Reviews

Knowledgeable Creatures by Christopher Rowe

danaisreading's review

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3.0

An ex-police dog turned detective is asked to investigate a human professor's murder. Things go badly.

One paragraph of world-building, but it's intriguing enough that I would read more set in this universe:
"What cannot be denied is that it’s the alchemical processes developed by Isaac Newton and his partner Xerxes, the first publicly acknowledged learned mouse, which led to the so-called Flowering, the world-wide, centuries-long explosion of new knowledgeable creatures, from Nox, the first curious cat awoken by Newton and Xerxes, on down to every philosophical pig and argute crow today. On down to every investigative dog—including, of course, me."

lithene's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

eacolgan's review

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3.0

a weird little story with a fascinating premise-- i think it might've worked better as a novella, might've had more impact with some more time to spend on building the world and the characters before the ending.

pine_wulf's review

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2.0

Good start. And I'm a sucker for animal characters. And I liked the potential conspiracy. I'm not so much for detective stories, but it was a solid 3 stars until the end. Maybe I'm just missing something, but there didn't seem to be a proper conclusion. Seems to me our protagonist is in danger and some veiled threat and then a 8-year-later retrospective. And I'm just left wondering what happened.

zoes_human's review against another edition

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adventurous

4.0

alliskarathe's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective
  • Strong character development? No

4.25

wow this is short but good and its so interesting i would pay for more of this world of sentient creatures. kudos to the author and tor ; seems like sth ill ponder and turn over in the coming nights.

mourning cool charles rip and i want to know more abt the learned mice and why this particular one is godfather to a female human

bookaneer's review

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3.0

A dog detective and a crow sidekick. Two of my fave animals in one story, woohoo! Set in a world with uplifted animals, it was a cute one at first, but went dark in the end.

lizabethstucker's review

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3.0

Investigative dog Connolly Marsh is hired by human Professor Thomasina Swallow after she kills a coworker who was threatening blackmail. Things become increasingly screwy. The body is missing, the learned mouse who is also Sparrow's adopted father believes historical research into the history of knowledgeable creatures and humans shouldn't be forbidden, and Marsh can't make himself leave the case alone.

Huh. Another strange story with a lot of dangling threads left behind and even more questions. Yet this isn't a set-up for a longer story or even a series. It is complete within itself, with a somewhat sad ending for one character. Intriguing, almost a noir type of story. 3 out of 5.

papilionna's review against another edition

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3.0

The story itself isn't mind-blowing, but the idea behind is so cool and innovative that I wish it was a whole series.

bluesav10's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced

4.5