Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

9 reviews

silentrequiem's review

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

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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

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

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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

librarybribery'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

4.0

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Content Warnings

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 to

an explosion that killed her coworkers that she blames herself for

. I thought it was portrayed compassionately and shows the character's strength, but you do see things directly from her point of view during these moments, and they repeat throughout the book.

bibliomania_express's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal is a murder mystery set aboard a space cruise. When a woman is murdered and Tesla Crane's spouse Shal is arrested, she decides to figure out who the murderer is. This book had so many twists and turns and kept me guessing literally the whole time. The red herrings were well integrated and convincing, and the tangle of secrets perfect for this closed-circle mystery. 

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Police brutality and Sexism

Minor: Kidnapping

lbelow's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

One of the best books I have ever read! 

Phenomenal disability rep for a character with agency? Check. 

An adorable service dog? Check. 

A swoon-worthy love interest? Check. 

Interesting world building and futuristic technology that seems grounded in reality? Check. 

World building that centers gender-neutral language (joyfriend, spouse) and assumptions (Mx., they) until informed otherwise as part of a naturalized pronoun introduction? Check. 

A murder mystery with twists that kept me guessing and turning the pages? Check. 

Honestly, this book has it all! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Death, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping

Minor: Physical abuse, Ableism, and Sexism

The graphic kidnapping is actually

dog-napping

(there isn't a tag for that) but there is also mention of kidnapping. PTSD, including panic attacks and flashbacks, is a prominent part of the book.

never_enough_bookmarks's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Ableism, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Kidnapping, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Gore, and Drug abuse

laurareads87's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I liked The Spare Man, but not as much as the author's Lady Astronaut books which I *really* like.  What worked for me was the setting - a multiple-ringed luxury cruise spaceship! - and the way it creates a 'locked room' around the murder mystery.  I also liked how Kowal represented a future where sharing pronouns is normalized (and using gender neutral pronouns and honorifics when unknown is the default).  I appreciated the representation of disability.  What didn't entirely work for me were the characters - many felt rather flat.  I thought there was some effective misdirection and a few great twists in the plot, but a few too many brand new elements, some of them rather cliche, were introduced right at the very end to make the mystery work.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Ableism, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

crownoflaurel's review

mysterious tense slow-paced

3.0

Everything I loved about this book wasn't necessarily the actual plot and writing....

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, and Confinement

Minor: Torture, Sexism, Deadnaming, and Police brutality

owredya's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Violence

Minor: Kidnapping and Sexism