ADVERSE REACTIONS: A Novel of the Paranormal
In the remote prairie town of Purity, mental gifts earn you a bullet or a lingering death by mind-torture. Devin Perridin is the Syke who survived the horrors of the psych ward. Now the "One Who Got Away" is back for a reckoning. To mete out justice, Devin must reclaim her psychokinetic powers, aided by a denim-clad desperado and a generous helping of Old Magic.
Survival was just the beginning: vengeance is next.
Since she was six years old, Devin Perridin has been locked behind the walls of the family home to keep her hidden from those who would kill her. But at sixteen, she is exposed as a "Syke," one of an outlawed minority who possess extraordinary powers of mind over matter. Snatched from hiding, she escapes the firing squad, but only to be imprisoned in a house of horrors: the Peaceful Hills Sanatorium and Rehabilitation Center for the Treatment of Persistent Mental Disorders. After an unknown time of torture and "behavior modification," brutally designed to destroy her psychokinetic reflexes, she emerges from the asylum severely damaged in mind and spirit. Her salvation may lie in the series of crimes triggered by her release: first kidnapping, then attempted murder, and then a mustering of forbidden forces to assault the remote pseudo-psychiatric facility where she had been tortured into near-mindlessness.
Drawing upon a strength she had always known was hers but had never before been able to consciously control, Devin defies the authoritarian society with its unjust laws that demand her death. She pushes through pain, isolation, and moral quandaries to seek justice for not only herself, but all members of a maligned and cruelly persecuted minority. A post-apocalyptic, paranormal allegory for the times in which we live.
"Thematically rich, as Devin faces constant self-doubt but eventually comes to find empowerment in the unique abilities that have made her an outcast" —The Black List
Reviews
"Adverse Reactions is an imaginative standalone novel that successfully combines paranormal abilities, dystopian oppression, and Western storytelling into a compelling tale of survival and redemption. Readers looking for character-driven speculative fiction with emotional depth, atmospheric world-building, and meaningful themes will find this an engaging and memorable read." — The Lit Credence
"Adverse Reactions is a dark tale of persecution and psychokinetic power, centered on Devin Perridin, a Syke who survives institutional brutality meant to erase her abilities and identity. The story builds a harsh, oppressive world where extraordinary individuals are either killed or 'treated' into submission, creating a chilling backdrop for Devin's transformation from victim to resistance. As she struggles with fractured memory, trauma, and emerging control over her powers, the narrative explores what it means to reclaim agency in a system designed to destroy difference. The pacing is tense and immersive, with a strong focus on psychological resilience and rebellion. It is a story of survival that steadily evolves into reckoning." — NewInBooks
"In Adverse Reactions, Deborah J. Lightfoot succeeded in creating a Western-style post-apocalyptic dystopian world. This novel follows a young woman who survives brutal persecution for her psychokinetic abilities and fights back against an oppressive society. This character-driven science fiction focuses on survival, revenge, and found family. If you love books with a mashup of genres, then this is one to check out!" — Reader Views
"Books about folks with extra-special psychic abilities and the suffering their powers bring aren't anything new. You have books such as Carrie, Firestarter, and The Institute by Stephen King plus many more from various authors across various genres. So finding something new, fresh, and unique in this genre is fantastic. And that's what we have here. Set in a world you might consider dystopian, but reads like a western, this must-read novel is filled with an incredibly heartfelt narrative, moments of destruction and bloodshed, and a romantic angle which actually means something to the story. The terrible truths about hating people for who they are, and the seeds of destruction this abuse plants, are at the forefront of this novel of torture, revenge, and redemption. Five stars." — David Royce, Reedsy Discovery
"Adverse Reactions fits neatly into the dystopian genre, with its post-apocalyptic setting and speculative sci-fi themes. It's reminiscent of The Power by Naomi Alderman, which also explores societal fear of psychokinetic abilities and the way power reshapes morality." — The Black List
Where to Find It
ADVERSE REACTIONS: A Novel of the Paranormal is a post-apocalyptic paranormal Western, a dystopian suspense-thriller that's also speculative historical fiction. It crosses genres! Find it on Goodreads or BookBub, and wherever books are sold. (List of Retailers)
Keywords
- Suspense thriller
- Speculative fiction
- Apocalyptic
- Dark fantasy
- Action-adventure
- High-stakes supernatural thriller
- Dystopian paranormal thriller
- Quarantined asylum
- Speculative history
- Psychokinetic abilities
- Psychokinesis
- Weird Western
- Post-apocalyptic paranormal thriller
- Women's adventure fiction
- Possibly linked to the Waterspell universe, in a tangential way