Well, I got to the end, and can I just say: Not. But I'm not the sort to not finish books (no DNF for me!), and I wanted to know what the heck everything in Variant & Feedback was about, ie: what the Maxwell Institute was, etc. I got to the halfway point and simply didn't want to read anymore. Mostly, I was bored and frustrated by Feedback. I actually preferred Becky in Variant (to Jane, that is), but we still never get any REAL scenes of romantic connection between Becky and Benson, so when it's all of a sudden like I LOVE YOU, I'm like 'nope.' Speaking of, just like Variant had Insta Love, Feedback also has Totally Not Developed New Love. There was one bit action scene/turning point, and I had no clue what was happening or why, through the entire thing. In general, Wells' writing is convoluted/not clear in a lot of places. :P Perhaps it is my failing to understand the wooded areas of New Mexico, but I had difficulty picturing the layout of the camp, and thus in the big action sequences, not much made sense. I got 'white room' syndrome a lot in Feedback, despite them not being in rooms at all. The cause of tension in Feedback isn't nearly as good, and Benson's actions are non-sensical at points. In Variant this was frustrating, but there was enough outside factors to explain some of Benson's stupid decisions (kind of), and keep me interested beyond the MC. He's impulsive, irrational and difficult to connect to. One of the issues I think is Benson as a character. It's a book where a lot seems to be happening, but nothing much happens at all. I described Variant as vivid but bland, and I would describe Feedback as stagnant and frustrating. I'd probably give it one more star if there was a third book in the works to help tie up all the major loose ends, but apparently this is all we get. To be honest, I felt like the ending made Feedback a pointless sequel overall, and it would have been better to just to have let Variant stand alone rather than end with a rushed sequel that only opened more questions than it answered. It seemed like a cheap way to finish things off with such a big, unexpected cliffhanger. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel at the end and felt a bit let down that that was it.

The climax itself was just random, and left a bigger plot hole in the wake of all the smaller ones. The action was pretty slow most of the way to where it felt like the climax was a little too drawn out. At first it seemed like things were getting there, albeit slowly, with an extra helping of a few more gaps along the way.īenson's behavior seemed a bit erratic at times, but then again who's to say how a normal teenager would act if put in the same position. I had high expectations for this sequel to fill in the missing links Variant left the reader.

Variant by robison wells