leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tomwright's review
5.0
I think it was the Wells brothers' podcast the quoted: Just because a story is about something doesn't make it good.
For instance, just because it's about vampires, doesn't make it good.
And yet, if you give me something with superpowers, I'm going to like it.
Fun read.
For instance, just because it's about vampires, doesn't make it good.
And yet, if you give me something with superpowers, I'm going to like it.
Fun read.
applesodaperson's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
booksabrewin's review
3.0
I had never read any books by Robison Wells but I had heard about her Variant series and was anxious to try out her writing for the first time. A dystopian book about X-Men-esk teens was the perfect place to start in my opinion.
Aubrey and Jack were friends in elementary school, but once they entered high school they drifted apart. Aubrey became one of the popular girl with the help of the queen bee of the school, Nicole. Aubrey was happy for the most part, but she also felt like a freak. Aubrey could disappear. Not metaphorically, physically. Once the queen bee of her school found this out, she used Aubrey to spy for her. One such mission ended up causing Aubrey to witness the military breaking into their school dance and shooting one of their students dead. The student wasn't a regular student though. He was like Aubrey. He had powers. He was a freak.
Aubrey stumbles across Jack as she flees the military and they start on the run together. Eventually they are caught anyway and that is where they learn the truth about their crumbling world. There are terrorists bent on destroying America. The terrorists are teenagers with abilities just like Aubrey's. The military now needs Aubrey and even Jack's help shutting down the terrorists, but what they don't know is some of the teenagers who are meant to fight the terrorists may be terrorists themselves. Aubrey and Jack must find a way to survive while also dealing with a blossoming romance. Can they save their country or are they better off running as far and as fast as they can?
I was not too fond of Aubrey's character. She was just all over the place. She was wimpy in the beginning and then she was the ideal soldier and then she got wimpy again. I got pretty sick of her rollercoaster of personality shifts. The saving grace for the book was Jack. I loved Jack. He was determined, level-headed, and even romantic at times. I think if he would have had a better leading lady, the book would have been a smashing success.
Now, let me not dwell on Aubrey's shortcomings. The story line was unusual and unique. I loved the variance of powers the teenagers could present with. I would have liked a bit more background on the terrorists and why they were doing what they were doing, but I am hoping that will be covered in later books. It was unnerving how likely this sort of situation could possibly happen. Teenagers are loose cannons, give them powers to destroy and see if they don't find a reason to do just that.
Blackout is a paranormal spin on a plausible apocalyptic occurrence. It's a glowing example of what science fiction truly is.
Review Posted on: http://www.ladybugliterature.blogspot.com
novelheartbeat's review
DNF
I made it through 25% of this and I just could not get into it. I couldn’t connect to the story or the characters, and I found the prose very sophomoric and it just grated on my nerves. I love books where the characters have paranormal powers, but this just felt like a cheap knockoff of X-Men, with the Lambda particle instead of the X gene. The 3 teens who were committing acts of ‘terrorism’ reminded me of the bad group of mutants in teenage form. There was even a scene at a lake where they destroy the dam! I mean seriously, if you’re going to rip off X-Men, can’t you pick a different setting?
I was bored with it and just couldn’t bring myself to give a crap about anything that was happening. Will I ever try again? Maybe, but it’s not likely.
sc104906's review
2.0
A "virus" has attacked various teenagers around the planet, giving them superpowers. The world is also experiencing various terrorist attacks. The infected teenagers may be able to save the world, or they may be destroying it. This is a series, which I will not be continuing on with. I didn't like any of the characters, they were all blah and the redeeming qualities weren't really all that redeeming. This book was ehn and I probably won't recommend it to others. It was a valiant effort, but I really couldn't get into it.
the_lady_reads's review
2.0
1.5 Stars
Goodness me, Blackout was not what I was expecting, and I must say that is not a good thing. This was my first book by Robison Wells and I had high hopes. The synopsis was pretty intriguing and original. Too bad it fell flat for me. I had seen some mixed ratings for this novel, but I try not to let my opinions on books be affected by others until I can form my own so I ignored them and decided to give Blackout a shot. I really wish I hadn't.
Blackout follows the lives of four teens, Alec, Laura, Aubrey and Jack, during the start of a reign of terror. All four of these kids suffer from a new virus that has caused them to manifest powers. Each of them as their own background that causes them to react differently to the manifestation and the journey that follows could be the start of the end of the world.
The background of the "virus" and the mutations that this teens had formed was severely lacking in depth. I had no grasp on why this was happening, how it was happening or really even what was happening. There wasn't enough detail for the reader to get a good grasp on the events of this novel. Maybe they will be explained further down the road, but I can't do that. I struggle with a book when I'm not completely in the know. I think that readers that are good with some intrigue will enjoy this--but that's not me.
I also loathed the characters. Do you know how difficult it is to read, and try to enjoy, a novel when you can't stand the characters about which you are reading? In case you didn't realize, it's extremely difficult. Not only did I not like them, I felt like I didn't know them. I couldn't tell you their motivation for anything. I didn't understand where they were coming from. Some of the changes in these characters seemed spontaneous and didn't tie in well to the story. It just didn't fit. Due to my struggle to form a connection to them, I contemplated putting the book several times, but there was the nagging voice in my head that kept saying, "What if it is about to get good?" Spoiler alert: It didn't. By the end, I sort of liked Aubrey and Jack, but as bad as this is to say, I really want someone to kill Laura and Alec, or at least lock them up and never talk to me about them again. They were utterly infuriating and I could hardly stand it.
Every once in awhile, I come across a book where I think, "What's the point?" Blackout was one of those book. It was too jumbled, like the author was having trouble mixing these ideas together. It dragged a lot, but at the same time… It moved too quickly. Does that even make sense? The author definitely should have explain the situations, the virus and the terrorism a lot more to make the story feel more believable. I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel, and honestly, I am a bit hesitant to read anything else by this author.
I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher for my honest opinion and review via Edelweiss.
This review can also be seen here on my blog.
Goodness me, Blackout was not what I was expecting, and I must say that is not a good thing. This was my first book by Robison Wells and I had high hopes. The synopsis was pretty intriguing and original. Too bad it fell flat for me. I had seen some mixed ratings for this novel, but I try not to let my opinions on books be affected by others until I can form my own so I ignored them and decided to give Blackout a shot. I really wish I hadn't.
Blackout follows the lives of four teens, Alec, Laura, Aubrey and Jack, during the start of a reign of terror. All four of these kids suffer from a new virus that has caused them to manifest powers. Each of them as their own background that causes them to react differently to the manifestation and the journey that follows could be the start of the end of the world.
The background of the "virus" and the mutations that this teens had formed was severely lacking in depth. I had no grasp on why this was happening, how it was happening or really even what was happening. There wasn't enough detail for the reader to get a good grasp on the events of this novel. Maybe they will be explained further down the road, but I can't do that. I struggle with a book when I'm not completely in the know. I think that readers that are good with some intrigue will enjoy this--but that's not me.
I also loathed the characters. Do you know how difficult it is to read, and try to enjoy, a novel when you can't stand the characters about which you are reading? In case you didn't realize, it's extremely difficult. Not only did I not like them, I felt like I didn't know them. I couldn't tell you their motivation for anything. I didn't understand where they were coming from. Some of the changes in these characters seemed spontaneous and didn't tie in well to the story. It just didn't fit. Due to my struggle to form a connection to them, I contemplated putting the book several times, but there was the nagging voice in my head that kept saying, "What if it is about to get good?" Spoiler alert: It didn't. By the end, I sort of liked Aubrey and Jack, but as bad as this is to say, I really want someone to kill Laura and Alec, or at least lock them up and never talk to me about them again. They were utterly infuriating and I could hardly stand it.
Every once in awhile, I come across a book where I think, "What's the point?" Blackout was one of those book. It was too jumbled, like the author was having trouble mixing these ideas together. It dragged a lot, but at the same time… It moved too quickly. Does that even make sense? The author definitely should have explain the situations, the virus and the terrorism a lot more to make the story feel more believable. I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel, and honestly, I am a bit hesitant to read anything else by this author.
I received an e-copy of this novel from the publisher for my honest opinion and review via Edelweiss.
This review can also be seen here on my blog.
rebelrider's review
3.0
This book was okay. It had a decent idea, I liked the powers, and the plot was good. My main problem was it didn't engage me and another thing that annoyed me was that the terrorists' motivation wasn't fleshed out even though they were POV characters. I wanted to know why they were attacking the US. What had happened that made them this way and how did they justify it? Now that the enemy is more clear, as of the last sentence in the book, there will hopefully be more fleshing out of the enemy's POV.
pieshypie's review
3.0
I enjoyed the book. I would have given it another star if there had been any hint as to WHY everything was happening. If it was there, I totally missed it. Still a great book and can’t wait to jump into the next book.