Variant (spoilers)

[Ryan he/him]

I finished Robison Wells' Variant a few hours ago, and much as I've tried to change my mind, I've still gotta say:

You call that an ending, Wells?

Don't get me wrong - I loved the book. I read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. It starts fast and never slows down. It grabs you and it doesn't let go. It was absolutely fantastic.

But that ending, argh, that ending! When I said the book never slows down, I meant it. There is no denouement. There is no conclusion. I literally turned the page and was shocked by the sight of the acknowledgements page. The book just...ends, and so much is left ambiguous.

You'll probably think me dim for saying this, but I don't much like ambiguous fiction. Maybe it's my choice of profession. I'm a computer science student, and we spend considerable effort chasing ambiguity from our work. So I don't want to finish other people's stories, or fill in the details. I can write my own stories for that, but when someone tells me a story, I kinda expect to be told a story. Y'know?

First of all, we are never told if Benson is a robot. There is considerable evidence that he is. His physical endurance seems abnormal to me - he's able to keep up with Lily, who trains hard for speed and endurance. He takes a lot of punishment without sustaining serious injury. And, he's very strong.

His background is a little sketchy. No friends, ever? No chance to play sports, ever? Seems mighty neat and tidy. Almost like it was programmed in.

He is practically a tailor-made agitator. As Benson noted several times, many things about the school seemed set up to coax them into escaping, like that was the goal of the testing—they wanted the robots to figure out how to escape. They dropped Benson in to shake things up and push everyone towards that end. The way they walked out under the watchful gaze - but not interference - of the animal bots supports this.

But, there is a major knock against him being a robot. Why did the school not just stop him when it became obvious they wanted to? Why did he never get possessed, like the other androids?

I can't reconcile it in my mind. I can't decide. Is he, or isn't he? So I want the opinions of others. What do you think?

So, back to the ending and its deficiencies. We are never told if Benson makes it out. We are never told what happens to Becky. What's more, right at the very end, Benson is put into a very unusual love triangle, with the revelation of a Jane successor model that remembers him. It's no great mystery how; data driven programming is like that. To retain the benefit of her experiences, they need to keep the database. I guess they tried to repress things they didn't want her to recall, probably betting on Benson never actually appearing before her sight.

Anyway, there's material for like 10,000 more words. The love triangle could be resolved. The escape could be resolved. Becky could be resolved. The book is quite short anyway; it's not like he'd be breaking the word bank. But instead we get...ambiguity, and an ending too soon. Argh!

(Yes, it's true. Robison Wells has turned me into a pirate. Argh!)

[PeterAhlstrom he/him]

There are meant to be sequels, y'know?

But you have hit upon the one reason that a certain somebody didn't cover quote the book.

Note: I haven't read it. I think I'll wait until there is an ending to the story.

[Ryan he/him]

You read my post without reading the book? I pretty much spoiled everything!

Anyway, it is good that there will be sequels. It would be better if the book could stand on its own. :\

[fireflyz he/him]

I have to agree with most of this. I liked Variant. The writing is above average and didn't trip me up once as some new authors can do. It has strong characters and an interesting plot. The issue I had is that I bought the ebook for 9.99 and only got 2/3 of a book. It has the first two acts. That's it. I felt that Robinson (does he go by Rob?) did a great job setting things up and then suddenly bam! We're rushing at break neck speed ignoring a lot of details and then it's into the acknowledgments. There were some similarities to the Mazerunner, but that didn't bother me. It's sufficiently unique to stand on its own. Pacing and the ending. I hope the next book is not the same way. If it is I'm not sure that I'll read any more of his books until the entire series is out.

Also, *SPOILER* I didn't even consider that Benson might be a robot. That's an interesting notion. *SPOILER*

As a sidenote, I feel that all of his friends went to Amazon and posted favorable reviews for him. There's like 27 reviews in the first week and with one exception they are all 4 and 5 stars. Plus if you read them they all gush with how great the book is, many saying it's the best of 2011. Obviously, this is subjective, but while Robinson's writing is good, more than good, it's not brilliant. The story is more than good but the ending sweeps it's legs out from beneath him. I have heard Robinson on Writing Excuses and I don't for a second believe he asked people to sugarcoat reviews for him on Amazon. Most likely it's people that want to see him succeed, but if I didn't know who he was and read those reviews and then the book I would be very turned off. I like honest, fair assessments, even if it hurts. My honest assessment is that the first half of the book is 4, but the ending lowers it to a 3.

All new authors make mistakes and evolve. Most screw up characters and/or the writing. This can make me stop reading future books. Robinson didn't screw up either. He just messed up the ending. I'm still looking forward to reading the next one and seeing his writing/plotting evolve and grow.

My two cents...

Edited October 23, 2011 by fireflyz

[mycoltbug]

I thought it was an interesting read though the ending was weak.

[Shivertongue he/him]

I happened to read it shortly after it came out, while I was taking a Sociology class, and I think that might have been why I liked it as much as I did. The book was rife with sociological ideas that helped me better understand the topics in my class, and I was barely able to put it down.The ending did irk me a bit, but my mind was reeling with all the sociological implications of everything in the story, I don't think it bothered me too much...