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While it was suggested in other reviews that this could be read as a standalone book, as more of the “siblings” come into the story I am having trouble sussing out who’s who and what’s what. So I’m less inclined to think it makes sense to read this without having read the previous series. I realize the tension is supposed to be escalating but I don’t know who anyone is and why I should care.

I stared this book confused because I had read a blurb that said “if you love Benjamin stevenson, you’ll love this” so it was in my head that it was a murder mystery. No. It is not.

It’s a tale of a man approaching middle age and trying to reboot his life. There are moments that are funny, sardonic, sarcastic and charming. But it’s not a murder mystery.

So good! A little Monk & Robot, a little Automatic Noodle, with a dash of Murderbot thrown in for good measure. Trying not to blurt out spoilers while reading it.

After reading The Circle by Dave Eggers, reading the real-life shenanigans of this monumental game company that rocked the world is strangely similar. All the same hyper levels of weirdness, misogyny and cultishness exist in both books and both worlds.

A cautionary tale of the overreach of tech companies. It’s never been more applicable.

As someone who actually reads tarot, the fact that the magical system uses tarot both as magical weapons and as actual divination tools creates a problem. I’m fine with the magic-using-tarot not aligning with traditional card meanings but when the characters are actually reading the cards and not using anything close to the traditional meanings—- argh!

This book drops you right into the action with no recap so if you don’t remember what happened in book 7, you might want to go back and reread it. The same thing happened to me between books 6 and 7 so I should have been better prepared. This has left me frustrated and spending time looking for recaps so I remember what is going on. Is it to much to ask for a “previously on murderbot”?