Finder (The Finder Chronicles) Hardcover – April 2, 2019

The first half of this story is great. The writing is tight, the story is creative and moves along like it knows where it's going. The second half reads like it's improvised word to word and has no idea where it' s going. The long, drawn out rambling just ruins the good feel of the first half. I do not recommend this book.

I enjoyed reading this and for several reasons.It’s different from a lot of the other sf novels in sensibility and style. The worldbuilding is great. Though set in a familiar trope of tin can type habitats in space, there’s a wonderful sense of humor and quirkiness in the unique ways each habitat has developed. To me, this lends authenticity as well as often providing some fun plot assists. There’s a wide range of these micro cultures, all held together by cooperation to survive in an extreme environment. I especially enjoyed the oddest bunch, the tribe living in the sun shields.Another classic trope is the gangster/warlord culture on the edges of civilization. What sets Finder apart is the way these characters are developed with unique points of view and motivations, beyond the usual and ordinary greed, lust, ambition etc.This could have been a quicker, shorter, simpler story. I love books that surprise me, and this one did. Other reviewers didn’t like some of the plot twists; I thought they were great! The side trip to Mars to me made total strategic sense, and only someone capable of thinking outside the box would have thought of it. Fergus is that type of thinker and for him not to have thought of this would have gutted his character.There’s one chapter where Fergus has a series of memories and relives experiences. This is another trope along the lines of life flashing before your eyes. It is really hard to write this type of sequence without getting sappy, repetitive, or just weird. I thought the author handled this not only beautifully, but showed us deep and intricate twists in Fergus’s character that were, to the sensitive reader, heart wrenching.The aliens were really cool. Another hard thing to pull off well. IMHO Aliens are most believably alien when they are not just humans who look funny. Sf is full of cat people, Bear people, octopus people, bug people, androids etc etc etc who have thoroughly human psychology, motivations, prejudices and assumptions about power and gender. So boring.Humor is sprinkled throughout this book, both verbal and situational. Refreshingly, very little dialog was purposed to make us admire how funny the author is. Instead, Fergus has flair all his own that includes his darkly humorous attitude on life.The writing is easy to read and understand except in a couple of small places which quickly became clear through context.To me the best sf shows us what it means to be human. This novel did this in a big way, and did not stop at what it means to be human now, today, but took us into the future to what we can so easily become if we let ourselves continue on our oblivious way.

The headline says it all. Fergus Ferguson is a repo man in space. He fled a Scotland partially underwater from global warming to Mars under Earth's thumb to Pluto, where he became friends with the Shipbuilders. They sent him after a stolen ship, which he found in a dump on the end of human space. Problems break out from Chapter 1 on. This book is a roller-coaster of space opera, with very alien aliens, very human humans and a lot of action. Highly recommended.

This is a dense book that takes a bit of effort to read. There is a lot of humor and improbable chance, wild plots and desperate situations. This would make a great movie. The main character is a bit of a mystery even to himself. I thought of him as a wild Scottsman with a hero complex. Which pretty much makes him a rebellious anti-hero.

Fergus Ferguson I s a Finder, one who brings lost things back to their owners. He’s also an enormous Earth man hurtling through space on a holograph-spewing pogo stick, rustling up trouble wherever he can. With great humor, fun and exciting action sequences, and some fantastic world-building, Suzanne Palmer proves that her Hugo award winning skills are in full force. I look forward to more adventures in this universe.

Best damn read I’ve had in a long time! I hope the author is fast at work writing more! While the main character’s self recrimination got old after awhile, the adventure and action (plus inclusive characters) more than made up for it. In gratitude. 🙏🏿

Loved this book, disagree with the people who didn't like the slowdown in the middle. I like character-driven plots, not just action. So there was a lot of personal growth stuff in there that won't need to be repeated in future novels, if we get a series, but it made me like the characters more. Read the hardcover from library, bought Kindle version for spouse. Worth it.

Not sure what happened, but the book is missing the first 24 pages, will be returning ASAPEDIT: Received another copy with all pages intact. Was a terribly enjoyable read with the protagonist creating believable solutions to overcome obstacles. Slowed down a little in the middle, but still well written otherwise.