The Skinner

This is more of a 3.5 stars vs 4. The author paints an interesting and novel world with a story that draws you in. I had already lined up the next 2 books by the time I was half way through. But from 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through the trajectory of the story and its inevitable ending are set and so ultimately I was disappointed in the book.

Oof, it took me a long time to get through this book. Asher accomplished some amazing world-building and a cast of intriguing characters. The gaps for me however were that this book was primarily plot-driven and the dialogue mostly felt like it was there to drive the plot forward. After a great start introducing some of the [what felt like 80] characters and the world, the middle slogged for me. By the end I wanted a deeper dive into and relationship building between the main/secondary/tertiary characters. (Really, the secondary/tertiary characters interested me the most, Windcheater and the AI like Sniper are the best.) I just feel like a great opportunity was missed. If you like sci-fi in a really unique setting that is plot-driven and features a large cast, this could be for you.