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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's fine. I was looking for a quick read, but this one did not do a great job towards the end. Hard to understand in the end how all the characters were linked to the killer.
3.75 stars
I quite enjoyed the light science-y bits and the noir detective feel of the story. I was expecting a pretty traditional sci-fi ending, but got something else. Thoroughly enjoyed being wrong this time. That doesn’t happen very often.
I quite enjoyed the light science-y bits and the noir detective feel of the story. I was expecting a pretty traditional sci-fi ending, but got something else. Thoroughly enjoyed being wrong this time. That doesn’t happen very often.
I was very much looking forward to something new from MRK, so I’m a little sad to be giving it less than four stars. But it looks like the majority of the reviews here are 4-5, so I don’t think this will hurt very much.
An obnoxious main character and a book more concerned with back pain than plot or a murder mystery.
Hollywood could learn from this.
Instead of announcing straight-up remakes of beloved or highly regarded classics, do what Mary Robinette Kowal did: Employ the elevator pitch, the high concept — "It's The Thin Man (an heiress newly married to a retired detective; they have a cute dog; they wouldn't say no to a cocktail, thank you) set in deep space" — as merely the jumping-off point for a genre mashup that features distinct characters with their own intriguing backstories, flaws and obstacles and manages not to be nearly as derivative as the pitch would imply.
Kowal builds and populates a world here that functions so well on its own merits that the reader is reminded only occasionally of Dashiell Hammett and William Powell and Myrna Loy. While I might have liked some of the supporting characters to be maybe 15-25% less extra, they don't ultimately detract from what is intended to be more entertainment than procedural, just like its predecessor — funny, inventive, adventurous, captivating, sexy.
As a personal aside, I've only recently begun dipping back into science fiction after decades removed from the space-cowboy yarns of my youth, and I'm delighted that the modern authors who have guided me back into the genre — Scalzi, Jemisin, and now Kowal — write about futures both near and distant that are matter-of-factly multicultural and gender binary–nonconforming, gentle reminders to see every person you meet as an opportunity for empathy and understanding instead of just other, because we have much more complex problems to solve together if we hope to create those futures and brave new worlds.
Instead of announcing straight-up remakes of beloved or highly regarded classics, do what Mary Robinette Kowal did: Employ the elevator pitch, the high concept — "It's The Thin Man (an heiress newly married to a retired detective; they have a cute dog; they wouldn't say no to a cocktail, thank you) set in deep space" — as merely the jumping-off point for a genre mashup that features distinct characters with their own intriguing backstories, flaws and obstacles and manages not to be nearly as derivative as the pitch would imply.
Kowal builds and populates a world here that functions so well on its own merits that the reader is reminded only occasionally of Dashiell Hammett and William Powell and Myrna Loy. While I might have liked some of the supporting characters to be maybe 15-25% less extra, they don't ultimately detract from what is intended to be more entertainment than procedural, just like its predecessor — funny, inventive, adventurous, captivating, sexy.
As a personal aside, I've only recently begun dipping back into science fiction after decades removed from the space-cowboy yarns of my youth, and I'm delighted that the modern authors who have guided me back into the genre — Scalzi, Jemisin, and now Kowal — write about futures both near and distant that are matter-of-factly multicultural and gender binary–nonconforming, gentle reminders to see every person you meet as an opportunity for empathy and understanding instead of just other, because we have much more complex problems to solve together if we hope to create those futures and brave new worlds.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
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
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes