The Man With All the Answers, A Gripping Sci-Fi Novella (Book Review)

The Man With All the Answers

Author: Luke Smitherd

Plot synopsis:

Rachel, our protagonist, falls for a man that seems perfect for her. Soon after falling for him, she learns that he has an extraordinary power; he knows everything about her and knows what will happen in the future. After an accident, Dan, ‘The Man With All the Answers’, gains an impossible power – and over the course of the book you learn about how he came to possess it, the price he paid for it and the friends he lost during its creation.

Review:

The Man With All the Answers is a short book, with a tight narrative and gripping plot. Smitherd’s writing style is succinct and to the point, the story progressing with laser focus on its ideas and mystery. It took me about two and a half hours to read through to completion; I’d compare it in length and style to an enjoyable film or one-off TV drama. The length of the book doesn’t detract in anyway from its core, with Smitherd opting to avoid going on tangents or padding out the book’s contents with sub-plots to expand on side characters. For some that might be considered a con; Smitherd doesn’t spend time developing Rachel and Dan much beyond what is required to convey the plot itself, and most side characters aren’t developed at all, their purpose being narrative devices to drive the plot forward and create conflict as opposed to being fully fleshed out and realised characters. The mysteries of the book are well foreshadowed and intriguing, the process of slowly unravelling the secrets of Dan’s power is a joy and kept me on tenterhooks the entire way through the book. The plot straddles a few genres, but ultimately, it’s a love story between Rachel and Dan, with a background of sci-fi to explain Dan’s mysterious powers. The action of the book is driven through Dan and Rachel’s turbulent relationship, leading to a riveting finale that ends on a cliff-hanger, whose inclusion may annoy some readers but didn’t detract from the experience for me – especially with the overall length of the book itself.

Overall, I’d highly recommend it. It’s an easy read that will grip you start to finish, and at a cost of £1-£2 (I purchased it at a sale price of £0.99) it’s a steal.

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The Man with All the Answers - Speculative Fiction with a Twist: Science Fiction In Kindle Unlimited