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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
Dang it! I wanted to absolutely love this. Mysteries along the lines of, "Someone in this mansion has just been murdered, and somebody here must have done it!" are the best, and if the mansion in question is an art-deco spaceship filled with characters constantly drinking 1920's-era cocktails, so much the better! However, while there were plenty of things to enjoy - an extremely cute dog, a pleasant spread of gender identities, and the delightfully irate lawyer, Fantine, who stole every scene she video-called into - I don't think this mystery, as a whole, quite lived up to the sparkle of its premise. The pacing was a little slow around the middle, and many of our cast of secondary characters/suspects could have used a touch more shine. Still, the writing was solid, landing this somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me.
I loved the cocktail ercipes at the beginning of each chapter, but was not equally enthisiastic about the novel..I was never really captured
A great Thin Man/sci-fi mashup that is as twisty turny and entertaining as its inspiration. Definitely coming back for Book 2!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved the premise of this book, the mystery in the space crouse vibe I loved the chronic pain and disability rep and how diverse and futuristic everything was but damn it's such a slow mystery. I was so bored I didn't care enough about any one. The way the mystery is solved is underwhelming. The audiobook by the author is good at least.
Early on, I wrote in the margins: “am I supposed to like any of these jerks?” There’s a confusing mix between didactically calling out abuses of privilege at some points and simply fantasizing about them at others. The rich and famous protagonist, Tesla, seems to feel that she and her husband Shal are entitled to be above suspicion. In light of the evidence against Shal, the security team would have been negligent not to detain him, yet Tesla reacts to his arrest as if they’ve committed an egregious offense. She uses her power to seek special treatment and to try to intimidate the staff; it’s not very sympathetic. (They do abuse Shal, but Tesla’s self-righteous indignation starts before she knows about that.)
Tesla’s main tool of intimidation is her lawyer Fantine, whose entire personality consists of aggressively insulting and threatening anyone who doesn’t do what she wants (“...your brain is about as efficient as a polyamide bag filled with raw egg yolks...”). This could have been amusing if we’d been shown - rather than just told - that she’s a scarily-effective lawyer, but as it is she comes across as cartoonishly arrogant.
Those quibbles detracted from my enjoyment of the first third or so of the book, but It’s still a fun read, and Tesla becomes more likable as the novel progresses. I liked the resolution to the mystery, as well as several aspects of the setting:
- The spinning cruise ship is arranged so that there are different levels catering to the preferred gravity of Terrans, Martians, and Lunar residents. (I enjoy the image of Tesla’s little dog navigating this: “In lunar gravity, Gimlet bounded with each step, legs windmilling until she touched down again.”)
- Passengers have to deal with the unintuitive impact of the Coriolis effect on their movements.
- The sub-dermal implants people use for network access can create private local networks whenever two people make physical contact - so touching someone enables to you to discreetly text them.
I also appreciated Kowal’s inclusion of brief appendices about the science and even the cocktails referenced in the story. Not knowing which parts are supposed to be realistic and which parts are supposed to be fanciful is a recurring frustration I have with fiction, and it would be cool to see more novelists provide explicit notes on that.
(crosspost)
fast-paced
Tesla Crane and her brand new husband Shal are on honeymoon, a cruise to Mars on the ISS Lindgren. Tesla is incredibly wealthy and quite handicapped from the horrible accident that ended her stellar career in cyber engineering. They have paid the premium to be incognito and have been enjoying being able to act like regular people. That is until someone in a neighbouring suite is murdered. Shal, a retired detective, pursues the murderer and ends up framed for the crime. Tesla is not going to allow this injustice to stand.
First, let me say that this is set in the future, but it is definitely not a Star Trek kind of universe, as great disparities in income are glaringly obvious. This world isn't past money yet. There are staff who admit to being forced by poverty to take serving jobs aboard the cruise liner, much like today. As with present day cruise companies, staff must be careful of their words and actions. Nor is this society past misogyny as Tesla must contend with a belligerent Chief of Security who couldn't reason his way out of a paper bag.
Frankly, the action flows quickly and I quickly gave up trying to finger the murderer and just enjoyed the ride. I alternated between being a bit annoyed at Tesla for capitalizing on her fame and money to get everyone to dance to her tune, and absolutely adoring her shark-like lawyer, Fantine, who crochets wildly during the time lapses in their conversations and spews the best insults ever. I was particularly fond of “mammering lobsters.” Tesla was saved for me because of her adorable service dog, wee Gimlet, and the fact that Shal actually is being railroaded by an incompetent bully in a position of power. Tesla and Shal exude charm enough to make up for some imperiousness and, truly, being rich shouldn't mean that you have to accept shoddy investigation.
I kind of wish that I had read The Thin Man before this novel. I have it on good authority that Tesla and Shal are a future-timeline Nick and Nora. The general vibe is very reminiscent of the crime fiction of the 1930s.
First, let me say that this is set in the future, but it is definitely not a Star Trek kind of universe, as great disparities in income are glaringly obvious. This world isn't past money yet. There are staff who admit to being forced by poverty to take serving jobs aboard the cruise liner, much like today. As with present day cruise companies, staff must be careful of their words and actions. Nor is this society past misogyny as Tesla must contend with a belligerent Chief of Security who couldn't reason his way out of a paper bag.
Frankly, the action flows quickly and I quickly gave up trying to finger the murderer and just enjoyed the ride. I alternated between being a bit annoyed at Tesla for capitalizing on her fame and money to get everyone to dance to her tune, and absolutely adoring her shark-like lawyer, Fantine, who crochets wildly during the time lapses in their conversations and spews the best insults ever. I was particularly fond of “mammering lobsters.” Tesla was saved for me because of her adorable service dog, wee Gimlet, and the fact that Shal actually is being railroaded by an incompetent bully in a position of power. Tesla and Shal exude charm enough to make up for some imperiousness and, truly, being rich shouldn't mean that you have to accept shoddy investigation.
I kind of wish that I had read The Thin Man before this novel. I have it on good authority that Tesla and Shal are a future-timeline Nick and Nora. The general vibe is very reminiscent of the crime fiction of the 1930s.
An enjoyable sci-fi-mystery, with inclusions such as PTSD, physical injury/limitation, & pronouns.
The emphasis on alcohol in the story is slightly annoying to those of us who don't value it that much, but I appreciated the author's note on it at the end of the book.
The emphasis on alcohol in the story is slightly annoying to those of us who don't value it that much, but I appreciated the author's note on it at the end of the book.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No