Reviews

Spoonbenders by Daryl Gregory

candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition

4.0

Dysfunctional family novels . . .come on, don't they make you feel better about your own relatives? So here we have a book about an out-of-whack family with a twist; some of them, or all of them, may, or may not be, psychics. They're confused, too.

It all went wrong for the Telemachus family when they botched the appearance on the Mike Douglas Show that should have rocketed them into celebrity status and assured their futures. Instead, they are all struggling like regular folks, but with a big quirk.

"Spoonbenders" is frisky and, like the Telemachi, quirky. Daryl Gregory throws in some interesting tidbits about the possible use of psychics during the Cold War, including the development of some sci-fi gizmos to sniff out people with psychic ability. Throw in the Chicago mob--yes, even people with psychic card-counting ability can end up short the vig--and you have a spirited (ahem!) novel.

Thanks to Knopf for letting me pre-read!

grayjay's review against another edition

3.0

It's hard to decide if I like this book. The author manages to tell a story about the psychic descendents of cold war era psychic spies without it being too cheesy. Unfortunately, none of the characters were that likeable. Good premise, not a lot of heart.

katie_sterk's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

chrisg's review against another edition

Not the right time?

lee210's review

funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

jax_in_the_books's review

adventurous challenging funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense 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

3.75

ironcharizard's review against another edition

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Great book. Matty came off as a creep tho. but the buddy plot was amazing!!!

polemos's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

As others have noted, Matt's obsession with his stepcousin is creepy. Sure, adolescent boys fresh out of puberty can develop crushes on cousins, step and otherwise, and, if Matt was a real person, I would tell him that he will grow out of it and stay away from the cousin until he does. It may be a normal part of sexual development, but so are a lot of other things I also would not let define my character, if I were the writer. 

I'm just getting back into popular science fiction after a years long hiatus. This was not for me. The writing was okay, unremarkable but few outright annoyances (like, without spoiling, a character refusing to communicate a basic plot point that they 100% would have if not for the writer trying to keep other characters in the dark). No member of the family was appealing to me. The plot kept me interested enough to turn the page, but not much more.

James Randi was done dirty.

elabeth's review

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

daemon1's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

4.5