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caitlin_bookchats's review against another edition
- 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
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
qteabeans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Blood, and Death
deedireads's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Alcohol and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Murder
neens_m's review
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Murder
revafisheye's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcohol
librarybribery's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Chronic illness
Moderate: Murder, Police brutality, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism and Sexism
There are murders that take place on the spaceship, but not in view and descriptions are mild. The main character suffers from panic attacks and chronic back pain due totrips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I enjoy the mystery genre and love sci-fi, so I thought a combo of the two would make a for a great read. I appreciated the disability representation in Tesla, and her westie Gimlet was obviously so cute, but I think that's kind of where my genuine praise for the book ends.
The plot was interesting enough to keep reading and the prose is perfectly good, but there really wasn't any point where I was wowed or ultimately, truly intrigued. Like, this is a mystery novel I should at least have a bit of curiosity towards who the true culprit is!
The security on board Tesla's cruise ship to Mars was laughably incompetent to the point of disbelief and Tesla's husband doesn't really have much character imo. It was frustrating how Tesla actively would think "I just want to be normal and not famous and rich" and then use her fame and wealth to get what she wants all throughout the book.
Actually, I think that was my main problem, tl;dr book is fine except Tesla turned into kind of a Karen one too many times for me. Even when she was justified in her outrage, it just didn't hit well. Alas!
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Body horror and Violence
Minor: Misogyny and Ableism
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I also loved the characters. Tesla is smart and determined, but also struggles with PTSD and chronic pain. There are characters of multiple different ethnicities, and this is a world where gender essentialism is frowned upon and presenting pronouns is common.
Fantine, Tesla's lawyer, is my absolute favourite character. An absolute riot, and her colourful curses added the perfect touch of humour to offset the serious issues like murder, discrimination, ableism, and complete police incompetence. I also loved that Shal is a retired private detective, with some Sherlockian callbacks.
The only reason this book isn't a five star for me is that there was a lot of worldbuilding that needed to happen to make the plot work, and some of that got a bit too tangled and complex for what I want in a cross-genre mystery. There were a couple too many minor characters with dodgy reactions that just aren't explained well
Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Police brutality and Sexism
Minor: Kidnapping
jnobrien21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
maryellen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Confinement, Blood, Police brutality, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Medical content