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em_harring 's review for:
The Spare Man
by Mary Robinette Kowal
[3.5 stars rounded up]
This was a lot of fun! I love The Thin Man movies, so hearing this was a take on that series and Nick and Nora sold me pretty much instantly--plus I love a good closed circle mystery.
I thought the blend of science and mystery worked well here, though sometimes the future language reminded me a bit of Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. I kept waiting for a good zetus lapetus.
I think what will really make or break this book for readers is how well they get along with the main character. I loved the fact that she was disabled and had a service dog for her PTSD. I thought that was handled well. I also liked the relationship between her and her new husband, though do wish we got to see a bit more of them interacting with each other to really believe in their relationship. It didn't really feel like Shal had much of a personality outside of being Tesla's husband and a retired detective. Also, her constant back and forth over her privilege got to me a little bit and did take me out of the story.
My favorite character, though, was her lawyer. Fantine was hilarious.
In all, the book definitely had some repetitive moments that could have just been cut out to make for a more trim story. It felt about 50 pages too long.
Overall, a fun space mystery! I hope this becomes a series, because I would definitely be interested in seeing these characters (mostly Gimlet, tbh) again.
This was a lot of fun! I love The Thin Man movies, so hearing this was a take on that series and Nick and Nora sold me pretty much instantly--plus I love a good closed circle mystery.
I thought the blend of science and mystery worked well here, though sometimes the future language reminded me a bit of Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century. I kept waiting for a good zetus lapetus.
I think what will really make or break this book for readers is how well they get along with the main character. I loved the fact that she was disabled and had a service dog for her PTSD. I thought that was handled well. I also liked the relationship between her and her new husband, though do wish we got to see a bit more of them interacting with each other to really believe in their relationship. It didn't really feel like Shal had much of a personality outside of being Tesla's husband and a retired detective. Also, her constant back and forth over her privilege got to me a little bit and did take me out of the story.
My favorite character, though, was her lawyer. Fantine was hilarious.
In all, the book definitely had some repetitive moments that could have just been cut out to make for a more trim story. It felt about 50 pages too long.
Overall, a fun space mystery! I hope this becomes a series, because I would definitely be interested in seeing these characters (mostly Gimlet, tbh) again.