The Ables

The Ables, Book 1

By: Jeremy Scott

Narrated by: Eric Michael Summerer

Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

I did have fantastic hearing, mostly by virtue of being blind. But that couldn't actually mean that he's trying to tell me I have super powers, right? Because that would be ridiculous.

It wasn't the "sex talk" he expected. Phillip Sallinger's dad has told him he's a custodian - a guardian - and his genetically inherited power is telekinesis. He'll learn to move objects with his mind. He's excited to begin superhero high school until he discovers he's assigned to a "special ed" class for disabled empowered kids; he suddenly feels like an outsider. Bullied, threatened, and betrayed, Phillip struggles, even as he and his friends - calling themselves the Ables - find ways to maximize their powers to overcome their disabilities, and are the first to identify the growing evil threatening humanity. As vital custodians disappear and the custodian leadership is mired in indecision, a mysterious and powerful figure taunts Phillip, and the enemy is poised to strike. But what if the next "one who does all," the multi-gifted custodian predicted to come, is one of the Ables?

The Ables is a fast-paced, captivating debut novel from Jeremy Scott, a bold, new voice in fantasy and science fiction.

©2019 Jeremy Scott (P)2019 Tantor

Good story, but strong language and death

I found the storyline of disabled people as superheroes fascinating; something I can relate to, mixed with fantasy. The way the kids become friends seems natural. There were some good moments and lessons. I enjoyed the beginning the most, though towards the end, there was a lot of strong language and darker happenings. These are things I'd keep in mind, as they might be unsuitable for younger audiences. In the end, the swearing and dark subject matter dampened my enjoyment of an otherwise good story.

Excellent fresh new perspective on the Hero genre.

Having disabilities myself I appreciate the fresh perspective the author takes. The focus on doing the best you can with what you got is relatable to everyone.

Was too bored to even get into it

As a disabled person who has both mobility issues and visual issues, I got the feeling that the author’s understanding of blindness came mostly from stereotypes. While it is true that blind people can have great hearing it’s also true that they can have normal hearing or be deaf.
Usually, any perceived enhancement in other senses has to do with the fact that blind people attend more carefully, rather than an actual increase in the ears ability.
I have low vision but I have some. While I was dating someone who was completely blind, he pointed out sounds I had never noticed. However, after he pointed them out, I started noticing them on my own. It’s not that he had super hearing with ears like satellite dishes that picked up stuff my normal human ears were not capable of hearing. It’s just that I never had a reason to notice the humming of electricity through the power lines before.

Also, as far as navigating, no one actually counts steps now.Instead, it’s by time/ distance and feeling landmarks ( like the edge of grass with a cane). The exception is of course on those educational days when they blindfold some able person and have them count steps to the bathroom. Probably, someone would have taken Phillip on a tour before the first day during which he would have figured out the time/distance thing and any landmarks to watch for.

Also, especially if he is completely blind he would likely have a cane, dog or sight-guide. If he is refusing to use any of these for fear of feeling weird, the author should have said so, in my opinion

ill deduct 100 sins for this book being awesome!!

loved the story and its unique point of view! loved the lore build in to the story. all the characters were amazing and the villain was great in my opinion. Solid ending that leaves you wanting more, now time to move on to the sequel Strings!!! keep it up please, want to see a lot more installments in this series!!! 👍

a fun take on a familiar premise

a little too derivative of Harry Potter but a fun take on a familiar premise, gets me in the mood for the next season of my hero academia also

An interesting take on Superheroes

"What if the mutations the X-men suffered from were more detrimental than just having random abilities?"

It's an interesting proof of concept largely unexplored for comics to have heroes like Nightcrawler lose such a key component to what makes their ability work, and this book delivers well on that concept.

While it does still fall into the usual pitfalls I would associate with modern YA fiction, it's never enough to take me out of the world that the author is trying to build and develop.

In between the talk about prophecies and all-powerful villains, the story is still about kids learning to use their powers and relying on each other to push past the natural limits their disabilities place on them. Some of the abilities are left somewhat vague/aren't really touched upon, which can be annoying for some. I personally didn't focus on it, but if you're one of the people who need concrete rules and explanations, it's not really a key factor here.

I enjoyed that the main character isn't a typical heroic figure. Sometimes he messes up in major ways and that works to the story's advantage. Stories in a similar vein will often see children falling into the role of "hero" naturally and with little effort, and that starts to wear thin. Having a character try as hard as he does and still fall short provides good conflict and interesting situations for them to work through.

I honestly prefer to watch someone give it their all and fail than barely try and succeed. There's more opportunities to grow in the former.

To keep it short, I enjoyed this story and eagerly anticipate the sequel.

Unique super hero story.

Unique super hero story from a blind person's perspective. Great storyteller and narrator. Counted only 5 sins.

Perfect...NETFLIX NEEDS TO CUT A CHECK

This was amazing first book on my account and worth it can’t wait till the Fall!!!

Up to Chapter 2 Review 👎

I'm no author, and I certainly don't always use proper words or punctuation, but this book is unbearable. The main character being blind is just an excuse for lazy writing, and it becomes obvious when describing the farm; a table under two trees, I'm not kidding, real descriptive. Each character lacks personality, they all act, and behave the way you would expect a twelve year old, or a parent to.

and my last, and biggest complaint are the cliches, for a book written by a guy who mocks them for a living, he sure has no idea how to write a book that isn't utterly dependent on them.

So far it's a forgettable book, made popular only because the author is the guy from CinemaSins. I'll keep trying, but its not easy for me to read a book, that is the equivalent to the movie Tomorrowland for me.

SUPERfluous

Good premise, but the writing is cliche-riddled, unnecessarily long, badly in need of an editing.
The setting is very reminiscent of the Harry Potter series.

What a book!

I know the author from his amazing YouTube channel/podcast, and what a book this is. Beautiful written when you start you can’t stop listening. A great shining light for disabled disabled characters in literature. Highly recommend.

A reasonably decent children’s book.

As a blind reader, the start of this book feels very awkward in the repeated explanations of visual impairment. I feel this book gives a very wonky view on how disabled children are treated. The story was interesting although fairly transparent. The writing is a little bit basic compared to other fantasy books that I generally readso felt childish and flat.