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A review by ianbanks
Winner Takes All by Simon R. Green
3.0
This is a tighter story than the first novel and Mr Green pretty much drops us in the plot from Page 1. We learn a lot more about Haven and its culture. We also get a few hints about what Hawk and Fisher did before they arrived there. The story is good fun, with some clues to future stories being laced throughout.
The characters are also clearly delineated, despite them being very broadly painted and portrayed. There’s room for depth but Green wants us to be involved in his story so we get little time to decide whether we like them or not, just that they’re protagonists or antagonists. There’s a sense that every character must have a secret or a problem that complicates the story and I find that a rather annoying trait in a writer. It’s great for the story as jeopardy and mistrust are piled deeply onto the cast as they enact their play but it’s a bit much for a novel of this length to deal with without becoming almost parodic in its delivery. Green does a reasonable job of balancing it all but it’s a close-run thing.
Fun and exciting but almost outstays its welcome. I will be reading on, though.
The characters are also clearly delineated, despite them being very broadly painted and portrayed. There’s room for depth but Green wants us to be involved in his story so we get little time to decide whether we like them or not, just that they’re protagonists or antagonists. There’s a sense that every character must have a secret or a problem that complicates the story and I find that a rather annoying trait in a writer. It’s great for the story as jeopardy and mistrust are piled deeply onto the cast as they enact their play but it’s a bit much for a novel of this length to deal with without becoming almost parodic in its delivery. Green does a reasonable job of balancing it all but it’s a close-run thing.
Fun and exciting but almost outstays its welcome. I will be reading on, though.