mdpenguin 's review for:

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

5.0

adventurous funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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This was really enjoyable.  I liked both the mystery and the science fiction.  The plotting was excellent and the characters were well drawn and the ones who needed to be were very likable.  My only complaint is that it did get a bit repetitive with Tesla trying to use snootiness and her adorable support dog to deal with almost everyone.  Even after the first couple of times she was called out for overdoing it by her husband, she kept it going.  It's less that these weren't valid tools that we might expect her to use than that she seemed like a more creative and dynamic character than that.  Beyond that, though, the mystery kept me guessing even after I'd more or less figured it out and the cruise ship was pretty awesome.  I'd love to travel on a ship with separate sections that each had either Earth, lunar, or martian gravity.