So why am I reading this book about athletic wear, anyway…
I thought it was because I saw that Lois Bujold recommended it, but that seems to be a fake memory. I have no idea! Did somebody else recommend this?
The name is awfully misleading, though.
It’s a mystery/fantasy novel, and it’s written in a most entertaining fashion. It’s like the writer tried to cram in as many clichés as possible — the book is 2024 on a stick. The protagonist is the helper of a Holmes/Wolfe type, and is dyslexic, because of course he is. (The Holmes character is on the spectrum, of course.) There’s weird scenes like when he beats up a suspect (because of course he does (the suspect confesses all after the beating)) who’s been described as being too old to be a gardener… so… he beats up an old doddering guy?
The author doesn’t really think any of this through, but just stitches together familiar tropes higgedly piggedly. But in a very entertaining way! Easy on the branes.
It’s fascinating the things he leaves out — there’s no traumatic past that’s brought up every two pages to give the characters character, and there’s no character development to speak of (so no “you’re not my father — you weren’t there for me when I grew up!”), there’s no sex, and there’s virtually no conflict between any of the major characters. I.e., there’s really no filler: It’s full-on investigation and world exploration for a solid 410 pages. I can’t really remember reading a book that’s this obsessive in quite a while.
It totally works. This book is pure heroin-injected popcorn. So much fun to read. It doesn’t sag at any point.
But oh, it’s also probably the stupidest book I’ve read in a while, and I’ve read some really, really stupid books. None of the plot particulars make much sense if you stop to think about them, and even on a micro basis everything is just, well, moronic (like the Super Secret Assassin who goes around murdering people in a way that’s so distinctive that it can only be a Super Secret Assassin). Oh, and the resolution? It was blindingly obvious who the killers were, just because we weren’t presented with any alternatives.
I see that my copy of the book is the sixth printing (and the first one was in 2024), so it’s a great commercial success, and I’m not surprised at all.
Now I wanna read the next book in the series, but I should probably read something else in between, what?
The Tainted Cup (2024) by Robert Jackson Bennett (buy new, buy used, 4.3 on Goodreads)