I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Angry Robot, the Publisher, in return for an honest review.

This book had such a unique premise that I instantly wanted to read it upon learning what it was about. Strange powers? Mysterious experiments? An evil person with a similar power? I had the sense it would be something like a really weird comic book. However, as much as I liked parts of it, I felt that other parts took me out of the plot, which made it a long read for me.

First of all, I liked the weird powers. It was very unique and new. It does get old reading about the same old superpowers, so this spin was very much appreciated. Actually, everything about the superpowers I liked. Each "quiver kid" had manifestations that developed differently, so even though they were similar, they weren't the same. I also really liked the characters. The antagonist was sort of obvious in all his moves. It felt sort of like "me. want. power." without any real character development on his part. The MC, however, had a great arc, especially given the fact that the whole book took place over one week.

The thing that took me out of it was the pacing. It would speed ahead in plot then come to almost a standstill where things were explained to me. I know this sounds stereotypical, but I really did want more "show don't tell" throughout. Everything was told to the MC, he didn't really figure anything out on his own. There weren't really flashbacks either, which I think could have been used to the books advantage instead of relying on another character explaining the past.

The ending seemed fast compared to all the buildup. And it sort of just stopped right in the middle if the climax. Right when we are about the figure something out, right when the MC was about to be told something very important, we are thrust out of the setting and to another time. It made it feel somewhat incomplete in my opinion.

Now, these are really just preferences. I know there are a ton of readers out there that love the cat-and-mouse feel of tempos. I just happen to enjoy a quicker pace in my books. Overall, this was a really original story that explored some ideas that I hadn't read about before. I know Hinz has written quite a few books and I do plan on checking some of his other works out. Especially if the ideas behind them seem to be as unique as 'Refraction'.

Refraction follows Aiden, a man with a strange power - the ability to manifest balls of goo midair while sleeping. Not the most exciting superpowers. After Aiden learns he is one of seven babies used in experiments, he sets out to find the others, discovering dark truths about his abilities and childhood, and the other children used in the experiments.

Refraction is one of those books that uses cliches and tropes and ideas you’ve seen before, but somehow manages to make them feel new and exciting. Babies used in experiments developing superpowers? Murder attempts on them now that they’re older? Mysterious government organizations? Check. Check. Check. Yet, despite it being something a lot of readers will have seen before, Refraction kept me interested, it kept me wanting to know more. Even as I was reading, I didn’t care if it turned into the most predictable story possible, because the writing and characters were interesting and fun enough, I wouldn’t have cared if I guessed every piece of it. There were definitely parts I knew what to expect, and I honestly did not care - I just wanted to keep reading because I just enjoyed the book for what it was.

Some readers might not enjoy it for that reason, because maybe the writing style or pacing won’t mesh with them, but for me it worked so well. The mix of styles, sort of a sci-fi thriller, mystery, had me hooked, and I would definitely recommend it for readers who just want a really fun style thriller and can look past being able to guess a few plot points.

Refraction was a tricky book but seem to waver between hard science fiction and a more relaxed feeling urban science fiction. I never seemed to fully grasp which way the author was heading, which can be enjoyable when genres are blended well, but this time left me slightly confused as the book veered between the two. Christophers Hinz’s characters are well fleshed and feel authentic to the story he is telling. His action flows well and he isn’t afraid to put his protagonists into dangerous situations that help expound on their character. I’m not sure what I would have changed to make this book more my cup of tea but I will keep my eyes out for more things from Hinz in the future.