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bug_lightyear's review against another edition
4.5
I don't really like murder stories, but aside from that I loved the disabled main character and her service dog. Pain takes a lot of space and a lot of words, and gives a good view into what it's like to have a chronic condition.
Main character is a very smart and rich engineer who moved on to something else after a traumatic accident while testing a prototype. Another character is a super famous robotics engineer and is also a woman.
The ship is built to accommodate 3 different types of gravity (Earth, Lunar and Mars) and the physics of it seem plausible but I dit not put too much effort into understanding it. The image of the ship didn't display properly on my ereader.
Main character uses sometimes a cane sometimes no mobility aids.
I like that there is some futuristic technology to improve her life but doesn't magically heal the disability. At the end the author says it is based on an already existing technology called Deep Brain Stimulator her mum has for Parkinson's and it's actually fascinating.
Characters introduce themselves with pronouns and the gender neutral honorific Mx is used for everyone. Side characters have a mix of pronouns including they/them and a minor character uses ze/zir. There is also some short dialogues in (Lunar) French and they use ael as a gender neutral pronoun, from context it isn't clear if they use it for everyone, for specific people or like a neutral equivalent to they/them.
Each chapter starts with a cocktail recipe, some non alcoholic. They don't display well in very large characters on my ereader but still readable.
In the acknowledgements, the author says she rewrote some parts of the book to include masking as she says she "can no longer imagine a future in which they aren't part of our lives". In this book they are mostly used for privacy to avoid being recognised in public.
Most authors post 2020 conveniently ignore the ongoing covid pandemic, say it's over, or pretend it was never there in the first place so I love seeing an author who consciously writes masking as a thing in a distant future.
Main character is a very smart and rich engineer who moved on to something else after a traumatic accident while testing a prototype. Another character is a super famous robotics engineer and is also a woman.
The ship is built to accommodate 3 different types of gravity (Earth, Lunar and Mars) and the physics of it seem plausible but I dit not put too much effort into understanding it. The image of the ship didn't display properly on my ereader.
Main character uses sometimes a cane sometimes no mobility aids.
I like that there is some futuristic technology to improve her life but doesn't magically heal the disability. At the end the author says it is based on an already existing technology called Deep Brain Stimulator her mum has for Parkinson's and it's actually fascinating.
Characters introduce themselves with pronouns and the gender neutral honorific Mx is used for everyone. Side characters have a mix of pronouns including they/them and a minor character uses ze/zir. There is also some short dialogues in (Lunar) French and they use ael as a gender neutral pronoun, from context it isn't clear if they use it for everyone, for specific people or like a neutral equivalent to they/them.
Each chapter starts with a cocktail recipe, some non alcoholic. They don't display well in very large characters on my ereader but still readable.
In the acknowledgements, the author says she rewrote some parts of the book to include masking as she says she "can no longer imagine a future in which they aren't part of our lives". In this book they are mostly used for privacy to avoid being recognised in public.
Most authors post 2020 conveniently ignore the ongoing covid pandemic, say it's over, or pretend it was never there in the first place so I love seeing an author who consciously writes masking as a thing in a distant future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Alcohol
mikki_madison's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.0
Extremely fun sci-fi version of The Thin Man. If you enjoy Nick and Nora Charles, this will be right up your alley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
silentrequiem's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Moderate: Murder, Medical content, Police brutality, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Sexism, Classism, and Ableism
eleanora's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Police brutality
Minor: Drug abuse, Confinement, and Drug use
iono's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Police brutality, Alcohol, Death, and Kidnapping
Minor: Medical content, Sexism, Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence and Medical trauma
Minor: Ableism, Police brutality, and Kidnapping
tanouska's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I had such a good time reading this đź’ś
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Violence, Murder, and Chronic illness
Minor: Kidnapping
caitlin_bookchats's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Ableism, Murder, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Transphobia, Sexual content, and Blood
deedireads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Lone Man is a sci-fi beach read of a novel, featuring a murder mystery on an outer space cruise ship. It involved a lot of privilege (and alcohol), but I was hooked and had a fun time reading it.
For you if: You’re looking for something to entertain you (and don’t some science in your fiction).
FULL REVIEW:
Honestly, if it hadn’t been up for the Hugo Award, I probably would never have read The Lone Man. I read Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series when that was nominated, and I was pretty lukewarm on it. I’m happy to report that was NOT the case here. I found this one to be fun and super engaging; a kind of sci-fi beach read.
This book is a mystery novel set on an outer space cruise ship about a rich, genius inventor and heiress named Tesla Crane whose brand-new, retired detective husband is falsely accused of murder. So naturally, she sets out to clear his name (and solve the mystery). Other fun plot points: Tesla suffers from severe PTSD and chronic pain thanks to a major accident that happened about 7 years before. She also has an adorable service dog (a Westie) in a future where real (non-robot) dogs are pretty rare.
A couple things that might make this book not for everyone: First, Tesla is extremely rich and wields her privilege to get what she wants in this life/death situation — although to her credit, she’s pretty self-aware about it. Second, there is a LOT of alcohol; the book is a small homage to mixology. Each chapter starts with a mixed drink recipe, and the characters are always sipping on something.
But beyond that, I really had a fun time reading this book. Whereas the Lady Astronaut series got bogged down and had very slow middles, this had good pacing throughout and I was invested in the mystery. (Granted I don’t really read genre mystery, so take that with a grain of salt.) I also really liked the service dog rep, the PTSD and chronic pain rep, and the way this book imagined a future where it’s a serious faux pas to not ask for pronouns and people say things like “if I was giving them a complimentary t-shirt I would guess their size is XXL” to describe a person’s weight.
All in all, I say if you’re looking for a lighter, more entertaining novel to keep you hooked, this could be a good one.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Lone Man is a sci-fi beach read of a novel, featuring a murder mystery on an outer space cruise ship. It involved a lot of privilege (and alcohol), but I was hooked and had a fun time reading it.
For you if: You’re looking for something to entertain you (and don’t some science in your fiction).
FULL REVIEW:
Honestly, if it hadn’t been up for the Hugo Award, I probably would never have read The Lone Man. I read Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series when that was nominated, and I was pretty lukewarm on it. I’m happy to report that was NOT the case here. I found this one to be fun and super engaging; a kind of sci-fi beach read.
This book is a mystery novel set on an outer space cruise ship about a rich, genius inventor and heiress named Tesla Crane whose brand-new, retired detective husband is falsely accused of murder. So naturally, she sets out to clear his name (and solve the mystery). Other fun plot points: Tesla suffers from severe PTSD and chronic pain thanks to a major accident that happened about 7 years before. She also has an adorable service dog (a Westie) in a future where real (non-robot) dogs are pretty rare.
A couple things that might make this book not for everyone: First, Tesla is extremely rich and wields her privilege to get what she wants in this life/death situation — although to her credit, she’s pretty self-aware about it. Second, there is a LOT of alcohol; the book is a small homage to mixology. Each chapter starts with a mixed drink recipe, and the characters are always sipping on something.
But beyond that, I really had a fun time reading this book. Whereas the Lady Astronaut series got bogged down and had very slow middles, this had good pacing throughout and I was invested in the mystery. (Granted I don’t really read genre mystery, so take that with a grain of salt.) I also really liked the service dog rep, the PTSD and chronic pain rep, and the way this book imagined a future where it’s a serious faux pas to not ask for pronouns and people say things like “if I was giving them a complimentary t-shirt I would guess their size is XXL” to describe a person’s weight.
All in all, I say if you’re looking for a lighter, more entertaining novel to keep you hooked, this could be a good one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Murder
revafisheye's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Fast-paced and funny, a la screwball comedies of Hollywood's golden age, The Spare Man is a delightful space romp, though with a few flaws. The world building and character creation are stellar; the disability rep and treatment of PTSD are handled with care and realism. I thought it was an interesting choice to create a future with such enlightened gender consciousness while maintaining a very 20th-century class stratification. The pacing lags a bit in the middle, and a deus ex machina to tie up (most of?) the mystery is a little disappointing. But, all in all, it was a ripping good time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol