Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal

20 reviews

katievh's review

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Ableism, Violence, and Alcohol

Minor: Classism

laurareads87's review

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I liked The Spare Man, but not as much as the author's Lady Astronaut books which I *really* like.  What worked for me was the setting - a multiple-ringed luxury cruise spaceship! - and the way it creates a 'locked room' around the murder mystery.  I also liked how Kowal represented a future where sharing pronouns is normalized (and using gender neutral pronouns and honorifics when unknown is the default).  I appreciated the representation of disability.  What didn't entirely work for me were the characters - many felt rather flat.  I thought there was some effective misdirection and a few great twists in the plot, but a few too many brand new elements, some of them rather cliche, were introduced right at the very end to make the mystery work.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Ableism, Sexism, and Classism

Moderate: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

e_flah's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Spare Man is a murder mystery set on a glamorous interplanetary cruise ship. I loved the rich world Kowal created that brimmed with details like including one's pronouns in an introduction is considered standard and the rich are the only ones with access to food printers in their staterooms but are the ones least likely to eat printed food. The characters were relatable and lovable with believable flaws. The pacing was a bit uneven for me but I overall enjoyed The Spare Man.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Murder

PTSD, chronic pain

kponturo's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Violence

athryn's review

adventurous lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I buzzsawed through this in 2 days. Really fun, inspired by 1930s screwball comedies (you can tell from the title) about a murder mystery on a Space Cruise Ship on the way to Mars. I will say that I found the main character to be a little grating with her pile of issues, but I still enjoyed it and the rest of the characters (especially Gimlet!) to be great. Plus, there's a cocktail recipe at the start of each chapter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, Murder, Chronic illness, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical trauma

Minor: Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

katjonzz's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Death

Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Violence

Minor: Police brutality

pet death implied through large chunk of book then resolved

owredya's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, and Violence

Minor: Kidnapping and Sexism

displacedcactus's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

This is a relatively fun mystery set on a space cruise. The sci-fi elements are relatively light; for the most part the mystery could have been set on an actual cruise ship, but the space setting makes for fun window dressing, and the advanced technology takes turns helping and hampering the characters.

Your enjoyment of this book will probably be largely influenced by how you feel about ultra-wealthy characters. Tesla Crane is the heir to a major tech company, off on a luxurious cruise with her new husband, a retired private detective. She definitely uses her wealth, privilege, and high-powered lawyer as a bludgeon throughout the story.

That said, Tesla is also disabled. A terrible accident left her with a spine held together by pins and rods, chronic pain, reduced mobility, and PTSD. The author has extrapolated from current scientific advancements to come up with some ideas with how Tesla would manage these in a futuristic setting. She also has a very cute service dog.

Gimlet the dog does end up in some peril but she is OK in the end! The dog survives!

I appreciate that this book presents a queernorm future, with gay couples and non-binary people present throughout the ship, and normalization of sharing pronouns.

As always, I like how Kowal writes established couples, giving us a strong central relationship that underpins the story, without needing to develop a romance alongside a plot.

Tesla and her husband Shal have some charged banter and clearly have a healthy sex life, but there's no explicit on-page love scenes. I'd say this probably falls at the mild end of a PG-13.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Medical trauma and Violence

Minor: Ableism

kiaras's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcohol, Car accident, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Chronic illness, Violence, and Ableism

Minor: Suicide and Classism

uranaishi's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Alcohol, Confinement, Police brutality, Sexual content, Violence, Ableism, Medical content, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Outing, Death, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Stalking, Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, Self harm, and Misogyny