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bellatora's review against another edition
2.0
A noir detective novel set in a China that's rich with demons and other aspects of Chinese mythology should be right up my alley.
I was bored out of my mind.
Detective Inspector Chen is the typical brilliant but outcast cop. He's getting tired, and his colleagues don't respect him. While on a case investigating the stolen souls of young girls, Detective Chen gets his buddy cop pairing of Zhu Irzh, a demon "infected" with a conscience. There's forces both earthly and supernatural which are trying to halt the investigation (in this world, The Ten Courts of Hell are real places that can be visited and interact with the human world).
Chen is also dealing with the aftermath of his star-crossed love with a demon, Inari. Chen and Inari managed to run away together and get married, but now she's a fugitive and is getting restless hiding in the house. Her family's familiar who keeps her company is the only thing I really loved in the book - the familiar sometimes takes the form of a teakettle, sometimes a badger, and I find that somehow incredibly adorable.
The typical noir tropes in a fantastical Chinese setting really should work. But it was confusing, frustrating, and the plot just dragged.
I was bored out of my mind.
Detective Inspector Chen is the typical brilliant but outcast cop. He's getting tired, and his colleagues don't respect him. While on a case investigating the stolen souls of young girls, Detective Chen gets his buddy cop pairing of Zhu Irzh, a demon "infected" with a conscience. There's forces both earthly and supernatural which are trying to halt the investigation (in this world, The Ten Courts of Hell are real places that can be visited and interact with the human world).
Chen is also dealing with the aftermath of his star-crossed love with a demon, Inari. Chen and Inari managed to run away together and get married, but now she's a fugitive and is getting restless hiding in the house. Her family's familiar who keeps her company is the only thing I really loved in the book - the familiar sometimes takes the form of a teakettle, sometimes a badger, and I find that somehow incredibly adorable.
The typical noir tropes in a fantastical Chinese setting really should work. But it was confusing, frustrating, and the plot just dragged.
eol's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
stacialithub's review against another edition
3.0
A nice mix of crime/fantasy set in near-future "Singapore Three"; good characters.
saintmaud's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
3.25
almost dnf'ed this but glad i stuck around cause it was fun ! Loved all the characters and their dynamics with each other and there's plot holes to be sure but it didn't hamper the overall book
paperback's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thecanary's review against another edition
5.0
Once every blue reading moon there comes a book that renews my faith in a genre. Snake Agent by Liz Williams is that book.
This urban fantasy is a dizzying and intoxicating mix of ancient magic and advanced technology that never loses its grounding in an authentic Asian atmosphere or loses track of its investigative plot. Crowded public transportation, pollution meters, sharkhounds, divine intervention, requests for documentation from Heaven, and blackmail photographs sent from Hell.
It’s a medley of awesome. And it’s a lot of fun!
Brilliant world-building, fantastic characters, and, well, I love it. I love it like I love Benedict Cumberbatch and chocolate spreads and Thai Ice Tea.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been blown away by the sheer audacity and scope of Liz Williams’ fiction, either. I loved the intricacy of Liz Williams’ most recent novel, Worldsoul, and I’m chagrined that it’s taken me this long and two separate library checkouts and a used bookstore to finally open Snake Agent and dive in.
Put this on your shortlist. Read my full review here: http://thecanaryreview.com/2013/09/15/book-review-williams-snake-agent/
This urban fantasy is a dizzying and intoxicating mix of ancient magic and advanced technology that never loses its grounding in an authentic Asian atmosphere or loses track of its investigative plot. Crowded public transportation, pollution meters, sharkhounds, divine intervention, requests for documentation from Heaven, and blackmail photographs sent from Hell.
It’s a medley of awesome. And it’s a lot of fun!
Brilliant world-building, fantastic characters, and, well, I love it. I love it like I love Benedict Cumberbatch and chocolate spreads and Thai Ice Tea.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been blown away by the sheer audacity and scope of Liz Williams’ fiction, either. I loved the intricacy of Liz Williams’ most recent novel, Worldsoul, and I’m chagrined that it’s taken me this long and two separate library checkouts and a used bookstore to finally open Snake Agent and dive in.
Put this on your shortlist. Read my full review here: http://thecanaryreview.com/2013/09/15/book-review-williams-snake-agent/
iwhippie's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
It's a fun book that takes some time to get going. I definitely prefer this middle-aged tired detective protagonist to his closest contemporary, the man-boy Harry Dresden. Also really liked the moral gray area around Zhu Irzh's character, the demon sidekick.
sarahbotreads's review against another edition
4.0
You can't fall in love with every book you read, but I honestly enjoyed Snake Agent - I liked the novelty of it, and the interplay between the two worlds.
mackle13's review against another edition
2.0
In one of my status updates I'd said I wasn't sure if I was suffering from the "fussy book crankies" or if there were other reasons that this book just wasn't quite connecting with me.
I've decided that it's the book.
Mostly, the biggest issue seems to be a lot of telling versus showing. "He did this. He was started. He did that. He reacted thusly." So on and so forth. It just wasn't very engaging writing, imo.
As an extention of that, I never really connected with the characters, either. My favorite was Zhu Irzh, the demon, but even he never really quite jumped out for me. The weakest was Inarra, sadly. Too much of a damsel in distress thing going on, even as she's wishing she didn't always have to be rescued. (I won't say it was total misogyny or anything, though, as the goddesses were stronger characters, and it's not like the male characters were really developed or anything, either.)
There were also some issues that I'm sort of surprised weren't pick up by an editor. Like, in one chapter it ended with Chen telling a taxi driver where to go. Then the next chapter we were in a different perspective, and then the following chapter we're back to Chen and he's having a short conversation and then he... tells the driver where to go.
And, no, the place hadn't changed.
Another point was when Zhu Irzh suddenly fought off another demon with a rosary.
But, wait - Chen had the rosary, not Zhu. Zhu shouldn't even be able to touch a rosary.
Not to mention I kept getting thrown by prayer beads being called a rosary. Yes, I know some people refer to Buddhist prayer beads as a Buddhist rosary - but you could also, I dunno, use a cultural name for them, like mala or juzu or something... or just call them prayer beads... I know I'm picking nits, and it's cause I was raised Catholic and all, but it kept throwing me.
That said, I never felt really immersed in the culture anyway.
Also, I felt like there were some cool ideas, like a bureacratic Hell and all, but a lot of the world-building didn't seem to quite follow through. I mean, we're given a system in which Hell isn't really supposed to be pure evil, but then it's treated as if it were.
Meh, I dunno...
Lemme just end this discombulated mini-rant by saying it wasn't all bad, and it did have some interesting ideas, but I wish it was all just fleshed out better and more consistent.
I've decided that it's the book.
Mostly, the biggest issue seems to be a lot of telling versus showing. "He did this. He was started. He did that. He reacted thusly." So on and so forth. It just wasn't very engaging writing, imo.
As an extention of that, I never really connected with the characters, either. My favorite was Zhu Irzh, the demon, but even he never really quite jumped out for me. The weakest was Inarra, sadly. Too much of a damsel in distress thing going on, even as she's wishing she didn't always have to be rescued. (I won't say it was total misogyny or anything, though, as the goddesses were stronger characters, and it's not like the male characters were really developed or anything, either.)
There were also some issues that I'm sort of surprised weren't pick up by an editor. Like, in one chapter it ended with Chen telling a taxi driver where to go. Then the next chapter we were in a different perspective, and then the following chapter we're back to Chen and he's having a short conversation and then he... tells the driver where to go.
And, no, the place hadn't changed.
Another point was when Zhu Irzh suddenly fought off another demon with a rosary.
But, wait - Chen had the rosary, not Zhu. Zhu shouldn't even be able to touch a rosary.
Not to mention I kept getting thrown by prayer beads being called a rosary. Yes, I know some people refer to Buddhist prayer beads as a Buddhist rosary - but you could also, I dunno, use a cultural name for them, like mala or juzu or something... or just call them prayer beads... I know I'm picking nits, and it's cause I was raised Catholic and all, but it kept throwing me.
That said, I never felt really immersed in the culture anyway.
Also, I felt like there were some cool ideas, like a bureacratic Hell and all, but a lot of the world-building didn't seem to quite follow through. I mean, we're given a system in which Hell isn't really supposed to be pure evil, but then it's treated as if it were.
Meh, I dunno...
Lemme just end this discombulated mini-rant by saying it wasn't all bad, and it did have some interesting ideas, but I wish it was all just fleshed out better and more consistent.