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A review by lizabethstucker
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
2.0
2 stars out of 5.
Couldn't get into this one at all despite it having all the elements I tend to like, particularly the Nick and Nora Charles vibe the main characters were giving me. It was very wooden, not engrossing at all. Barely kept my attention at all. I've enjoyed other books by this author, finding her writing to be strongly character driven, which I love. Frankly if I didn't know better, I would've guessed that this was a debut novel. Probably would've given Kowal a slightly higher rating if it had been.
Then there was Tesla. Unlike Nora Charles who was kind to everyone, no matter their place in life, Tesla had a bit of underlying entitlement that annoyed me every time it came up. Okay, you have more money and accompanying power than anyone else, but that's no excuse. That may also be an issue that dragged my enjoyment down. *shrugs*
As to the mystery itself, it was okay. Could've had tighter plotting, but I've read worse. I didn't find it that hard to guess what was going on pretty early on, but that doesn't necessarily hurt my opinion of a mystery, even one held in space. So I'll give that a pass.
My end thoughts? This really didn't need to be in space. Might've even worked better if it was on a ocean liner set in the 1920s, after the Great War, but before the buildup of things leading to World War II. Would I recommend it? Well, I wouldn't go out of my way to discourage anyone opting to read it, but this particular book wouldn't be one I would immediately think of to mention to friends.
Couldn't get into this one at all despite it having all the elements I tend to like, particularly the Nick and Nora Charles vibe the main characters were giving me. It was very wooden, not engrossing at all. Barely kept my attention at all. I've enjoyed other books by this author, finding her writing to be strongly character driven, which I love. Frankly if I didn't know better, I would've guessed that this was a debut novel. Probably would've given Kowal a slightly higher rating if it had been.
Then there was Tesla. Unlike Nora Charles who was kind to everyone, no matter their place in life, Tesla had a bit of underlying entitlement that annoyed me every time it came up. Okay, you have more money and accompanying power than anyone else, but that's no excuse. That may also be an issue that dragged my enjoyment down. *shrugs*
As to the mystery itself, it was okay. Could've had tighter plotting, but I've read worse. I didn't find it that hard to guess what was going on pretty early on, but that doesn't necessarily hurt my opinion of a mystery, even one held in space. So I'll give that a pass.
My end thoughts? This really didn't need to be in space. Might've even worked better if it was on a ocean liner set in the 1920s, after the Great War, but before the buildup of things leading to World War II. Would I recommend it? Well, I wouldn't go out of my way to discourage anyone opting to read it, but this particular book wouldn't be one I would immediately think of to mention to friends.