Spare Man

I've read and enjoyed all of Kowal's books. The worldbuilding is considered & smart, and her characters are always horny for each other (often, newlyweds).

Didn't expect a mystery, but this was fun. Initially annoyed by all the cocktail recipes, but she persuaded me to seek out complex flavors of the non-alcoholic variety (my preference). I always learn something from her, including a 5-senses grounding technique.

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 was relatively fun light reading in the same alternate timeline where an astroid hits Earth right after WW2 and we immediately make the jump to space. We get rich heiresses, famous detectives, a ship traveling between Earth and Mars as a “locked room” and of course, plenty of murder and drama. It’s a Murder on the Orient Express/Death on the Nile in space kind of setup. Strong female lead, weird alternate technology that almost feels like Niven from the 1970’s, it’s all good fun!

I will be honest, I always end up reading Kowal’s stuff to see what crazy things she’s dreamed up for her alternate timeline more than because I absolutely love her writing. She still does far too much “inner voice of struggle” exposition, IMHO. But even with that, her vision of the future is also so fun that I always enjoy myself in spite if it. Hence the 4 of 5 ⭐️ not 5 of 5.

But if you’ve liked her stuff before or you want a good murder mystery in space, give it a shot! I’d say it’s worth the read.

(Also, if you ever want a more hard-boiled mystery set on the moon with IMHO better writing, try Gunpowder Moon by David Pedreira.)