Feedback

By: Robison Wells

Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom

Perfect for fans of James Dashner's The Maze Runner, Feedback is the heart-stopping sequel to Variant—which Pittacus Lore, author of I Am Number Four, praised as ""an intense journey with some of the most shocking twists and turns I've ever read.""

Benson Fisher escaped from Maxfield Academy's deadly rules and brutal gangs. He thought that the worst was over.

But now Benson is trapped in a different kind of prison—a town filled with familiar faces. Classmates from Maxfield who Benson had seen die. Friends he was afraid he had killed.

They are all pawns in the school's twisted experiment, held captive and controlled by an unseen force. And while Benson struggles to figure out who, if anyone, can be trusted, he discovers that Maxfield Academy's plans are darker than anything he imagined—and they may be impossible to stop.

Excellent ending/beginning

What made the experience of listening to Feedback the most enjoyable?

Variant and Feedback were excellent! I actually enjoyed this 2nd book more than the 1st. Wells did a great job keeping you on your toes. And while the ending is an "ending" (to the series) I think there's enough there for the author to continue the story later if he wants to.

What other book might you compare Feedback to and why?

It reminded me of other distopian future books. Not that this was at all distopia.

Which character – as performed by Michael Goldstrom – was your favorite?

Benson. Goldstrom performed his role very well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

I would say to name the film "Maxfield", or something with Maxfield in the title.

Any additional comments?

**SPOILER ALERT**
I enjoyed the "happy ending with unsaid twist". I love that Benson has his happy ending with Becky. But behind the scenes, these "testings" will go on. Benson, Becky, and the other students may have been freed but what happened at Maxfield will continue to happen, just to other people around the world. And it leaves my imagination wondering about Benson and Becky's future...will they come back to kill them? Becky still has the implant so they can kill her at any time. As well as the others! What lasting effects will the implants leave on Becky and the other students? (health wise) It would be neat to see another book made about Benson and Becky 10 years from now and they are after them again. Like Becky becomes pregant and the androids/government try to get Benson to come back to them for another testing and threaten to kill Becky (via the implant) if he doesn't. While the ending is an "ending" I think there's enough there for the author to continue the story later if he wants to.

Not a very good follow-up

I started listening to Feedback the same day I finished Variant, it was so good I just couldn't wait but Feedback was a little messy to follow and just not as interesting.

Surprisingly Static

Feedback is the type of series that will rise or fail based upon the choices made for the final reveal. After book one, there was going to have to be one heck of a surprise to explain the high level of technology of the robots and the reason why the Maxfield Academy exists. Unfortunately, it felt like author Wells wrote himself into a corner and couldn't come out of the premise with enough of a unique twist. As such, I do admit to a bit of disappointment that I didn't get the payoff I was expecting at the end of Feedback. But even more problematic was the lack of impetus and action - the story is fairly static for most of the book.

Story: Benson and Becky escaped from Maxfield - only to be trapped in the village outside. Day in and out, they try to formulate escape plans. But Becky's grave injury, politics within the village, and the remote location of the Maxfield complex continually derail their plans. But while Benson learns more about the robots, they too are slowly closing in - and ready to bring Benson and Becky back into the fold.

Book 2 is very different from the first: where we had a very aggressive and strong Benson in the first, in the second we have a confused and surprisingly passive character who spends most of his time in half hearted escape attempts and mooning over Jane and Becky. In fact, not a lot happens for most of the book; we do learn more about Maxfield but never really get satisfactory answers.

I think the big problem I had with Feedback was the writing. There were a lot of times I had to reread passages to understand what was happening. 3/4 of the way through the book I gave up on the rereading and just let it go. That did distance me from the story further.

That lack of engagement - in both the writing and the plot - translated into a 3 star rating for me. A better (or more original villain) at the ending might have lifted this a star higher. I don't regret buying this but at the same time, I had hoped for more.

Note: I listened to the audible version and the narrator did a great job.

A bit of a disappointment

Not as good as Variant, a bit of a disappointment but still entertaining.

It was fast paced and more action packed than Variant but with exasperating results.
The characters felt like they were NOT the brightest crayons in the box, all of them, the humans, the androids.... even *spoiler alert* the alien. (Whaat?!? ,,,,,yep.). The ending felt rushed. like RW (or the publisher) needed a number of pages done and when he reached that number, that was it.

awesome

I read this back in high school. just as good the 2nd time around. I can't wait for the 3rd book that he's writing. I hope the same guy reads it