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It's a classic for a reason. It moves quickly through its paces and doesn't let up. The world is sketched out but anyone familiar with the tropes of the genre shouldn't get caught up by it.
I was a little concerned that I'd hit massive sexism and racism given the era in which it was published, but it didn't stink of it.
Reading about the Little War and after some conversations I've had with Gen-Z, I admit I'm a little more spooked.
Pseudo orphaned sisters go to a small town straight out of the Twilight Zone to uncover a family history. I was surprised at how much the mystery drew me in.
I enjoyed the worldbuilding here. I strongly suspect there is at least one more book in the series, which I'm looking forward to.
Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes …
What a fun little book. It's like popcorn fantasy from the TTRPG world.
Once upon a time in the Solar System, there was a gang called the Cannibal …
Levine has admitted this is book started as a love letter to Firefly and to Leverage. Those elements are still clearly there but the characters aren't cheap ripoffs of the other franchises. The story is told through a series of "Jobs" narrated by different characters, which adds a fun element to the read. There is a wonderful twist at the end, one that is hinted at a couple of times but right before the reveal I thought it was obviously not what it was. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.
I hope it doesn't take him six years to write a sequel.
In an alternative Harlem Renaissance where a new form of magic created by Black joy …
Content warning This review spoils the ending
The narrative fits in nicely in the tradition of a first person narrator trying to solve a crime. It builds the world realistically without too much modern "gee isn't racism bad" opinion. The exact mechanics of New Magic and Old Magic aren't directly spelled out, but it doesn't quite matter. It only emphases the bigotry of the culture.
The time travel magic at the end works for me and resets the story in a satisfactory way.
Starter Villain runs a silly premise up the flagpole and finds some of the logical holes in it. I found the pacing a bit slow in the first part only because the blurb gave away the surprise, so the buildup to the big reveal about Charlie's uncle took too long. Had I not know what to expect, it probably would have been fine. I liked all the characters, but I suspect he'll be pilloried for a practically all-white cast and of course the sheer joy of swearing some characters have puts some people off. Ah well.
Maybe a small hiccup in the ending of the book, but otherwise a good straightforward novel. Fun characters, nothing ground-breaking but I don't expect that from Scalzi's "New Comprehensible" stylings.
The problem with reading the blurb of a book is that the first several chapters feel slow just because you know the big reveal that gets the story moving.
The book was blurbed as Chandleresque in tone, but is more Runyan to me. Still a fun read. Moore's love for language comes through.
