Reviews - Fairs' Point | The StoryGraph

31 reviews for:

I’d like to give it 3.5 stars. Of course the beloved familiar characters and setting are always a pleasure to sink into. But it felt a bit heavier, and the turns of phrase somehow were harder going this time around. Still, likeable and inventive, and a world I enjoy spending time in. Also, ridiculous puppies

kaa's review

4.0

This was a enjoyable series to read, and very much comfort reading for me. There is something about the books that reminds me of the kind of fantasy I first started reading as a teenager, with the added bonus of casual and pervasive queerness. I read all of the books that are currently available (eeee! I just found out there are more books coming soon and there is already a Patreon!) in a single week while I had the flu, and they were the perfect thing to keep me entertained while I was both too sick to concentrate on some of the more epic SFF I've been working on and too cranky to tolerate most of my usual fluff reading.

egelantier's review

4.0

finally gotten my hands on the third book! i love how quietly mundane astreiant novels are, in the way best procedurals are, all about frank russel's "legwork", slow patient work bringing the investigators to the slow careful results. and on top of it, astreiant itself, bustling matriarchal city with its astrologers and its rioting students and its dog races. and on top of it, rathe and eslingen and their quiet, respectful, loving relationship, and them being so achingly careful in exploring it, in feeling out each other's boundaries and trying not to overstep them. nothing groundbreaking, maybe, but so soothing; like fresh air.

mary_soon_lee's review against another edition

4.0

hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This is the third novel-length entry in the series that began with "Point of Hopes," set in a world where the stars do in fact steer one's fate. As before, the perspective shifts between two very likable viewpoint characters: Rathe, who is roughly the equivalent of a city police officer, and Eslingen, a former soldier. This time around there are murders, dog-racing, and disappearing silver.

As murder mysteries go, this is comparatively gentle (though there is still a dose of gruesome). It was a considerable pleasure to spend more time with Rathe and Eslingen. I could happily read another twenty books about them.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).