Hardcover, 384 pages
Published July 19, 2022 by Tor Books.
Tesla Crane, a brilliant inventor and an heiress, is on her honeymoon on an interplanetary space liner, cruising between the Moon and Mars. She’s traveling incognito and is reveling in her anonymity. Then someone is murdered and the festering chowderheads who run security have the audacity to arrest her spouse. Armed with banter, martinis and her small service dog, Tesla is determined to solve the crime so that the newlyweds can get back to canoodling—and keep the real killer from striking again.
Some compelling elements, but as a murder-mystery there's a bit too much "Why are they doing this?" and, ultimately, an unsatisfying conclusion.
Witty low stakes riff, not so noir - the vibe is more 5th Element romp given the cruise ship setting, and the mystery bends to suit - but true to the original in prominent stiff drinks, and comfortably egalitarian in gender roles.
I've never read Dashiell Hammett's "The Thin Man", but if that's a grounded precursor to this spacefaring mystery I should! This was a fun sci-fi/noir/mystery romp with great characters (and excellent dog representation).
Early on I was noticing all the accessibility/inclusion bits more than the story itself, which certainly prompts some self-reflection. There's a certain obvious silliness in accepting an interplanetary honeymoon cruise without missing a beat, but tripping over gender-neutral titles.
Once I settled into the story I was fully engaged and could not stop reading (mostly listening actually - the narration is top notch as usual from the author).
I'm looking forward to the upcoming/teased episode of the Writing Excuses podcast in which Mary Robinette will take us deeper into this book.
Fantine is my hero. I want a cup of tea with her and Avasarala from the Expanse series.
This novel and its author are new to me, but they came highly recommended by a good friend that knows The Thin Man is my favorite movie I try to watch every year around the holidays. This book is by no means a retelling of that classic, but it does draw some inspiration while updatring with touchs like characters introducing themselves with their pronouns, the protagonist having a disability that's a daily reality, and it takes place in SPACE!
Next, as I do witrh most recommendations, I looked to borrow it from the library. However, I noticed that the ebook was DRM-free, so I immediately headed to ebooks.com and grabbed a copy The surest way to get me to buy a book is to offer it without DRM.
And then I realized that this book is a two-for-one! It is both a novel and a cocktail recipe book. Each chapter …
This novel and its author are new to me, but they came highly recommended by a good friend that knows The Thin Man is my favorite movie I try to watch every year around the holidays. This book is by no means a retelling of that classic, but it does draw some inspiration while updatring with touchs like characters introducing themselves with their pronouns, the protagonist having a disability that's a daily reality, and it takes place in SPACE!
Next, as I do witrh most recommendations, I looked to borrow it from the library. However, I noticed that the ebook was DRM-free, so I immediately headed to ebooks.com and grabbed a copy The surest way to get me to buy a book is to offer it without DRM.
And then I realized that this book is a two-for-one! It is both a novel and a cocktail recipe book. Each chapter is named after a classic cocktail (except the few the author made up herself) and is then preceded by the recipe for that cocktail. Both the print and ebook editions provide a quick reference for some excellent cocktails, which I plan to work through in the next year. Warning to the intrepid reader: the chapters are short and beg to be read quickly, so it would be unwise to attempt to drink each chapter's namesake as one proceeds through the book.
The Spare Man gets a lot closer to the protagonist than Dashiell Hammett's Thin Man. We really get a sense of what Tesla feels as she interacts with the other characters in the story, creating a real connection for the reader. Also, the book exhibits a great element of good, readable science fiction in that the Sci-Fi is hardly noticeable. There are places where it is a serious part of the setting and plot, however, the general story could stand anytime on its own.
Overall a fun, quick read and highly recommended for people that like some combination of noir, sci-fi, mystery, and cocktails.
Ahh, this was lovely. The bones of this are Agatha Christie, its a locked room mystery on an interstellar cruise liner. The twist is that it is structured like Hammet's the Thin Man and uses that as the character templates for the protagonists.
It sailed along with brim and vigor and no small amount of wit. A vastly entertaining romp with some science fictional elements. Given this is Kowal, the space and speculative tech elements are spot on as well.
It wasn't 5 stars for me because I felt some plot elements didn't come together at the end but that's probably more a me thing. I inhaled this in like 2 sittings while away for the weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Definite recommend.
