A review by yuna
Zero Sum Game by S.L. Huang

dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tightly paced (mostly), good action, intriguing characters. The pacing fell off a bit for me toward the end, where it kind of got in the story's own way being so good earlier that it then tried to pull the same trick twice and made the actual finale feel a bit anticlimactic. 

Loved Checker and Rio, and I like how Tresting worked as a foil for Cas. As very much a not mathy person, I liked how the math was described here. She's got Sherlock vibes, only with numbers instead of hyper observation.

I wasn't as sold on how the Big Bad's telepathy worked, because it seemed contradictory in action than how it kept being described. More like mind reading + the power of suggestion, though the "rules" for the latter were stated as one thing but again, seemed different in practice. 

I'd read the next one, but I'm not sure how much patience I'll have for Cas's selective amnesia re: her backstory. It works in this book, but I'd hope for answers or enough of an answer to move forward rather than rehash old ground for an entire book.
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