Phantom Pains

I liked this about the same as Borderline, but I liked it differently. This felt snappier, lighter, more optimistic, and closer to the typical urban fantasy feel—which I credit to Millie having four months of therapy and Baker’s ability to realistically develop her characters. Baker’s also expanded on her world a lot in this one, and … it’s pretty kooky, at least the Fae side of it. I wasn’t expecting quite that level of kook, but I didn’t mind. It made sense. (See again: Baker can write.)

Of course by “typical urban fantasy,” I mean about as typical as Borderline. Sure, it nods to all the tropes (law enforcement, love triangles, a heroine who doesn’t like rules) but then it takes them in a refreshingly different show more direction. The mystery’s so twisty I didn’t see half the stuff coming, there are more shades of moral grey than I’d expected, there are women doing awesome things besides solving crimes, and, like in the last one, nearly every human is queer, of colour, neurodiverse, or otherwise disabled.

Possibly my favourite bit, though, is how Baker has managed to turn mental illness and disability into assets and occasionally almost superpowers. (Life-giving, as Tumblr might say.) I also liked that Baker had me rooting for Millie not because that’s what you do for heroines, but because I was genuinely worried she wouldn’t succeed.

This is still one of the coolest and most original urban fantasy series I’ve run into, definitely the most diverse, and it manages to balance fun with serious messages. Recommended to urban fantasy fans and fans of diverse casts, especially if you want to see your mental illness treated well.

Warnings: Ableism, immediately shut down. Several instances of “mind rape,” including of neurodiverse people, also treated as not okay.

8/10 show less

And I thought I loved the first book. This middle book was more plotty and less driven by Millie's chaos (though she manages a few upsets...) But these books!

Not only does the story become more complicated than "good vs. bad" but the characters evolve and drive the plot. I'd read an entire book with these characters doing nothing but going grocery shopping. They are all such interesting and complete people. I also really loved where she's taking the Sidhe Courts storyline. It's been awhile since the traditional fae stories have surfaced past the omnipresent vampires/weres.

ALSO!

The white character acknowledged her own racism, twice!

Phantom Pains is the second book in The Arcadia Project Series and the follow up to one of the best fantasy debuts of last year, Borderline. Phantom Pains starts with Millie, a young woman with borderline personality disorder, reluctantly returning to the Arcadia project where the situation starts at dire and heads toward world-wide calamity.

Millie is trying to live her life away from the Arcadia project, starting by reopening the movie stage which was the site of a tragedy that included the loss of Millie’s partner, Teo, at the end of Borderline. A strange encounter involving fey magic while trying to clear the stage with her former boss, Caryl, leads to a meeting with Arcadia agents from national headquarters. This results in show more another death and Caryl suspected of the murder. Millie is convinced of Caryl’s innocence but proving it is difficult. Especially while trying to stop a plot that could destroy two worlds and bring an end to the Arcadia project.

Mishell Baker has created a world and a cast of characters that stands out in a fantasy landscape otherwise filled with a lot of sameness. Millie has both emotional and physical disabilities that affect her daily life. Her characteristics make her unique both in our world and the world of the fey. These difficulties are not presented for pity, but discussed more in terms of their impact on how Millie goes about what she must do. Many of the characters in and around the project, both human and fey, are damaged in different ways. Millie must unravel the mystery while also navigating and manipulating the different personalities involved, her own included.

Baker has built on and expanded the world(s) first created in Borderline, introduced new and interesting characters while deepening the development of the already strong characters who return. This is a compelling novel that pulls you in with well-drawn characters and an ingenious plot. She reveals more about Arcadia and the fey, shedding light on that world and its interaction with our own. Phantom Pains is an outstanding story and part of a series that keeps getting better. Sign me up for whatever Mishell Baker has in store next, because I’ll read it. There is serious writing talent on display here. Highly recommended.

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book. show less

This book is lacking the unique tone and atmosphere that distinguished the first book from the rest of the generic UF pile.
The biggest difference is that the bittersweetness got mostly replaced by cheesiness.
What came across as heartache-inducing melancholy in the first book now doesn't go much beyond extreme teen-angst.
There is a little of the previous heartache in this one but it had far too little page-time which made it feel cheap and on top of that, it's drenched in cheesy HEA vibes which makes it really hard to care.
Maybe people found the first book too depressing and this was an attempt at correction?
But then, who would pick up the second one if the first one was too depressing?

The protagonists mostly lost their moral show more ambiguousness and instead just became goodie-two-shoes.
Apart from one exception, the entire cast has pretty much been split up into good and evil.

The big focus on the unique personal flaws and the concrete description of various facets of mental disorders and how a grown-up might cope with them became little more than a footnote.
I particularly disliked this change because I enjoyed the "inside the mind of a borderline" core character idea a lot.
I myself have seen various psychiatric centers from the inside and have gotten to know people with various personality disorders and other mental illnesses, and while not everything in the first book rang entirely true, I was very much surprised by the accuracy of the imparted feeling in particular.
But in this book the whole mental illness stuff got in the way of the plot and one thing had to give. So the mental illness stuff ended up suffering a lot. For example, it suddenly only applied when it wasn't inconvenient to the plot.

The plot itself is far more intricate and there are multiple well-executed twists but the shift in tone was so jarring for me that I had trouble getting on board. I would probably have enjoyed this book a lot more without the first one anchoring my expectations so entirely different. show less

The fae and a Borderline Personality Disorder main character... what could go wrong?

Well after the first book, we know that the answer is plenty, and Millie is outta there... but the second book proves that anyone can be dragged back in. All you need is a murder charge, someone you love someone you can destroy, and a mystical contract to keep your mentally-sick-butt in one place long enough to keep your mouth shut and not destroy all your chances at happiness.

Seriously. From a psychological thriller viewpoint, this UF is spot-on and awesome. Being a borderline in the world of the fae just means that you have permission to be as crazy as they... except that they have power and you don't, and while your life is swirling down the toilet, show more you just don't care what you have to do while you're in the grip of your Thing.

It's a delightfully wicked turn and all of that continues quite nicely in this sequel. Phantom Pains may not be quite as shocking as the first, but the build-up for the world is solid. We get more of the LA movie studios, a lot more fae, and the inclusion of some cool new seelie and unseelie court people and beasties, a lot more politics, and some magical slavery that makes for a rather big ending.

I'm going to be following this UF very closely. The characters are quite awesome. I especially like Millie's echo even if he feels a little flat. Of course, ANYONE is going to feel a little flat before our flamboyantly destructive Millie, so I think it's a very nice balance. :) show less

Phantom Pains is the sequel to Mishell Baker’s phenomenal debut, Borderline, which dealt with issues of disability and mental health as well as being a really fun urban fantasy novel. While it would be possible to read Phantom Pains on its own, I recommend reading the books in order. Spoilers for Borderline will be included in the rest of this review.

Fourth months ago, Millie left the Arcadia Project to work for Inaya West and her new studio. She’s finally gotten around to trying to clean up magical residue from Stage 13 with her old boss Caryl, when she sees the ghost of Teo. Except, ghosts don’t exist and that shouldn’t be possible. To make matters worse, a Project agent is murdered and Caryl is accused. If she wants to save show more Caryl, Millie will have to take it upon herself to investigate.

As with Borderline, Millie is the best part of the book. In the four months since Borderline, she’s grown a lot. She’s been going to therapy for all of that time, and it’s reflected in her narration. She doesn’t always have control of herself, but she’s more in control and more self aware than in the prior book. I love Millie’s character, and this character growth only makes me love her more. I can’t wait to see how she develops in subsequent books.

So when I was reading the first book, I was pretty certain Millie was queer but I didn’t talk about it in my review, since I thought it was mainly subtext. There’s no way that Phantom Pains can be deemed subtext. Millie is definitely, 100% Not Straight. Borderline hinted that Caryl may have a crush on Millie. As it turns out, she does, and Millie’s attracted to her. But Millie also knows herself well enough to know that a relationship with Caryl would be a terrible idea — Caryl has her own mental health issues, and neither her or Millie is in a place where a relationship could end in anything but disaster.

Phantom Pains also builds on the world in some interesting ways. We’d already heard of the fae courts, but they have a much larger presence here. In general, we see more of fae society and believes, although the focus is still on the Arcadia Project. Even there, more is revealed, with higher ups from the Project visiting LA. Towards the end of the book, there’s some huge revelations that will impact the books to come. I always want sequels to expand the world in some way, and Phantom Pains succeeds in this regard.

The Arcadia Project is one of the best and most original urban fantasy series in recent years, in large part due to its focus on mental health and disability. Even if you’re not a habitual urban fantasy reader, I’d encourage you to check out this series. If you’ve already read Borderline, I don’t think Phantom Pains will disappoint.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. show less

Review From Tenacious Reader: http://www.tenaciousreader.com/2017/03/27/review-phantom-pains-by-mishell-baker/


Phantom Pains continue’s Baker’s wonderfully fresh style of keeping Urban Fantasy a bit more “real” and grounded without compromising on the fantastical.

Millie’s life might be full of the extra ordinary, she might be a person that a reader can admire, may be able to deal with fae and break their magic with a touch, but there’s no denying her life is trying. I don’t envy her harsh reality of being a double amputee, but at the same time, her story and challenges are just part of her life, they don’t prevent her from being able to liver her life and do what needs doing.

The author does not gloss over her disability, show more nor does she dwell on it, but rather incorporates all of the extra challenges Millie faces as just a part of how she lives and copes. And while Millie is not always upbeat, she does an amazing job handling both her disability from losing both legs as well as her borderline personality. I find it interesting how the author can explain some of the Borderline personality traits and behaviors that Millie struggles with in a way that helps us understand her, gives us better insight when she might be a be bit self destructive. And it never feels like the author is info dumping this information. It is skillfully entwined with the narrative and really fleshes out Millie’s character, helping the reader understand and appreciate her motivations and actions.

And while this is a part of the book, it’s not what the book is about, so let’s move on to the story. Since the last book ended, Millie has been forging her life outside of the Arcadia Project, separating herself from the pain and loss that she suffered during the last book. She’s doing well, working, living on her own, just trying to create a normal life for herself. And a normal life really shouldn’t involve the fae. But even with her non-Arcadia job and life, Millie finds herself in the middle of fae drama. At the stage where the final showdown happened in the last book, Millie sees something extraordinary and unexplainable, even in the world of the fae, and that catapults her back in to the world of the Arcadia.

And to keep things even more interesting, a gruesome murder there is quickly a murder added to the mix, one they are trying to pin on her former boss, Millie becomes just as entrenched with Arcadia as she was before.

Millie’s relationships with other characters continues to be intriguing, and we get to delve a bit deeper with this book with multiple characters. Millie’s relationship with Clay continues to be an interesting struggle. These two seem to be soul mates that are drawn so strongly to each other, but yet can have no physical contact because how all the steel in her body impacts him when he touches her. It’s a fascinating situation and a serious example of forbidden love!

Baker also broadens the world of Arcadia considerably. We get to learn more juicy details about Arcadia, its royalty as well as well as gain a better understanding of Seelie versus Unseelie magic.

Honestly, this book seems to have a bit of everything. Power struggles between the worlds, fae magic, love interests and a murder mystery. Not to mention an amazing protagonist that may not have the simplest of roads in life, but still manages to persist. Definitely recommend this series. show less