Hey, I’m Robison Wells.

NY Times Bestselling Novelist, Artist, Game Designer and Blogger

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Variant Book 3 News

Hey! A rather large announcement:

After years and years (13 years to be exact) of me saying “yes, that really is how the series ends!” and “no, I’m not going to explain the ending” and “I love leaving it hanging and ambiguous”….

I’m writing Variant Book 3.

You can read the most up-to-date updates here.

UPDATE 9-19-25: THE SECOND DRAFT IS DONE!

Who is Robison Wells?

Doer of Things

I published my first book in 2003, and have since gone on to publish, or contribute to, 14 more. I’ve won a bunch of awards and maybe you’ve read some of my stuff.

I’m also an artist—oil, pencil, and ink primarily. My biggest claim to fame there was that I once won 4th Place in the Utah State Fair. So, I’m a pretty big deal.

And I ran a website about miniature wargames, a love of mine since I was 9 years old, and in 2023 I published my first wargame.

More About Me

Mental Health Advocate

I have an anxiety disorder, depression, and big granddaddy of them all: schizophrenia. I work and write for the benefit of the mental health community.

Blog Thoughts

What Critics are Saying

"With its clever premise, quick pace, and easy-to-champion characters, Wells's story is a fast, gripping read with a cliffhanger that will leave readers wanting more."

Starred Review of Variant, Publisher’s Weekly

"In a world where terrorism is an increasing threat, this fast-paced book brings it home."

Starred Review of Blackout, Kirkus

FAQ

“Which would you rather be if you had the choice--divinely beautiful or dazzlingly clever or angelically good?”
L.M. Montgomery

  • I haven't published anything since 2019, and I've kinda been enjoying the break. I refer to it as semi-retirement.

    BUT: in 2024 I wrote a sci-fi novel titled TARTARUS DEEP, which has not yet been published. And in 2025 I wrote the third book in the Variant series, titled THE FALCONS, which is currently sitting with my agent and we’re trying to sell it.

    And my current project is a YA contemporary about a teen with schizophrenia titled OUR FINITE DISAPPOINTMENTS, which I think is the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s currently in the revision stages.

  • You know what? For the past 13 years, the answer to this has been that there is no Book 3 and there will be no Book 3—this is because when the publisher bought the series they only wanted two books, and it’s very hard to sell another book in a series to a different publisher.

    But. guess what? I have written Book 3 and it’s called THE FALCONS, and I super love it. We’re currently getting ready to shop it around, but it is my promise to you, dear readers, that you will be able to read it. I’m not going to let this one die.

  • Look at the Contact page at the top of the page. I love to hear from readers, and there are lots of ways to find me.

  • It's probably not the one you're thinking of.

    My favorite is Dark Energy, because of two things:

    1) it was a lot of fun to write

    2) when I reread it, I make myself laugh

  • Variant has sold a film option twice, but film options don't really mean much. The closest we got was the project was in development and then the production company was bought by a different production company, and that company was making the 2014 Karl Urban TV show Almost Human. They decided "we already have an android show! We don't want another android show!"

    So that was the end of that. Hollywood is fickle.

Want to find out more about me?

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“Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of furtive shame, the shifty hangdog look which announces that an Englishman is about to speak French.”
P.G. Wodehouse, The Luck of the Bodkins

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