Christopher Hinz is the author of a dozen novels. Refraction was published in 2020. It is the 37th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence and mature language, I categorize this novel as R. In a remote part of Montana, railroad enthusiasts have trespassed on government land. They are attempting to view an older model of a train. What they find is a kill squad protecting a secret Tau Nine-One facility.

Aiden Manchester is approaching 30. He is still haunted by ‘green dreams’. And there is the occasional manifestation of chunks when he sleeps. Mysterious globs of good that suddenly appear in the air.

What he finds when he investigates is that he was part of an experiment as a child. He and six others were part of an experiment run by Tau Nine-One. Manchester seeks out the other kids that were part of the experiment and information on Tau Nine-One.

I enjoyed the 8.5 hours I spent reading this 335-page science fiction thriller. The novel reminds me of those by Dean Koontz, though his are much better. I was disappointed with the ending. The chosen cover art is odd. Makes me think of the old Twilight Zone TV show. It is eye-catching. I give this novel a rating of 4.3 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

I really wasn't sure what to make of this, but it was a really good book, interesting, engaging and really well paced. I liked the characters, and though the premise felt a bit 'oh, why?' when I read it (it's a bit....trope-laden), but it was handled really well and I liked it. I have in fact, read it twice and grabbed a copy for my daughter's Kindle.
Good, solid sci-fi, melded with a coming of age story, what more can you ask?

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Aiden Manchester has super-powers, but not a particularly useful one. While he sleeps he somehow manages to create balls of goo that manifest in midair. Strange? Yes. Helpful? Aiden hasn't seen any benefits yet. But then Aiden learns that he was once a "Quiver Kid" ... one of seven orphaned infants who were used for experiments at Tau Nine-One, a dubious scientific center.
Learning about this history, Aiden begins to seek answers from former employees at Tau Nine-One and he's also looking for some of the other "Quiver Kids." Of course the other former Quiver Kids have some pretty special abilities, making Aiden's look pretty lame by comparison. Now, gee, what was the purpose of the experiments on those kids?

The Quiver Kids were each given a unique name, a color, but even here, we learn later on, those administering the tests were messing with the kids, and Aiden slowly reveals more and more of his own history as he tracks down the other Quiver Kids. One Kid, however, isn't too happy with Aiden, and Aiden's real power becomes clear to him, but he still has to find a way to tap into it.

My description here is pretty basic and simple, but so, too, is this book. The book sets off in one direction, never deviating, never offering any subplots, but with new information revealed along the way. This is sometimes fine if there's a build-up of excitement, but this builds slowly and the actual action is a bit too little, too late.

The 'surprise' was definitely interesting and compelling and I wanted to really get into this, but instead we get a focus on the villain in the story.

Our protagonist is a bit on the dull side and our antagonist is quite a stereotype and over-the-top.

I also found the info-dumping too easy. I sometimes make notes in my Kindle when something strikes me (good and bad) and in this book my only note was about the info-dumping - primarily the fact that the impetus for the story comes from a letter to Aiden from his father.

Based on the kernel of an interesting idea and how easy this is to read, I am giving it a generous two and a half stars.

Looking for a good book? Refraction by Christopher Hinz uses too many stereotype tropes but manages to present an interesting idea.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A generation ago, a handful of babies in a secret laboratory were exposed to a mysterious, possibly extraterrestrial material and then placed with normal families and observed. Aiden Manchester is one such child, now grown. He’s ignorant of his origins but beset by an uncontrollable and rather disgusting talent for manifesting piles of sticky brown goo when he sleeps. His otherwise placid life is upended by the search for the other children, as well as the scientists that experimented on them, a search that quickly twists the story into a thriller when he’s kidnapped by one of the other kids. That one is a homicidal psychopath, by the way, bent on eliminating all the others, who each have a unique gift and piece of the puzzle.

Aiden makes allies of varying degrees of ferociousness and competence along the way, although their goals are never precisely aligned with his. This is a refreshing change from the common “fellowship” quests, where everyone wants the same thing and always acts in unison. I honestly did not see where the story was headed. It’s a wild ride with a likeable hero who in the end uses his wits and insight against villainous treachery. For me that’s a sure formula for success!

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.

This was a very weird book that sadly I don’t think it lived up to its potential. The basic bones of a fun and exciting story were there but the execution feel flat for me. The writing was very mediocre

As for the characters and the plot well, they weren’t bad but they weren’t particularly good either. The relationships between the characters were very surface-level. I mean, it definitly had its few thrilling moment. I just have several issues with the story that affected my overall reading experience, including awkward writing, stilted dialog and a confusing plot. The overall structure is so convoluted that I had a hard time figuring out just what the main plot was.

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.

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley to review. Thank you for the opportunity.
A strabge and quirky read thats quite divisive in fans. The writing is OK if grisly.
There is an overload of action and drama.
An interesting read.

Really enjoyed reading this novel over a weekend.
The plot is excellent and very fast paced, the need to find out what happens next drove me to read more chapters in a sitting than I had planned.
Will definitely be reading any further novels by Christopher Hinz, hoping for a sequel to this novel to tie up the lose threads left at the conclusion and to see where the story is taken next.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early copy.

Refraction marks the return of award-winning science-fiction writer Christopher Hinz and is a decidedly quirky thriller set in the near-future. We are introduced to protagonist Aiden Manchester who is very much a societal recluse and an introvert who lives with his sister and niece. When he receives a letter with a hidden code from his deceased father providing him with key details of his true identity — revealing he was adopted from a secret government agency known as Tau Nine-One that was forced to close it's doors after its unusual experiments on infants came to light nearly three decades ago — he is motivated to find out more about his origins. Those who emerged from this clandestine program become known as ”quiver kids" and while investigating his childhood and past he unwittingly comes to the attention of Red, a fellow quiver kid who warns him that grave consequences come from looking too deeply into a scandal the government has tried their utmost to bury. Those considering venturing down this path may wish to think again...

This is a thrilling, compulsive and potent mix of sci-fi thriller and coming-of-age story where protagonist Aiden traces his origins. From there ensues a high stakes and dangerous investigation bringing to light that which the dystopian government would rather keep in the dark. With excellent worldbuilding, a developed and engaging cast of characters and an intricate, exciting and tense plot, this is an intense and atmospheric read from the very beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed escaping to this entertaining near-future world. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Angry Robot for an ARC.

I liked the ideas and found it a good mix of different genres.
Unfortunately I also found the story quite slow and it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I would like to thank Angry Robot Books and Netgalley for the digital copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Refraction by Christopher Hinz is a sci-fi thriller about a man unravelling the truth behind his mysterious psychic power.

When I read the synopsis, I didn't hesitate to request an early access of Refraction because of its unique premise. This somehow reminds me of X-Men, but instead of having really cool, useful superpowers, the main character was afflicted with manifestations he called "chunkies" which were mysterious balls of goo which materialise mid-air while he slept. As much as there were parts that I enjoyed, there were also some parts that I didn't like or give me satisfaction.

Just like I've said, I was very intrigued about the 'weird power' that the main character possessed. It made me ask lots of questions that I was looking forward to know as the story went. I liked all the 'quiver kids' powers, too. They were new and refreshing. This novel is one of those types wherein it didn't require a lot of attention to follow the plot. As for me, sometimes I just wanted to read some SFF book without having the burden to memorize or retain heavy scientific stuff to fully enjoy the story, and I could say that Refraction was such an easy read.

Unfortunately, I had some things that I didn't enjoy in this novel. First, although the first chapters caught my interest, somehow towards the end right on the big reveal, the buildup just stopped in the middle and fell away. The ending felt rushed and I was left confused about what just happened. The explanation behind the mystery was unsatisfactory and lacking. Second, the characters were bland. They lacked depth, and it was hard for me to sympathize. The dialogues were used to provide exposition rather than to show each attitude and voices. Most of the time, everything was just told to the protagonist instead of discovering it by himself. Lastly, I wasn't a fan of the racial and sexual objectification of women that were dealt in this novel. There was not enough diversity, and there was an instance where a female character got almost naked to distract men. I just didn't see the point of that scene.

Overall, Refraction has unique concepts and mystery that I still found entertaining. Although I didn't like it as much as I expected, others might enjoy this novel more than I did.

3/5 stars!

The story was a bit convoluted and ended with no real point made or anything sufficiently explained.

As a hero, Aiden Manchester is somewhat unconventional. Although he has special powers, they don’t seem all that special; in fact, they’re more of an inconvenience and an embarrassment than anything. Aiden occasionally manifests “chunkies” while he sleeps, floating brown blobs of matter that tend to stick to and ruin whatever they land on. There seems to be no practical application for them, and it’s an affliction that has plagued him for much of his life. However, a mysterious letter (always the best kind) from his deceased father sets him on a trail of discovery and revelation, as he learns he was part of a mysterious experiment as a baby. Before long, he’s involved in a desperate race against time to stop one of his fellow test subjects - or “Quiver Kids” - achieving his nefarious aims.

Hinz sets out his weird stall nice and early, then. There aren’t many heroes out there with such apparently useless powers as Aiden - maybe that kid who changes channels by blinking in X2 comes close - and in a world where we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to super heroic media, one can’t help but feel a little sorry for him from the off. No super strength or flight for Aiden, just embarrassing night time accidents that result in brown orbs of sticky goo. Things don’t improve for his self esteem as he learns of the abilities of his fellow Quiver Kids either, all of which seem much more useful and interesting than his. As a hero, Aiden is a character it’s easy to sympathise with. He’s not normal, per se, but the thing that makes him special doesn’t make him as special as some of the other characters.

Aiden’s affliction has resulted in more than a few problems for him too - he was forced to drop out of college after his chunkies started appearing in dorms, and romantic attachments are basically impossible for him. He finds it difficult to travel on planes, for fear that a chunkie will manifest above an engine and cripple it. It really feels like consideration has been given to the knock-on effects of Aiden’s peculiar ability on his life, without dwelling on them so much that it drags. Because that’s certainly one thing Refraction does not do - it never drags. It manages to be fast paced but never breathlessly so, with enough little bits of development between the more intense parts to raise the stakes a little higher each time.

These developments, often seen through the eyes of the villain, Michael, nicely set up what’s to come, as well as giving us more backstory on the original experiment and those involved. I would have liked to have seen a little more of Michael, in fact - with the relatively limited amount of time we spend with him, it’s difficult to see him as more than just evil for the sake of evil. He doesn’t feel as nuanced as Aiden does, but his villainy is well established and reinforced. Repeated references to his propensity for rape, for example, whilst not especially subtle, will definitely make you absolutely despise him. Under his employ are a number of mercenaries, led by cold blooded killer Nobe. Nobe’s motivations are easier to grasp than Michael’s - money, essentially - which makes him a little more grounded, and scenes featuring him really convey his deadliness and ruthlessness well.

Standing alongside Aiden as he attempts to outwit Michael and his mercenaries is Deke Keats, an analyst from the General Accounting Office. This probably doesn’t make him sound like the most exciting character, but actually there’s much more to him than that role implies. Keats is considerably more grizzled than you might assume from his job description; as a former soldier, he can more than hold his own in hand to hand combat and gunfights, and has a network of retired comrades he can call on in a pinch. He’s able to strategize effectively too, which really comes into its own later on in the book, in the action-packed final third. As well as Keats, fellow Quiver Kid Jessie is also along for the ride. Jessie’s beauty is remarked upon by many of the male characters, and whilst this does feel a bit sleazy, it does ultimately (kind of) serve a purpose. It’s fair to say it’s not the most progressive kind of female representation, but at least some of the other characters get their comeuppance for underestimating her.

When Refraction isn’t flying along with gunfights and violence, Hinz drops in all kinds of revelations. These range from secrets about the original experiment to other, more personal matters, but they are always interesting, and in many cases extremely satisfying. There are mysteries aplenty, and you will doubtless be left with questions by the end, but there are plenty of threads that are neatly gathered up and questions answered. There is a really nice feeling of things just fitting together, of a well laid plot where everything intersects neatly.

With an action movie feel and a dash of the weird, Refraction is an entertaining read with some interesting ideas. I’m hopeful that we’ll get to see more of the mysteries it sets up unfold in future books.

Refraction definitely has to become one of the best sci-fi books this year/next year ! It was a fantastic read that drew me in entirely despite it being a pretty long book ! Here's what I thought of it !

First of all, the plot is super interesting. Aiden, who has a lame superpower (producing weird brown blobs out of thin air during his sleep) finds out he was a lab rat when he was a baby, and 6 other kids have also been subjected to the same experiments he was. Soon, Aiden is found by one of those babies, Red, who is set on eliminating the others. Aiden ends up joining a quest to stop Red from accomplishing this deed, discovering more and more about his past in the process.

I loved the fact that we get both thriller and sci-fi in the same book. Seeing Aiden discovering his past, learning about his powers, about the others who have powers etc. is fascinating. I felt invested in the story and in the characters, which is something I'm always looking for in a book !

Every character was unique, had an interesting backstory ! I'm glad they are all put on the spotlight at some point, and that the side characters weren't mere decoration or tools for the hero to use. Shout out to Magenta for being especially amazing ! She might have been my favorite character here ! Everyone is essential to the story, to fit together in one big puzzle we get to discover later on. Fabulous !

Regarding the pace of the book, I would say it's really fast paced. For me, it was both an advantage and an inconvenient, because everything happens so fast it can sometimes be a little hard to follow. It might have been the reason why the ending and the meaning of everyone's powers got a little lost on me. I'm not sure I truly understood the point of the powers and where it's leading everyone. That being said, that rythm also kept me reading at the speed of light, also keeping me on the edge of my seat (my bed actually !) during the whole read.

That last fact is also definitely due to the fact that Christopher Hinz is a great author, who knows how to keep the reader's attention. Congratulations to him for that, I look forward to read some more books by him now !

A rather generic thriller with a sci-fi twist, Refraction is a quick-paced story about a man attempting to uncover his history.

This is one of those books that would be better as a movie. I could easily understand and picture what was going on, but it has the potential to be more interesting on screen than on the page.

I’ll say what I enjoyed. As I mentioned, it was easy to read. It requires almost no concentration to follow the story, the plot points tie up nicely, and there is good continuity (for example, Aiden is hurt and he continues to suffer pain from the wounds throughout. Oftentimes people recover instantly). I was intrigued by the mystery.

Honestly, though, there wasn’t a lot else that I enjoyed. The pace reminded me of a teenager learning to drive stick - it jolts forward, then stops, then jolts, then stops. While I enjoyed learning all the quiver kids’ powers as the story went along, the “big reveal” at the end was rather lackluster. I did like how it wasn’t a “gather the team” story, like in a superhero movie.

Unfortunately, the main character was very boring and I didn’t care about him at all. In fact, everyone was very boring, mainly because the dialogue was either stilted or used to provide exposition. Most of the talking in this novel was explanation; there’s not a lot of humor and even threats fell rather flat.

The only character with any real personality was Michael, and that’s because he’s over-the-top despicable. He was so gross. Did he have to talk about rape all the time? It was too much. There was no attempt to humanize him. He’s a villain through-and-through (which isn’t very interesting). His motives were extremely flat.

Of course, I’m going to mention Jessie, the main female character. Is she a smoke show? Of course, she is. Can’t have any normal-looking women walking around. I did like her attitude, sexual agency, and refusal to be victimized. Unfortunately, she read to me like a fantasy of a badass woman and not a real person. Likewise, her sexual agency comes off as aggression, which, while I’m sure it wasn’t the intention, made it seem like female sexuality is some sort of threat. Also, no woman would ever get naked to distract men. Even bra and underwear would be ridiculous, but full-on naked? Give me a break. Her power was projectile-based. She didn’t even need to distract anyone. This scene was ridiculous.

There was no real attempt to be diverse. Everyone in the book, except for a nurse, was white. Oh, right, there was “Chef”, a Native man who falls under the “mystical Native” trope quite hard. It’s 2020, guys. Come on.

Oh, and as a side note, I’m five years older than Aiden and Jessie and I have never seen Basic Instinct or Fatal Attraction. Jessie would more likely use references like “Black Widow” and “Scarlet Witch”.

Overall, I’m giving it a 3 because it kept me entertained, I liked the mystery aspect of it, and for the word Chunkies.

Complex, unexpected, weird, mysterious, supernatural powers and entertaining.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

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'.

Categories: Clunky clichés / Derivative drivel / High octane, edge of your seat sleepfest
•
Unfortunately...this novel did just not do it for me. The early chapters were intriguing, setting up the mystery that was to be unravelled, the protagonist's mundane life that was about to be upturned, the interesting non-power that would surely reveal itself to be a point on which the plot pivoted...
But no. The intrigue fell away and the story maintained a level of slightly boring the whole way through. If it weren't for the short chapters, I probably wouldn't have been able to push myself to finish it. The dialogue from the many different characters all felt very samey and I often had trouble differentiating between speakers. Speaking of dialogue -- a lot of exposition came through dialogue; however, it was not as much exposition that came through info-dumps. Carefully, well maintained info dumps for the most part, but dumps nonetheless.
On a purely subjective matter, I also felt like issues of racial and sexual identity were dealt with problematically within the novel. The only Black woman is a nanny-maid-carer to a mentally disabled woman, the only Native American character is referred to as 'Chef' because he didn't like the nickname 'Chief', and arguably the only female character who features consistently is treated like some perverted kind of imaginary sex doll (she literally gets naked for the sole purpose of catching the enemy by surprise, never mind her persistent attempts to bed the protagonist).
And don't get me started on the awful analogies of colours and spectrums and 'refraction' (the title says it all, I guess).
The whole thing is like one of those incredibly cheesy -- very forgettable -- action-thrillers that try not to rock the boat in terms of genre convention and that feature the 'everyman' protagonist who ends up being transformed from loser to hero by the end of the narrative. Count me out.

Aiden Manchester is a 20 something college drop-out, unable to keep a job or a relationship because of a big secret: he creates random blobs of matter in his sleep. He is just trying to get by, living with his sister and niece when a new letter from his deceased father appears and sets him on path to figure out his strange ability once and for all.

I think this was an interesting premise. I haven't read anything that resembles this kind of foray into powers and other dimensions and I enjoyed the writing. It was well paced and entertaining.

One of my bigger issues with the book is the way it presents it's female characters. None of them have any major arcs or intriguing storylines and the only one who does, Jessie, was sexualized to the point of actually being naked in the last act for no real reason. If that was supposed to be empowering, it wasn't. The only other female character with some backstory is hardly believable. She is the 'traitor' out to get revenge for the mistreatment of her father but her character doesn't appear to be very convincing. How did she get a job at the same ultra high-security, top-clearance level facility as him just by changing her last name? And if she really is trying to harm the facility, why did the money matter? If she's willing to be on the run and even get plastic surgery to escape, why make a deal with Red in the first place just for a life off the grid.

I think the premise can be explored further but the nuance afforded to Aiden desperately needs to be extended to the female characters in the novel.