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midknytowl 's review for:
The Ables
by Jeremy Scott
3.5 stars, having only read the more edited 2019 version.
This is a book that would have benefited so much from a more traditional editing process (which makes me wonder on what the original was like).
It was a good story, I'd say most of the flaws were ones you'd expect from a debut novel, as well as the ones produced from not having enough people going over it thoroughly to fix parts.
One thing I hate the most in books is continuity issues, particularly since I retain ridiculous details so they stand out to me so much. So where for most people, a single line on page 297 that referred to a character that had never been mentioned before or after might not get noticed, for me it just threw me entirely out of the story. I'm guessing a character that got changed or removed in the different drafts, but I ended up going back to one of the first chapters to see if I somehow missed this person with these specifics. (I didn't. You don't exist Darla!). A lot of the errors are small continuity ones, like a character being able to do something they shouldn't be able to do in the rules of this universe,such as Phillip referring to his dad's facial expressions when Henry isn't around . Minor details, but it sticks out to me.
Some of these errors where a lot more obvious, and those lost it a half a star. For example, at one point there was a chapter in between two others that seemed misplaced. The characters are up late at night, talking about doing a test of powers and about a big event the next morning, the next chapter they're at the pizza place talking about something entirely different, with not mention of the big event. Then the next chapter is the big event. I never like when I have to check the page numbers to make sure I haven't missed any along the way.
Putting aside those flaws though, it was a really interesting story and I liked the world he built and the characters in it. I did predict one of the plot points,guessing Donnie was the all powered one early on , but there were several things that completely took me by surpriseFinch being the grandpa, and actually killing off his mom, I still expected her to magically come back to life at the end , which is always nice when reading.
One of the things I really didn't like about the story though was the fixing of the disability, in a way. I've had this issue in another book I've read where they've given a main character a disability and then easily fixed it/made it not a problem. I get it, it's hard to write around, and sometimes it would just be easier to get the character to be able to do this thing in the moment. In doing so though, you lessen what you were going for with the disability all along.For example, there's no in-universe explanation on why Phillip was able to see what Donnie did at the end. Henry wasn't in the same spot for parts of it, since he got moved much earlier. It was the leftover from Finch, but that doesn't make sense within the rules of the universe. You just needed to be able to have it seen, so it was fudged. Same with Henry being around making Phillip pretty much not blind at all. Doesn't it tire Henry out to keep sending him images? Doesn't it take up his brain space to do that all the time? Also, nitpick, but if a blind kid is seeing for the first time, he can't read the things he sees - how on earth would he know what letters look like?? Anyway, things like that bugged me.
I recommend the book though, especially if you aren't so nitpicky about continuity like I am, it really was a nice read. I look forward to the sequel, where hopefully the debut bugs have been worked out and maybe another editor or two had a look at it for content and not just typos and grammar.
This is a book that would have benefited so much from a more traditional editing process (which makes me wonder on what the original was like).
It was a good story, I'd say most of the flaws were ones you'd expect from a debut novel, as well as the ones produced from not having enough people going over it thoroughly to fix parts.
One thing I hate the most in books is continuity issues, particularly since I retain ridiculous details so they stand out to me so much. So where for most people, a single line on page 297 that referred to a character that had never been mentioned before or after might not get noticed, for me it just threw me entirely out of the story. I'm guessing a character that got changed or removed in the different drafts, but I ended up going back to one of the first chapters to see if I somehow missed this person with these specifics. (I didn't. You don't exist Darla!). A lot of the errors are small continuity ones, like a character being able to do something they shouldn't be able to do in the rules of this universe,
Some of these errors where a lot more obvious, and those lost it a half a star. For example, at one point there was a chapter in between two others that seemed misplaced. The characters are up late at night, talking about doing a test of powers and about a big event the next morning, the next chapter they're at the pizza place talking about something entirely different, with not mention of the big event. Then the next chapter is the big event. I never like when I have to check the page numbers to make sure I haven't missed any along the way.
Putting aside those flaws though, it was a really interesting story and I liked the world he built and the characters in it. I did predict one of the plot points,
One of the things I really didn't like about the story though was the fixing of the disability, in a way. I've had this issue in another book I've read where they've given a main character a disability and then easily fixed it/made it not a problem. I get it, it's hard to write around, and sometimes it would just be easier to get the character to be able to do this thing in the moment. In doing so though, you lessen what you were going for with the disability all along.
I recommend the book though, especially if you aren't so nitpicky about continuity like I am, it really was a nice read. I look forward to the sequel, where hopefully the debut bugs have been worked out and maybe another editor or two had a look at it for content and not just typos and grammar.