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eleanora'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: 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
alisonvh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Drug use, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality
Minor: Ableism
iono'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? No
3.25
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
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
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
lbelow's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Death, Murder, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Minor: Physical abuse, Ableism, and Sexism
The graphic kidnapping is actuallyastropova's review
- 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
Though I was starting to get a little annoyed with Tesla constantly bulldozing over people - like I get that you don't trust the security officers, but you should at least listen to your own retired detective spouse, since knowing how this all works is his literal job. There were so many moments when "very smart" Tesla was missing something important while she was ranting at people. And then she gets self-conscious about not acting "too privileged" - you either do or don't care how you appear, you can't have it both ways. It felt a little disingenuous and annoying, since otherwise she was such a cool character.
Graphic: Chronic illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Murder, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Blood
Minor: Police brutality, Sexual content, Ableism, and Kidnapping
owredya's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Violence
Minor: Kidnapping and Sexism