A review by smithakp
A Little More Human, by Fiona Maazel
3.0
Loved Maazel’s writing style, and the overall “SF/fantasy elements in a realistic setting” trope.
But the story didn’t come together for me. I tried to recall the reasons why Phil was pulled into this elaborate scheme and just couldn’t connect the dots, nor could I do so with the roles, motivations, and cap/abilities of the mysterious blackmailers. And the same goes for (that other character)’s reason for getting involved, and pulling in so many people in the process. I could see that Maazel was hinting strongly at various connections, then blazed onto the next revelation before they could click.
Additionally, it ended so abruptly that it left me dissatisfied. I literally sat back and was like, “Wait...that’s it?”
It was a fun romp, truly. But a fun writing style can’t make up for a rough and slipshod plot progression.
But the story didn’t come together for me. I tried to recall the reasons why Phil was pulled into this elaborate scheme and just couldn’t connect the dots, nor could I do so with the roles, motivations, and cap/abilities of the mysterious blackmailers. And the same goes for (that other character)’s reason for getting involved, and pulling in so many people in the process. I could see that Maazel was hinting strongly at various connections, then blazed onto the next revelation before they could click.
Additionally, it ended so abruptly that it left me dissatisfied. I literally sat back and was like, “Wait...that’s it?”
It was a fun romp, truly. But a fun writing style can’t make up for a rough and slipshod plot progression.