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A review by neuroqueer
William by Mason Coile
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall: I'm actually flopping between B- and C+....
"William" is a combination horror and sci-fi novella that was a quick listen due to length but felt like a long one due to the characters.
The story does break up into different chapters based on the POV of the four human characters but focus is mainly on Henry. He is a socially awkward agoraphobic robotics engineer. Out of all the characters, he is the most sympathetic. Lily is Henry's wife while Paige and Davis are her associates. The three of them can jump off the bridge. The end.
...
Okay, I at least would say more than about Paige and Davis but not only were they cardboard cutouts, they were ANNOYING cardboard cutouts. Paige was the "snarky" best friend whose snark was just boring and unfunny. Davis is just there to fulfill one uninteresting purpose.He is just the guy who is banging Henry's wife and doing a shit job of hiding it. Lily is an ambitious pregnant software engineer. There is a large disconnect between her and Henry and at first, you might think it's the idea that she is getting tired of how altered her life is due to Henry's agoraphobia and reclusiveness. However you get farther into the book and nope. It's more than that. She was fine for her role.
The story's premise is intriguing and the author does a great job of building suspense and adding drama as it progresses. The narrator did a good job at making each character sound distinct. This novella does have a twist that I did not see coming and changes how you end up viewing the story as a whole. But before that, some of the chapters were either rushed or taking too long to get to the point.
I think I saw another review somewhere mention that this might have been better as either a short story or full length novel. I have to agree. I think more chapters are needed to get flesh out the characters a bit more (and make them a bit more palatable ???) I also so saw that someone will be adapting this to a film adaptation. As a story idea, yes this would translate well to the big screen. Directly translating this to the big screen? As much as I slagged off the characters, I can actually see it working. Mostly because we won't be in the vapid characters heads, the pacing will have to be different and perhaps the director/screenwriter/whoever can make the characters more tolerable.
"William" is a combination horror and sci-fi novella that was a quick listen due to length but felt like a long one due to the characters.
The story does break up into different chapters based on the POV of the four human characters but focus is mainly on Henry. He is a socially awkward agoraphobic robotics engineer. Out of all the characters, he is the most sympathetic. Lily is Henry's wife while Paige and Davis are her associates. The three of them can jump off the bridge. The end.
...
Okay, I at least would say more than about Paige and Davis but not only were they cardboard cutouts, they were ANNOYING cardboard cutouts. Paige was the "snarky" best friend whose snark was just boring and unfunny. Davis is just there to fulfill one uninteresting purpose.
The story's premise is intriguing and the author does a great job of building suspense and adding drama as it progresses. The narrator did a good job at making each character sound distinct. This novella does have a twist that I did not see coming and changes how you end up viewing the story as a whole. But before that, some of the chapters were either rushed or taking too long to get to the point.
I think I saw another review somewhere mention that this might have been better as either a short story or full length novel. I have to agree. I think more chapters are needed to get flesh out the characters a bit more (and make them a bit more palatable ???) I also so saw that someone will be adapting this to a film adaptation. As a story idea, yes this would translate well to the big screen. Directly translating this to the big screen? As much as I slagged off the characters, I can actually see it working. Mostly because we won't be in the vapid characters heads, the pacing will have to be different and perhaps the director/screenwriter/whoever can make the characters more tolerable.