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illusivejam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Classism, Death, and Murder
silentrequiem'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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Moderate: Murder, Medical content, Police brutality, Death, and Confinement
Minor: Sexism, Classism, and Ableism
tyches_dice's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Things I also like about the book:
1) The gender politics - people default to a gender neutral term until pronouns are revealed (do I wish more major characters used something other than he/him or she/her? Yes, but I do appreciate the attempt)
2) Tesla’s chronic pain/disability and the trauma she went through are treated seriously and compassionately - and we are supposed to hate characters who don’t treat it that way. I’d call the ableism in the book relatively minor in that regard.
3) Tesla being gently called out when her 1% starts to come out, and her trying to keep her privilege in check.
4) Fantine and Gimlet
A couple things I liked a little less:
1) I thought the mystery was pretty easy to solve - I had a suspicion almost immediately and was sure by halfway through the book. This is a YMMV situation though, I’m very good at deducing the culprit in a mystery, and don’t mind figuring it out if the narrative is compelling.
2) The alcohol - a cocktail recipe every chapter? The drinking literally all the time? With Tesla’s history?! There are definitely people in my life I could never recommend this book to.
3) Tesla IS a little annoying.
Graphic: Chronic illness and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism
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
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
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
briely's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Alcohol