Variant by Robison Wells
When I initially downloaded this book it was due to the comparisons with Ender's Game. I absoultely loved Card's novel about Ender Wiggan, and I though a fresh perspective on it would be nice. Wells' novel is decent enough take on the M. Night Shyamalan school of twists and turns, but it falls flat. Benson’s character seems a tad one dimensional, and the story hits a few snags and hiccups. All in all, Variant is not a terrible YA book, it is just not one of the best I have read in recent months. It is good enough to toss to an 11 or 12 year old over a long weekend, but I have a feeling, if asked about it six months later, recalling plot points may be a problem.
With that being said, I was reading an author bio of Wells, and it said that his books are aimed towards LDS youth. I took a step back, Variant did not feel like a specifically religious book.* Also, this is not the first time I have picked up a YA Science Fiction book and had it come from an Mormon author. Upon doing some further research, I came across this article, “Is It Something in the Water?” Why Mormons Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. This somewhat concerns me, because books like Variant may be targeted towards LDS kids, and placed in a religious section. There is really no need for that. It may suffer the same fate that GLBT teen lit faces being buried in a dusty part of a bookstore, avoided by all but a brave few willing to go into its catacombs. I will have to watch this author, being categorized as a religious book for teens would be very unfair.
*I am an Atheist, and I have been known to walk away from overtly religious texts. Using religion to further a plot, and as an element of story telling? Fine, C. S. Lewis did it well. Use it to bash me over the head and make me fell guilty? Not so fine. The Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley is the biggest offender.
When I initially downloaded this book it was due to the comparisons with Ender's Game. I absoultely loved Card's novel about Ender Wiggan, and I though a fresh perspective on it would be nice. Wells' novel is decent enough take on the M. Night Shyamalan school of twists and turns, but it falls flat. Benson’s character seems a tad one dimensional, and the story hits a few snags and hiccups. All in all, Variant is not a terrible YA book, it is just not one of the best I have read in recent months. It is good enough to toss to an 11 or 12 year old over a long weekend, but I have a feeling, if asked about it six months later, recalling plot points may be a problem.
With that being said, I was reading an author bio of Wells, and it said that his books are aimed towards LDS youth. I took a step back, Variant did not feel like a specifically religious book.* Also, this is not the first time I have picked up a YA Science Fiction book and had it come from an Mormon author. Upon doing some further research, I came across this article, “Is It Something in the Water?” Why Mormons Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. This somewhat concerns me, because books like Variant may be targeted towards LDS kids, and placed in a religious section. There is really no need for that. It may suffer the same fate that GLBT teen lit faces being buried in a dusty part of a bookstore, avoided by all but a brave few willing to go into its catacombs. I will have to watch this author, being categorized as a religious book for teens would be very unfair.
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*I am an Atheist, and I have been known to walk away from overtly religious texts. Using religion to further a plot, and as an element of story telling? Fine, C. S. Lewis did it well. Use it to bash me over the head and make me fell guilty? Not so fine. The Elsie Dinsmore series by Martha Finley is the biggest offender.
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