By John Scalzi.
Previous chapter here.
We're on Earth for this one. Our main character is the abominable Albert Birnbaum, who's one of those jerkass bigot-ish radio talk show hosts. His ratings are falling, he's more concerned with cheating on his wife (the smart one, the one that made sure he didn't have a prenup) than working on his career, and he's a general scumbag who's flushing down the toilet. He's the kind of bastard that nobody's gonna care about and enjoy the downfall of--especially his poor producer Louisa. But Birnbaum's downward spiral stops when he's contacted by a stranger, Michael Washington. He's a bit stalker-y and he's got an offer for Birnbaum. Pimp the awesomeness of the Colonial Union, get your career back up again. And it works. And all is going well for Birnbaum, who will spout anything for the money. But is that a good idea?
Hm, maybe not so much, if you're Birnbaum.
This is another one-off-ish chapter, which is kind of making it hard for me to say stuff about it (much like "Walk The Plank"). I guess I have a harder time getting attached to those at first go when reading the book in a chapter a week. Birnbaum's a jerk that I don't care about, and the overall plotline is...not a surprise to anyone but Birnbaum. But his jerkiness is written well, for what that's worth. I'm not overly attached or blown away by this chapter in itself, but it's not bad....maybe I'm just waiting to get back to Harry and company, though. I think this is kind of a minor Not My Favorite kind of bit for me, but other folks may feel differently.
So, three stars.
Previous chapter here.
We're on Earth for this one. Our main character is the abominable Albert Birnbaum, who's one of those jerkass bigot-ish radio talk show hosts. His ratings are falling, he's more concerned with cheating on his wife (the smart one, the one that made sure he didn't have a prenup) than working on his career, and he's a general scumbag who's flushing down the toilet. He's the kind of bastard that nobody's gonna care about and enjoy the downfall of--especially his poor producer Louisa. But Birnbaum's downward spiral stops when he's contacted by a stranger, Michael Washington. He's a bit stalker-y and he's got an offer for Birnbaum. Pimp the awesomeness of the Colonial Union, get your career back up again. And it works. And all is going well for Birnbaum, who will spout anything for the money. But is that a good idea?
Hm, maybe not so much, if you're Birnbaum.
This is another one-off-ish chapter, which is kind of making it hard for me to say stuff about it (much like "Walk The Plank"). I guess I have a harder time getting attached to those at first go when reading the book in a chapter a week. Birnbaum's a jerk that I don't care about, and the overall plotline is...not a surprise to anyone but Birnbaum. But his jerkiness is written well, for what that's worth. I'm not overly attached or blown away by this chapter in itself, but it's not bad....maybe I'm just waiting to get back to Harry and company, though. I think this is kind of a minor Not My Favorite kind of bit for me, but other folks may feel differently.
So, three stars.
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