date: 23 Dec. 2013

Type: m/m