My favorite codependent brothers never disappoint.

Kind of a big disappointment. Didn't care about most of the new characters, fifty percent of it was description, forty percent was plain boring, and only ten percent included anything that actually moved the plot forward in some way. Reading about a ton of people plotting about shit is not as exciting as watching that shit happen.

It was exciting in the first novel, because the plot actually moved as we spent time with the plotters. This novel was just...it was like quicksand.

I can't believe I waited so long for this.

Here's the problem I found with Beggars in Spain: while the ideas and philosophy and ethics are deep, everything else, from the characters and plot to the writing itself, is shallow. There is no meat to the characters at all, which is painfully evident in Leshia as we see the world through her eyes. There is nobody to really root for, and the narrative is so detached from the events that I didn't find myself caring for anything at all.

Which is a shame, because there is some really interesting philosophy in this.

Also, it's ridiculously obvious that the cover is an altered picture of Angelina Jolie.

3.5 stars. Fascinating.