Scan barcode
hils79's review
4.0
When I read the synopsis of this book the idea of humanity being reduced to spare parts sounding fascinating and horrifying. The book itself certainly delivers. The world building is skilfully done and left me wanting to read more stories set in this universe. The ambiguity of the ending also left me wanting more and I’d love to see the author come back to this world some time.
snaomiscott's review
3.0
After reading (and enjoying) [b:Emily Nation|25193457|Emily Nation|Alec McQuay|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1427914253s/25193457.jpg|44904136] I decided to give Spares a try, and it's fair to say I wasn't disappointed.
This one is also set an unspecified amount of time in the future, and again has a war without explanation in its back story, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Instead of a sassy, foul-mouthed female assassin with a flair for the dramatic we are presented with a somewhat disparate group of ne'er-do-wells eking out a living in a world where death no longer happens. Sure, you can get very badly injured, up to and including decapitation, but no injury will ever be enough to end your life.
I enjoyed this one almost as much as I enjoyed Emily Nation, but couldn't quite get to grips with it as easily. The narrator (it's all in the first person) never quite managed to elicit enough sympathy to make me root for him entirely and as a result I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the story as I did with the author's other book.
That said, I'd still recommend it, and look forward to seeing more of McQuay's work in the future. Good stuff to fill an hour or two with.
This one is also set an unspecified amount of time in the future, and again has a war without explanation in its back story, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Instead of a sassy, foul-mouthed female assassin with a flair for the dramatic we are presented with a somewhat disparate group of ne'er-do-wells eking out a living in a world where death no longer happens. Sure, you can get very badly injured, up to and including decapitation, but no injury will ever be enough to end your life.
I enjoyed this one almost as much as I enjoyed Emily Nation, but couldn't quite get to grips with it as easily. The narrator (it's all in the first person) never quite managed to elicit enough sympathy to make me root for him entirely and as a result I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the story as I did with the author's other book.
That said, I'd still recommend it, and look forward to seeing more of McQuay's work in the future. Good stuff to fill an hour or two with.
More...