Member Reviews
That was a quick and fun read, even though I think it was too quick, and could’ve been developed into something a little longer without losing its focus or just filling pages: there was definietely a lot going on in this story, what’s with robots and wizards, of course, but also aliens and time travel! I found the plot easy enough to follow, which isn’t always the case when time travel is concerned. I liked the two (three?) worlds depicted, too: Ada’s ‘present’ with its computers, drones and technological feats; the future world, full of despair but also of loyal robots holding the fort until the end; and, in a way, the world of the wizards, in a ‘powerful beings mired into their own past and refusing to acknowledge changes’ way. The main characters, too, all had aspects that made them quite likeable in spite of their faults. Sara’s mum may not be available for her family, but she wants to further the cause of knowledge and build a good future for humanity. Ada has her sulky side, but on the other hand she’s loyal to her friends, whether humans or robots. Kaku is powerful, but uses his power and intelligence to learn and protect. Geller isn’t strong, but when offered a bigger power, he clearly uses it to help, and not for his own personal gain. I’m not giving the book more than 2.5/3 stars, because even though I enjoyed it, it was too short to properly deal with everything, and the ending raised so many questions, and left so many doors open, for something that doesn’t look like a sequel’s in the plans (I had that feeling when I was some 50 pages from the end, and wondering how on Earth everything could be wrapped up). So, yes, the characters were enjoyable, but not very developed. There’s no clear explanation as to why the Spawn is here (well, there is one, but we never get to learn why exactly what they wre trying to destroy was so dangerous -for them-). There are too many unresolved threads when it comes to Ada’s present, such as the future role of the anti-robots people, or what she’s going to do after such an end to the story; and what awaits Geller is too vague, too. Conclusion: Good for a quick and entertaining read, but don’t expect well-developed characters or a tight plot. |
It was ok i guess. It took me absolutely ages to trawl through it because i constantly lost interest and found something better to do. |
Sharon S, Educator
What a refreshing read. This included lots of things I love in a book, historical, futuristic, magic and technology threads with a strong female role model. I can see this being made into a film in the near future. Loved it. |
I'm not a huge fan of YA but I was intrigued enough to give this a go. Wizards battling robots battling aliens?? Sign me up! The problem is that the execution is rushed and none of the characters developed enough for you to care what happens to them. It's very eventful but nothing really seems to happen. Overall, it's confused and directionless. Still, it has the potential for a series and it's a quick read if you want some popcorn for the mind. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy. |
Carole B, Librarian
Absolutely Brilliant Book! I love will.i.am's way of thinking, as you never know quite what he is going to come out with, and I wasn't disappointed with this book. This is an action packed novel, with a mixture of wizards, robots and time travel. Unlike anything that I've read before. Hope there's another one! |
Tracey E, Librarian
It ain’t no Neal Stephenson, but I was pleasantly surprised by this. Ok so I like books with wizards and robots and you can’t go wrong with an ancient manuscript thrown in, but I thought the celebrity author aspect would just be hype. However I really enjoyed it. Obviously teen-oriented, but ok for adults too, particularly those of a nerdy disposition. I would definitely read more by these authors. |
A bit of a strange read. Took my quite some time to get through it, but got through it in the end |
Alexa L, Bookseller
This books seems to be a bit different from all the other science fiction titles as you get the impression that at least one of the authors thinks it really could be a thing of the future. The book starts in the past where some machines suddenly appear and change the course of a battle within minutes. There is the present, where a girl and her scientist mum fight for the recognition and the importance of robots for humankind, and the future when robots try to safe the world from alien invaders. These times mix thanks to the hadron collider in Switzerland. I really enjoyed this book. You have strong female characters, really interesting novelties tech-wise, fights for recognition, love, suspense and a few though-provoking ideas. |
I struggled to read due to the formatting of the book. However, what i did read, I enjoyed and I really liked the concept. |
I got halfway through and then just couldn't pick it back up again. It was a good enough story line but it kept going back and forth, back and forth and I got lost! I will give it another go though and then update my review if think it needs it. Sorry I couldn't finish it!! |
This book is a bit like an unedited opportunity for you to rifle through some random ideas inside will.i.am’s brain and then try to make your own sense of what you find. There are wizards. There are robots. There’s some futuristic sci-fi bits, and a general idea that sounded like The Terminator. Unfortunately, I felt there was very little to actually connect it all or help me make sense of what was in front of me. My review copy was difficult to read with the type/random line numbers proving very distracting. It should have been better. Perhaps there will be readers who lap this up, but I’m not one of them. Sadly. |
I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded brilliant and reminded me of Terminator (the movie), so I was eager to start reading. However, not long in to the book I quickly realised that it wasn't going to be a straight forward read. There was too much going on, and too many characters. At times everything became a jumble and I was re-reading pages just to fully understand them. The idea for the book sounds good, but the execution not so. Less characters, less secondary plots and more time spent on the main plot, would have made this book a five star rating, unfortunately I can't award it that. Shame as I love will i am and had such high hopes for the book. |
I first went into this book not expecting to like it. Futuristic novels that involve robots and wizards? I didn't think it'd be my thing and it probably isn't, but with WaR: Wizards and Robots... It surprised me, and I've ended up loving this book so much that I am officially deeming it my favourite read of 2018 so far. It was such an action packed novel, one with a plot unlike anything I've ever read, and one with characters who're just so real and strong that I could very easily relate to them when it came to some of what they had to go through throughout this novel. *Full review on my Goodreads page |
The preview version had line numbers and section numbers all the way through, within the main body of the text, so made this too hard for me to read. I may have really liked it but found it unreadable as a result. |
This book is full of weird and odd concepts, There was so much going on I found it hard to keep up with it. I think I found it too confusing, it could have done with less rather than more. I enjoyed it but did not live it. It was a fun read. |
ver since I heard at YALC that Will.i.am was bring out a YA book I was really intrigued to read it. When a man called Geller break into Ada Lurings home and tells her that he is a wizard, and he has come to save her life. Ada finds it very hard to believe; He is a Wizard A Group of Wizard are coming to kill her and her mother for creating the first true Robot. Geller quickly convinces Ada that what he says is true, and rush off to save her mother. Things start to become even weirder when trying to escape the evil wizard a Robot comes from the future to protect Ada. He believes that she is the key to saving the future world from the spawn. Ada, Geller and the Robots must learn to work together to save the people Ada care for as well as the future world. This book is fast paced, like really faced paced it feels like you reading a book at 100 miles per hour. This doesn't surprised me as one of the author is Will.i.am and I feel like his brain and imagination must always be going at 100 miles per hour. The book takes place is three different periods of time and it jump from one period of time to another. At the beginning I wasn't sure how it was all connected but as the book continues it starts to make sense. I would like to read more about the past the impact the Wizards had on it. This book has both science fiction elements with the Robots and fantasy with the wizards, I found that I preferred the robot characters more than the wizards. They felt more well-rounded, where most of the wizards are they to be one of the main antagonist. My favourite character in the book is Kipp Ada Robot, he is kind loyal and clumsy. I feel like I met a kindred spirit in Kipp with his ability his balance issue and walking into things. (Falling over thin air is my special gift.) I would Kipp to be my robot. The book ended in a way that make be believe that this may not be the last we hear from the world of Wizard and Robots. If you like quick paced Sci-fi fantasy book I would give this book a go. This book has a lot going on in it, so be prepared. I give this book 3.5 out of 5 |
I really wanted to enjoy this, but I just couldn't. I think there was just too much going on for me! I couldn't connect and found myself desperate (but also struggling!) to reach the end. I'm also not sure I would term it young adult either. I'm sure some people will love reading it, but it wasn't for me. |
Okay so this book really surprised me. When I first saw the title in NetGalley my first reaction was: 'Wizards and Robots? That sounds stupid.' Stupid enough for me to want more information and request it just for the hell of it - figuring if they accepted it'd be an interesting experience and if they didn't, no real loss. I probably should have read the description since it explicitly states one of the co-authors is will.i.am - a fact that threw me a little since I knew he had recently branched into graphic novels as he appeared on Good Morning Britain with his book 'Black Eyed Peas Presents: Masters Of The Sun - The Zombie Chronicles' but didn't know he'd gone into YA prose too. I'm kind of ashamed that I went into the book with low expectations because of this - I don't really even know why I just did - because this is hands down one of the best written YA (though I feel like this could be shelved at a middle school level too) books I've read in a long time. The writing itself was great, and not in an overly descriptive flowery way but just in the simplicity of the writing and the variety of vocabulary at this level of reading is just great and would appeal to young adults. The characters were all great and relatable in a big way and they all had their own arcs and development. I was also really impressed by the world-building mainly because I didn't even know it was happening until I was in the world. The story jumps around to 3 time periods in the first half of the chapters and usually this kind of storytelling confuses the heck out of me and I can only piece it together fully at the end (I'm looking at you The Night Circus ) but since the characters and settings in each one were so distinctly different from one another I didn't have this issue. Overall it was a really fun read, I liked all the characters and their personal development and the story was interesting and made me care about the outcome. The concept could have produced something silly and pointless but it worked in a weirdly wonderful way and most importantly this is the kind of book I can imagine encouraging primary/middle school kids to read more which is always a great thing in my opinion. |
Bridget K, Librarian
This sounded good, exciting and a different read to what I’d normally pick up. It was exciting, and I would recommend this to anyone who is into wizards, magic, robots and other life forms. |
Wow this is a busy book. Stuff going on all over the place. I think the idea of the book is a really good one but sadly, for me, it was just too much. Too difficult to follow and far too much of going backwards and forwards in time. |




