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mitch_exe's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is a deliciously compelling sci-fi escapade through an incredibly atmospheric world. Truly, this was a delightful read. The main trio of characters are so enjoyable, and each view the events of the story so differently, it makes the perspective jumping feel flawless. The spell casting and divine influences are woven in naturally, and the ambience of Hell is simply unmatched. A WONDERFUL book.
crimsoncor's review against another edition
4.0
Technically a re-read but apparently I never logged the last time I read it. But now that there were five books in the series out, I figured it was time to dip my toe back in. I really like the world that Liz Williams builds and the main characters remind me quite a bit of the dudes from Good Omens. This is a fun series and it is always nice to read some non-Western fantasy/sci-fi.
shaankayz's review against another edition
4.0
A fantasy/mystery novel with science-fiction elements wrapped into it in a Chinese setting, Snake Agent is a refreshingly original take on the classic crime novel.
Snake Agent follows Detective Inspector Chen of Singapore Three (not to be confused with the actual country Singapore), where his expertise lies in the investigation of the supernatural and the dealings of hell and heaven. Now whilst the story elements and plot lines are very typical or can be rather cliche of the mystery genre, Snake Agent brings a whole new setting with the use of Chinese mythology and serves to be rather engaging and quite disturbing with its scenes at the same time.
In my opinion, a rather interesting book based on its originality in the setting used along with the mash-up of genres. Totally worth a read.
Snake Agent follows Detective Inspector Chen of Singapore Three (not to be confused with the actual country Singapore), where his expertise lies in the investigation of the supernatural and the dealings of hell and heaven. Now whilst the story elements and plot lines are very typical or can be rather cliche of the mystery genre, Snake Agent brings a whole new setting with the use of Chinese mythology and serves to be rather engaging and quite disturbing with its scenes at the same time.
In my opinion, a rather interesting book based on its originality in the setting used along with the mash-up of genres. Totally worth a read.
songwind's review against another edition
4.0
Snake Agent was a good read. It combines urban fantasy with Chinese mythology and the police procedural.
Detective Inspector Chen Wei works for the police of Shanghai 3, investigating crimes related to the supernatural. In practice, this involves a lot of paperwork as the liaison between the mortal world and Heaven & Hell.
When Chen gets a visit from a woman whose daughter's spirit was waylaid on the path to heaven, Chen stumbles into a criminal conspiracy that will involve him with demons, goddesses, politicians and zealots.
The setting is very interesting in these books. In addition to the concrete existence of the Chinese celestial bureaucracy, the story takes place in some near future. Biotechnology has become important, to the point of using human beings as network nexuses.
A fun read for anyone interested in fantasy, police procedurals and technology.
Detective Inspector Chen Wei works for the police of Shanghai 3, investigating crimes related to the supernatural. In practice, this involves a lot of paperwork as the liaison between the mortal world and Heaven & Hell.
When Chen gets a visit from a woman whose daughter's spirit was waylaid on the path to heaven, Chen stumbles into a criminal conspiracy that will involve him with demons, goddesses, politicians and zealots.
The setting is very interesting in these books. In addition to the concrete existence of the Chinese celestial bureaucracy, the story takes place in some near future. Biotechnology has become important, to the point of using human beings as network nexuses.
A fun read for anyone interested in fantasy, police procedurals and technology.
kivt's review against another edition
4.0
this was really charming! i had a ton of fun reading it. williams writes well, her style is unobtrusive, and her pacing is generally good. there were some fairly inventive gross-out scenes. nothing felt too sly or too self-consciously clever. the female characters and gender politics overall aren't thrilling, but the worst is mostly easy to ignore.
erinld2005's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this! It reminds me of The Dresden Files, but Eastern. It was very unique and I was glad that it wasn't predictable. I love paranormal/detective series. :)
whichthreewords's review against another edition
4.0
Thoroughly enjoyable world-building (assuming one is not squeamish), entertaining characters, solid writing and a pleasingly twisty plot. I look forward to continuing this series.
pencilled_robin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
shane_tiernan's review against another edition
4.0
Got this on bookmooch and I'm really liking it so far other than the occasional modern element connected with the spiritual elements (like sending the government in hell an e-mail).
This was a fun romp through hell with a well developed comological scheme. It's funny because it was a dark plot but never seemed to get too serious or disturbing. It was more like an action adventure novel than anything deep. The characters and magic were interesting though. More like 3.5 stars.
This was a fun romp through hell with a well developed comological scheme. It's funny because it was a dark plot but never seemed to get too serious or disturbing. It was more like an action adventure novel than anything deep. The characters and magic were interesting though. More like 3.5 stars.
lassarina's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting mix of sci-fi, cyberpunk feel, and Asian-flavored urban fantasy. I mostly liked it. The bureaucratic feel of Hell was delightful, and I really liked both Zhu Irzh and Wei Chen, but I wanted Inari to have more to do and to have more detail about the backstory there.
One of my book club members said this had the feel of a cozy mystery, and despite the body horror, demons, murder, and references to terrible things, that sentiment rings true.
There seem to be a lot of threads of terribleness that are just dropped - like some of the aspects of the soul trade, and the bioweb, and many other things that genre suggests should be more horrifying than they are. I'm not exactly objecting to the fact that they aren't horrific, but it ends up feeling a little bit jarring.
I enjoyed it enough to consider reading further in the series, but it's not a definite.
One of my book club members said this had the feel of a cozy mystery, and despite the body horror, demons, murder, and references to terrible things, that sentiment rings true.
There seem to be a lot of threads of terribleness that are just dropped - like some of the aspects of the soul trade, and the bioweb, and many other things that genre suggests should be more horrifying than they are. I'm not exactly objecting to the fact that they aren't horrific, but it ends up feeling a little bit jarring.
I enjoyed it enough to consider reading further in the series, but it's not a definite.