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A review by shanaqui
Made to Kill by Adam Christopher
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you like Raymond Chandler's work and you like SF/F, then this is the fusion you're looking for! It was a reread for me, and I remembered liking it very much, but not the details of the plot. Adam Christopher manages to pastiche Chandler's style pretty well: he doesn't manage to coin as many phrases, and there's nothing to beat 'shop-worn Galahad' and other pithy descriptions in the way that Chandler excelled at... but nonetheless it captures the style and pace of a Chandler story.
Mind you, this isn't a Philip Marlowe retelling, or something like that. It's basically "what if Chandler wrote science fiction?" -- meaning the main character is a robot. Raymond Electromatic was created as a detective, but after the intervention and tweaks by Ada, who runs the agency, he's a hitman. Those detection skills come in handy, though, when someone actually shows up at the office with a bag full of gold bars and a pretty face, asking him to kill someone. Ada and Ray don't normally get jobs like that... but the gold is pretty hard to resist.
What unfolds is a detective story that unfolds in a pretty classic way. There's a good helping of pulp in this, and that makes it a joyful romp -- as long as you aren't expecting it to be too serious. It's meant to be fun, and for me it works.
Mind you, this isn't a Philip Marlowe retelling, or something like that. It's basically "what if Chandler wrote science fiction?" -- meaning the main character is a robot. Raymond Electromatic was created as a detective, but after the intervention and tweaks by Ada, who runs the agency, he's a hitman. Those detection skills come in handy, though, when someone actually shows up at the office with a bag full of gold bars and a pretty face, asking him to kill someone. Ada and Ray don't normally get jobs like that... but the gold is pretty hard to resist.
What unfolds is a detective story that unfolds in a pretty classic way. There's a good helping of pulp in this, and that makes it a joyful romp -- as long as you aren't expecting it to be too serious. It's meant to be fun, and for me it works.