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1.09k reviews for:

The Spare Man

Mary Robinette Kowal

3.76 AVERAGE

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

bridgett's review

3.25
adventurous lighthearted medium-paced
Strong character development: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Wow! What a great book except for one aspect.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐on the plot, characters, and general story. Telsa was suffering through the entire novel because of her injuries in an accident at a lab in space (which was never fully explained). I am so glad the Shal was not the murderer even though, for a moment, you think he is. Gimlet is a cosmic treasure. A West Highland terrier than is also a service dog; faithful, on duty most of the time. I loved the robotics, the hacking the 3D printer and the card key scanners. Lots of tech.

-1 ⭐ for all of the non-binary gender references. These were a steady distraction through out the entire book that could've been removed without harming the story in the least. The "courtesy masks" were a nod to the current COVID crisis.

I hope that this is the first of many novels in a series.

Loved "The Thin Man" reference in the last sentence of her Acknowledgments to her husband: "Robert, you are the Nick to my Nora".

marie_noir's review

4.25
adventurous funny mysterious fast-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 really enjoyed it, the audiobook was also very very good!
adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
medium-paced
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
funny mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
lighthearted mysterious 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
adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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