3.5 rounded up

This is a fun whodunit in maybe one of my favourite settings ever? Certainly up there, anyway. It feels like it lasts some of the punch as the novellas in the world, because I think the characterization is there, but not so much the rest of the character work. The pacing is pretty good, worldbuilding fantastic, and the specificity of the setting is absolutely top-notch. I tend to love authors who describe things that differ from defaultism - and tend to think too many authors rely a bit too much on it in settings where that’s a questionable choice (often fantasy).

It’s also a bit subversive if you are aware of some of these tropes/stories/inspirations, which is always satisfying. I’m not a huge fan of the tone switching often, as I generally don’t like humour and I think this setting actually is, for lack of a better word, “cooler” when serious. I just find that humour can really undermine certain aspects of mysteries and murders and crime and things, unless handled very deftly. Yes, we need tension to break sometimes with a book of this length, I just think the subject matter feels like a weird dichotomy with humour. Could be I’m just in a mood too. I never know when comedy will play well with me.

Regardless, as with the previous novellas, I hope people pick this up and give it a shot. It’s unique and compelling throughout.