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A review by graculus
The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
3.0
Since I really enjoyed her Lady Astronaut books, not to mention this being a standalone, I was happy when my request for an ARC was granted - unfortunately, the book itself didn't quite live up to my expectations.
The basic premise of The Spare Man is that it's a murder mystery on a space cruise, with our protagonists forced (with various levels of willingness) into investigation - one of them (Tesla Crane) is a famous inventor, famous enough that she's taken on a fake identity to have any semblance of a normal honeymoon with her new husband. She's also dealing with the physical and mental aftermath of a serious accident, which continue to have an impact all the way through the book. When her two-dimensional husband is accused of murder, Tesla tries to find the real culprit, helped eventually by attempting to use the privilege of being famous.
The influences are clear, though the characterisation of the husband in particular just isn't strong enough for this book not just to be all about one character. There's a lot to like about this book in terms of having a main character with all sorts of flaws but then these get put to one side when it's not convenient for the plot - Tesla has a device implanted to manage her pain which she can handily turn up to 11 when needed, her service dog seems to spend as much time being used as a distraction as doing its job, and so on.
All in all, not the worst thing I've read this year and it wasn't a hardship to finish it, but decidedly unmemorable and I'd really hoped for more...
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion of the book in question.
The basic premise of The Spare Man is that it's a murder mystery on a space cruise, with our protagonists forced (with various levels of willingness) into investigation - one of them (Tesla Crane) is a famous inventor, famous enough that she's taken on a fake identity to have any semblance of a normal honeymoon with her new husband. She's also dealing with the physical and mental aftermath of a serious accident, which continue to have an impact all the way through the book. When her two-dimensional husband is accused of murder, Tesla tries to find the real culprit, helped eventually by attempting to use the privilege of being famous.
The influences are clear, though the characterisation of the husband in particular just isn't strong enough for this book not just to be all about one character. There's a lot to like about this book in terms of having a main character with all sorts of flaws but then these get put to one side when it's not convenient for the plot - Tesla has a device implanted to manage her pain which she can handily turn up to 11 when needed, her service dog seems to spend as much time being used as a distraction as doing its job, and so on.
All in all, not the worst thing I've read this year and it wasn't a hardship to finish it, but decidedly unmemorable and I'd really hoped for more...
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest opinion of the book in question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical trauma and Panic attacks/disorders