I’ve become a pretty big fan of Robinson and this is not his usual take from what I’ve read of him. Instead of deeply developed plot and white knuckle suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, this felt more like a comic book. Yes, there was some good humor but much of it felt forced and fake because it wasn’t supported by Robinson’s usual intricate care with the plot and character development. Instead this book cashed in on vast and violent action, body counts, and snide and caustic humor that just started feeling immature, forced and unnatural. I hate to give Robinson a less-than-stellar review but this just felt very juvenile compared to his usual talent for storytelling. It felt more like it was trying too hard to be irreverent and crass which made it feel immature. There were many clever moments but they succumbed to the meh they were surrounded by and became forgettable. If this is your first read with Robinson, don’t judge him by this work. He is a masterful storyteller, he just tried something new here and the execution needed a bit more work. If Robinson’s usual story/character development was equivalent to a masterfully planned assasination by a highly trained operative with precision and skill, this was a sloppy driveby…ultimately got the job done but with a lot of unnecessary carnage and no masterfulness in the delivery.
If you haven’t yet sampled Robinson’s work, Alter and Infinite are really amazing and I’d certainly recommend them over this title.