A review by curgoth
Ace in the Hole by George R.R. Martin
Audiobook re-read.
I had good memories of this, and was surprised that it mostly held up. Tachyon and Braun are awful people, but they are supposed to be. Tachyon's arrogance and self-absorption just ruins everything.
I also remember hating Blaise intensely every time he showed up, and that still remains true.
The last couple Wild Cards books felt a bit like a slog, but with this one I was actively looking for ways to listen to *just a little more*. This is partly that the writing is pretty strong, but also because the voice work is great - same voice actors as previous novels, but the characters in focus here mean we get a lot of both Stephen McHattie and the always exceptional Clancy Brown. Even if no one can ever remember what Hiram Worcester is supposed to sound like from chapter to chapter.
The women characters aren't terribly well-served here, being defined almost entirely by the men around them, and I'm pretty sure we have Bechdel fail here.
We also get a stellar example of how to write a truly indestructible character like Superman. I like Golden Boy best when he loses while trying so very hard to do the right thing.
This wraps up the second trilogy and takes care of Puppetman. Next up, we have the Jumpers, Bloat and Blaise becoming a teenager. I am going to try to get through the Jumper trilogy, but I may tap out and jump ahead to the 2000s at that point.
I had good memories of this, and was surprised that it mostly held up. Tachyon and Braun are awful people, but they are supposed to be. Tachyon's arrogance and self-absorption just ruins everything.
I also remember hating Blaise intensely every time he showed up, and that still remains true.
The last couple Wild Cards books felt a bit like a slog, but with this one I was actively looking for ways to listen to *just a little more*. This is partly that the writing is pretty strong, but also because the voice work is great - same voice actors as previous novels, but the characters in focus here mean we get a lot of both Stephen McHattie and the always exceptional Clancy Brown. Even if no one can ever remember what Hiram Worcester is supposed to sound like from chapter to chapter.
The women characters aren't terribly well-served here, being defined almost entirely by the men around them, and I'm pretty sure we have Bechdel fail here.
We also get a stellar example of how to write a truly indestructible character like Superman. I like Golden Boy best when he loses while trying so very hard to do the right thing.
This wraps up the second trilogy and takes care of Puppetman. Next up, we have the Jumpers, Bloat and Blaise becoming a teenager. I am going to try to get through the Jumper trilogy, but I may tap out and jump ahead to the 2000s at that point.