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scottwcoleman's review
4.0
Loved it. Brilliant concept, well written... Can't wait to read the next book in the series.
pjonsson's review
3.0
I have quite mixed feelings about this book. Most of the book I found quite good actually. However, the book eventually goes down the dreaded path of time travel. Anyone who has read a few of my reviews might already know how I feel about time travel. To make it short, I do not like it!
The book starts of minutes before the events in the book blurb but then it does the classical switch to “X hours/days/whatever earlier…”. I am not too keen of those switches either but I can live with it. Eventually the book catches up to that crucial point in the main characters life again.
From there on I very much liked the book, at least until they brought in the time travel nonsense. The main character, Will Stark, have to rebuild his life and in the process he discovers powers that borders on magic. To me the book is well written and I quite want to follow what happens to Will Stark at the same time that I hope the bad guys gets what they deserve.
The book is perhaps not so much science as it is fiction but it is still in the okay realm even though the historical explanation as to why some people had these powers and so on felt a bit rushed and thin to say the least.
Then, at the end of the book, comes the time travel stuff. I have to say that it disappointed me. It was far from the worst example of time travel that I have read or watched and I am somewhat intrigued as to how the next book plays out. However at the same time … it is time travel!
The way the book played out in the end set a totally different scene for the next instalment. It also makes the book blurb somewhat in doubt. To me this was a somewhat different book than what I believed it to be from the blurb and also, well, let us just say that maybe these bad people did not have the wrong guy in the end. Well that remains to be seen and right know I am still on the fence whether or not to pick up the next book in the series or not.
The book starts of minutes before the events in the book blurb but then it does the classical switch to “X hours/days/whatever earlier…”. I am not too keen of those switches either but I can live with it. Eventually the book catches up to that crucial point in the main characters life again.
From there on I very much liked the book, at least until they brought in the time travel nonsense. The main character, Will Stark, have to rebuild his life and in the process he discovers powers that borders on magic. To me the book is well written and I quite want to follow what happens to Will Stark at the same time that I hope the bad guys gets what they deserve.
The book is perhaps not so much science as it is fiction but it is still in the okay realm even though the historical explanation as to why some people had these powers and so on felt a bit rushed and thin to say the least.
Then, at the end of the book, comes the time travel stuff. I have to say that it disappointed me. It was far from the worst example of time travel that I have read or watched and I am somewhat intrigued as to how the next book plays out. However at the same time … it is time travel!
The way the book played out in the end set a totally different scene for the next instalment. It also makes the book blurb somewhat in doubt. To me this was a somewhat different book than what I believed it to be from the blurb and also, well, let us just say that maybe these bad people did not have the wrong guy in the end. Well that remains to be seen and right know I am still on the fence whether or not to pick up the next book in the series or not.
crystal_bookworm's review
3.0
Confused
I have to say while this book is well written. I think I'm more confused at the end of the book than at the beginning. So if you like mysteries and books that probably make more sense after reading the entire series. This is a book for you.
I have to say while this book is well written. I think I'm more confused at the end of the book than at the beginning. So if you like mysteries and books that probably make more sense after reading the entire series. This is a book for you.
digerbop's review
4.0
Review originally posted at http://digerbop.ca/2013/07/a-question-of-will/
The Good:
Right out of the gate, Albrinck throws the reader into the action while we watch Will Stark fighting for his life and the life of his family. If you generally put a book down for it being too slow out of the gate, A Question of Will will give you no problems there. The first third of the book reads more like an action-adventure with a sci-fi focus that leaves just enough draw and mystery to keep the reader engaged.
The Point-of-view use in A Question of Will was very intriguing. It starts out as your standard third person perspective with chapter/section breaks splitting things up when the POV changes, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes the words just flow and all of a sudden you notice that the POV had changed. It is wonderfully and sometimes subtly done in a way that did not feel slapped together or disorienting. For the amount of books that I have read with major POV-confusion issues, I was impressed at how Albrinck has a good handle on the proper way to implement multiple POVs, and do it well.
The tech/magic in A Question of Will is wonderful. All Aliomenti have a certain "Energy" reserve, and the more Energy you have, the more you can accomplish. There are many things that this Energy can do, and I have a feeling that we have only seen the tip of the ice-burgh in this first instalment of The Aliomenti Saga. I will not comment on specifics, however, so as to not spoil any of the goodies therein. Despite the fact that the source of the tech/magic is mundanely named "Energy," at least it wasn't some crazy 16-syllable word that no one will remember. I will leave the decision to you whether calling it "Energy" is wonderfully simple or just lazy.
Now, we get to the selling feature of the book. (Maybe I should have mentioned this first! ;) ). A wonderful twist comes in the last third of the book that made me so excited I just had to finish it right then and there! I was a little bit afraid that certain plot elements introduced at the beginning of the book would be left unexplained, thus forcibly roping the reader into a sequel, but this fear was quelled and made me no longer waiting for the revelation but longing for more. The ending is set very well, leaving just enough unanswered to wet your whistle for the sequel, but answering enough to give it a concise and believable conclusion.
The Bad:
Despite how good this book is, and the fact that it start right into the action, I was less than impressed with it at first. The initial action, though exciting, is drawn out by the variety of POVs. The quick changes doesn't leave the reader confused (per the norm) but instead forces re-explanation of things that have already happened. The reader sees the assassin coming for Will Stark, then Will sees it, then his wife dreams it, then the assassin does it, then the police witness it... etc. Once getting past the initial third of the book, this problem is no longer prevalent, but the beginning is left a little rough and uninteresting because of it, despite all the action happening.
There is quite a bit of tech/magic in A Question of Will and it is explained very thoroughly, so thoroughly in fact that entire paragraphs can be skipped in order to prevent getting tired of the long, drawn-out monologues. The reader is not left questioning any of the inner workings of Energy, but it comes across in a very "tell" instead of "show" kind of way. Have you ever had a friend explain to you the rules of a game, but they are so complicated that your eyes glaze over during the rant and you really don't get what he is saying at all? Finally, you throw up your hands and say, "let's just play, and if I have a question, I will ask." This will probably be your response as a reader while your eyes glaze over words of meaningless explanation in favour of saying, "If I have a question, I will ask." The problem is that Albrinck isn't around to answer your questions... so I guess you have to read the boring description of the tech/magic anyway, or just go without. Once everything is out on the table it picks up again for the satisfying conclusion, but the second third of the book drags a lot because of this over-explanation problem. I hope that in subsequent books in The Aliomenti Saga that this problem will be eliminated as "Energy" has already been very thoroughly explained, in perhaps more depth and detail than was necessary.
Conclusion:
A Question of Will might not grab you at first, but it is worth sticking with until the end. Sloshing through some repeated scenes and dry tech/magic explanations will be well rewarded by a conclusion that makes you want to go out and buy book two of The Aliomenti Saga right away. Despite some pacing issues, the story is rewarding enough to make Alex Albrinck an author that you won't soon forget, and might want to come back to with books 2 and 3 in this series.
The Good:
Right out of the gate, Albrinck throws the reader into the action while we watch Will Stark fighting for his life and the life of his family. If you generally put a book down for it being too slow out of the gate, A Question of Will will give you no problems there. The first third of the book reads more like an action-adventure with a sci-fi focus that leaves just enough draw and mystery to keep the reader engaged.
The Point-of-view use in A Question of Will was very intriguing. It starts out as your standard third person perspective with chapter/section breaks splitting things up when the POV changes, but this isn't always the case. Sometimes the words just flow and all of a sudden you notice that the POV had changed. It is wonderfully and sometimes subtly done in a way that did not feel slapped together or disorienting. For the amount of books that I have read with major POV-confusion issues, I was impressed at how Albrinck has a good handle on the proper way to implement multiple POVs, and do it well.
The tech/magic in A Question of Will is wonderful. All Aliomenti have a certain "Energy" reserve, and the more Energy you have, the more you can accomplish. There are many things that this Energy can do, and I have a feeling that we have only seen the tip of the ice-burgh in this first instalment of The Aliomenti Saga. I will not comment on specifics, however, so as to not spoil any of the goodies therein. Despite the fact that the source of the tech/magic is mundanely named "Energy," at least it wasn't some crazy 16-syllable word that no one will remember. I will leave the decision to you whether calling it "Energy" is wonderfully simple or just lazy.
Now, we get to the selling feature of the book. (Maybe I should have mentioned this first! ;) ). A wonderful twist comes in the last third of the book that made me so excited I just had to finish it right then and there! I was a little bit afraid that certain plot elements introduced at the beginning of the book would be left unexplained, thus forcibly roping the reader into a sequel, but this fear was quelled and made me no longer waiting for the revelation but longing for more. The ending is set very well, leaving just enough unanswered to wet your whistle for the sequel, but answering enough to give it a concise and believable conclusion.
The Bad:
Despite how good this book is, and the fact that it start right into the action, I was less than impressed with it at first. The initial action, though exciting, is drawn out by the variety of POVs. The quick changes doesn't leave the reader confused (per the norm) but instead forces re-explanation of things that have already happened. The reader sees the assassin coming for Will Stark, then Will sees it, then his wife dreams it, then the assassin does it, then the police witness it... etc. Once getting past the initial third of the book, this problem is no longer prevalent, but the beginning is left a little rough and uninteresting because of it, despite all the action happening.
There is quite a bit of tech/magic in A Question of Will and it is explained very thoroughly, so thoroughly in fact that entire paragraphs can be skipped in order to prevent getting tired of the long, drawn-out monologues. The reader is not left questioning any of the inner workings of Energy, but it comes across in a very "tell" instead of "show" kind of way. Have you ever had a friend explain to you the rules of a game, but they are so complicated that your eyes glaze over during the rant and you really don't get what he is saying at all? Finally, you throw up your hands and say, "let's just play, and if I have a question, I will ask." This will probably be your response as a reader while your eyes glaze over words of meaningless explanation in favour of saying, "If I have a question, I will ask." The problem is that Albrinck isn't around to answer your questions... so I guess you have to read the boring description of the tech/magic anyway, or just go without. Once everything is out on the table it picks up again for the satisfying conclusion, but the second third of the book drags a lot because of this over-explanation problem. I hope that in subsequent books in The Aliomenti Saga that this problem will be eliminated as "Energy" has already been very thoroughly explained, in perhaps more depth and detail than was necessary.
Conclusion:
A Question of Will might not grab you at first, but it is worth sticking with until the end. Sloshing through some repeated scenes and dry tech/magic explanations will be well rewarded by a conclusion that makes you want to go out and buy book two of The Aliomenti Saga right away. Despite some pacing issues, the story is rewarding enough to make Alex Albrinck an author that you won't soon forget, and might want to come back to with books 2 and 3 in this series.
randomchaos's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Interesting premise, but couldn't get past the first two chapters.
stiricide's review
2.0
It bums me out that this appears to be the edited version. It could really use another run through or two to tighten things up. I almost quit after the first 2 chapters, but the Goodreads reviews convinced me to press on. I'm not sure if I'm glad. It's an interesting concept, but the storytelling is pretty clunky. Half the plot seems more like plotdump, and the "twists" revealed at the end are pretty obvious from the beginning. (It's not foreshadowing, it's just obvious what we're leading up to.)
The next 2 novels in the series are like $1, so maybe I'll follow this up and see where it goes. There's nothing mind blowing here, though.
The next 2 novels in the series are like $1, so maybe I'll follow this up and see where it goes. There's nothing mind blowing here, though.
wintericeuk's review
2.0
Was not a fan of this book. Time travel, causal loops, and strawman villains don't make for a compelling narrative hook to me but I at least finished the book.
mmadans's review
3.0
Interesting but Convoluted
This is the first book in the Will Stark series and it was quite the page turner. The Author created an interring future world where a population of humans had advanced powers to manipulate energy. But the story became convoluted as time travel was Introduced. I will have to read the next book to see if I like where it is going.
This is the first book in the Will Stark series and it was quite the page turner. The Author created an interring future world where a population of humans had advanced powers to manipulate energy. But the story became convoluted as time travel was Introduced. I will have to read the next book to see if I like where it is going.
jandrews560's review
4.0
This is not the kind of book I often read, and yet finding a series available to download always piques my interest. Therefore, I gave it a shot. I'm so glad I did. The twists and turns and revelations you don't see coming are absolutely amazing. Kept my I interest all the way thru to the point I didn't want to stop reading. Living ng they various parts they The eyes of different characters or groups put pieces together nicely without feeling overly repetitive. The emotions of the characters are felt and lived so easily. This book is thrilling, makes you gasp with surprise, and makes you tear up at the losses. Highly recommend.
virginiaduan's review
2.0
I just can't get into it. The first chapter was fine, but ffs. How many times do we have to read the same incident from multiple POVs? That doesn't move the story forward. It just stalls.
I stopped caring.
So boring and so much explication. Booooo.
I stopped caring.
So boring and so much explication. Booooo.