1.1k reviews for:

The Spare Man

Mary Robinette Kowal

3.75 AVERAGE

allie_rose's review against another edition

4.25

---

Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie and sci fi—which may be an extremely small niche but I’m in it.

bowienerd_82's review against another edition

2.5

mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

thektrose's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

rose814's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

falon's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

An annotation from when I read this: "IDK, I just don't really care?"

In theory, I should have really liked this book. My apathy for the main character, Tesla, did make this a slightly unenjoyable read at times. Here's the thing, Tesla is supposed to be this uber-rich, uber-famous, and slightly conscientious genius who is thrust into solving a murder mystery aboard a space ship. Unfortunately, Tesla's character inconsistencies (or maybe they were on purpose? Not sure.) just pissed me off most of the time. We are made to believe that Tesla is aware of her power and privilege, but the fact that she wields them like trump cards to get herself out of every sticky situation kind of undergirds her "awareness." She may be aware but she has not really internalized that critique yet and it was frustrating to read.

There were other things that got on my nerves about this book, but unfortunately I cannot talk about them without getting into spoilers. All I will say is that the working class people in this book deserved to have better character development.

thejestess's review against another edition

4.0

mysterious

---

It is a murder mystery, so it starts with a death and then more people die over the course of the book, but none of them are the main characters, or the kid, or the dog</spoilers>

jmccyoung's review against another edition

4.25

mysterious fast-paced

---

A fun "Thin Man/Nick and Nora in space" novel. 

geofisch's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

jen_librarian's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

cr185372's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters: Yes