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dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Ben H Winters is known for his speculative fiction being a true rollercoaster through genres, and Big Time is no exception. This novel follows Grace, a government bureaucrat tasked with reviewing medical devices, who is assigned to identify a medical port found on a mysterious woman. Grace, her child River, and many others are pulled into a vaster conspiracy around scientific experimentation, espionage, and what. While this was an engrossing tale that moved quickly, ultimately there were so many details and other narrative elements that did not stick the landing. While the explanation and the scientific details presented were intriguing and satisfying on the surface, I was left with a great deal of confusion over character motives and other narrative elements. For instance: Where the did the aspect of "Allie" originate from? Wouldn't the universe have added elements of "Allie" to the timeline as well if the goal was to replace Ana's disappearance? Was there any narrative purpose for Kendall Johns, the coworker, aside from being the one to report the crimes? The Last Policeman series is still the height of his works in my opinion, and maybe I align more with his longer fiction/series than his single entries. I appreciate that these series are better able delve into the implications and better round out the story and/or character beats due to the page time and word count available. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a quick blockbuster, genre fusion airport read, then this is the book for you.