Reviews with content warning for Murder - And What Can We Offer You Tonight

I am a Premee fan. This is my 3rd read of hers and I am just always intrigued by the aay she crafts her stories. She tends to write in a shorter form and I think that works for her. It intensifies the story and how her readers engage with the themes and topics she explores.

In a futuristic, yet dystopic world, where no surprise, wealth grants supreme power and immunity, a courtesan is granted her wish to punish the ones who used and broke her. The world surrounding our characters isn't fleshed out wholly in the narrative, but enough detail is given for the reader to be fine moving from lace to place.

What is important is each character, although told from the perspective of Jewel, her connection to Win and Nero is sufficient for is to be able to understand their friendship.and position in the House where they work. I could feel the disdain and contempt held for those who are sex workers, the power that the clients so carelessly world over them, as if they are no longer of value because credits have been exchanged to indulge in their bodies and other talents.

Mohamed does a great job of presenting a story that is quite familiar in tone and place, giving us a character who has through her death taken back her power, is seeking vengeance, and freedom for those like her, who are scorned and abused; to the narrator who although aware of where and what her station garners her, still wants some semblance of safety in the familiar, who understands the hierarchy of the world, but believes she has no influence to enact change.

A lot is done in so little a package.

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szuum's review

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dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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leguinstan's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I was excited to read this after finding out that it won the 2021 Nebula Award for Best Novella, but I'm sad to say that And What Can We Offer You Tonight left me feeling cold. I just think that the author was trying to cover too much in a short page count. Even after finishing the story, I do not feel like I have a good understanding of the book's dystopian setting or its characters. I barely got to know the characters and as a result I didn't feel particularly attached to them. And while this is partially a matter of personal taste, I did not jive at all with the prose--somehow it feels simultaneously lush and disjointed. It really hampered my ability to fully immerse myself in the story.

While it's nice to see an indie press shake up Tor's domination of the SFF novella market, I don't think this is up to par with the other Nebula-winning novellas I have previously read.

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theoldestbennetsister's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Loved this, wow. Wonderfully written with a simmering, electric anger throughout, including the jabs of dark humor.

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podanotherjessi's review

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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foremmarightnow's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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laurareads87's review

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

And What We Can Offer You Tonight packs a lot into a novella-length work: richly described setting, enough world-building to know what's going on while leaving a lot of the societal background vague, beautiful writing, and some complex themes. Mohamed can definitely write, and I'm very much looking forward to reading more from her.
What didn't work for me in this one was the character development. Everyone felt very two-dimensional and, in conflict with the story's themes, characters were entirely defined by their social roles. I feel like characters' social positions -- rich sexist man, exploitative brothel owner, etc. -- are here treated like they're personality traits: there doesn't seem to be a lot else going on even with the main characters.

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