Mystics #1: The Seventh Sense
The Mystics series, Book 1
Kim Richardson
Riverbend Press
Fiction, MG Fantasy
Themes: Cryptids, Fantasy Races, Ghosts and Spirits, Girl Power, Hidden Wonders, Schools, Vampires, Wizards
***+
Description
Zoey St. John has seen monsters all her life; the only reason she's not in a mental hospital is that she learned to keep her mouth shut... and,
with some help from the library and the Internet, she learned how to deal with them. As a foster child, currently in her 28th home, she has enough
problems without being labeled a freak. For fourteen years, she's taken care of herself, but lately the monsters have been growing bolder. After an
evil parasite takes out her foster mother, she finds herself facing a beast unlike any she's met before - one that's immune to the salt that usually
dissolves them. That's when she first meets the monster-hunting agents, and realizes she's not alone in the world.
The Agency is a hidden collective of Sevenths: people who, like her, have the "seventh sense" to see monsters, or "mystics" as they prefer to be
known. Working with friendly mystics, the agents help protect oblivious "Mutes" (the general, monster-blind population) from hostile entities. Zoey
is thrilled to finally be among people who understand her... but they seem less than thrilled to find her. For one thing, she's a Drifter: a rogue, an
unknown quantity in a close-knit community that's used to distrusting outsiders. For another, she quickly falls afoul of a bully named Stuart and his
cronies, all part of an upstart group who call themselves Originals, true-blood descendants of the first humans gifted with the seventh sense. Even as
she struggles to find her place in this new, strange world, a greater threat looms over the Agency - a threat that Zoey alone might be able to
stop.
Review
This story starts with plenty of promise. Zoey is a self-sufficient heroine who, on realizing she had a peculiar ability, chose to educate herself
rather than be a victim. Then she runs into the agents, and the originality peters out as the tale can't decide if it's Men in Black or
Harry Potter. It leans heavily on the story structure of the latter: an orphan who comes late into the world that is her birthright, a bully
enemy with ties to a cult that considers purity of blood paramount, a nemesis that only she and her pals are ever in a position to overhear (let alone
stop), kids thrown into dangerous situations and forced to act on their own when grown-ups prove too stubborn to listen to them... I was honestly
surprised the Agency's training program didn't divide the kids into Houses and teach broomstick-flying in class. The characters fell so readily into
familiar roles that I found myself visualizing actors from the Harry Potter movies playing them, though even at his worst Ron Weasley was
nowhere near as irritating as the comic-relief sidekick Simon (who even pulls his annoying antics when the trio are trying to sneak past deadly
adversaries.) Zoey even shares Harry's obsession with the fate of her parents, especially after a conveniently-overheard deathbed comment clues her in
to the fact that her mother was known by the Agency. (Indeed, her resemblance to her mother is emphasized to the point that it seems ridiculous when
none of the long-term agents and teachers she meets once does a double-take; they continue to label her a Drifter of unknown parentage.) The plot moves
at a fair pace, though it relies a little too heavily on Plot-Extending Stupidity and amazing coincidences, not to mention villains who can't shut up
about their nefarious plans when they think they're alone. There's a strangely unsettled feel to the overall tone, as well; some of the monsters seem
downright absurd, though the high body count makes them anything but silly. It was as if Richardson had mashed together all the Harry Potter
books in this story, with the whimsy of the first book pressed cheek-to-jowl with the darkness of the seventh. (And I realize I've mentioned Harry
Potter multiple times in this review; that franchise's influence here was impossible to ignore, and downright distracting.)
For a story that started on such a strong, original note, I couldn't help feeling disappointed by the end, when it couldn't trust itself to stand on its
own two feet and fell back on overused, Rowling-inspired crutches.