Blind Spots Available 4/4/23
Blind Spots by Thomas Mullen
Publication Date is April 4, 2023
What if the next pandemic meant the entire population went blind? That is exactly what happened seven years ago – it took a matter of months but then it was complete darkness. Even babies were being born without their sight.
Homicide detective Mark Owens has been on the force since before The Blinding, but he lost his wife. The world adapted by creating a device called a “vidder” which allowed people to see via an implanted device. Since the device came out criminals have been complaining they couldn’t see the suspect, or their device blacked out, but no one has every believed them, including detective Owens. That is until he sees it as well. As Owens heads down the rabbit hole, he wonders if he will be able to figure this out when he can’t even trust himself.
This book was fun and held my interest. I didn’t really enjoy the pacing at the beginning as I felt like it was building rather slowly, but then it picked up towards the second half. I didn’t want to put it down as I wanted to know what happened. Besides the pacing this story worked really well. It was an original plot and the twists were enjoyable.
Let me start by saying I am not normally a fan of the post-apocalyptic novel. Life is dark and dreary enough at times in this weird modern world, that imagining and even more dark and dreary one is not exactly what I call a relaxing and entertaining event. Which makes my response to this novel all the more surprising - I loved this one. I was engaged from start to finish in a way that does not normally happen with futuristic tales about the world trying to piece itself together after some catastrophic event.
This was a very original and very interesting story that rolled out with a pacing that was perfectly tailored to its plot. I found the characterizations to be interesting and engaging. I found the concept of The Blinding to be a fascinating and horrifying one, yet in the context of the weird stuff that happens every day, somehow plausible. I really enjoyed the way backstory and contemporary story were blended together to reveal all the information you needed to understand the world that Mullen established.
I will definitely be looking for more from him.
