#Bookreview : Marco and the Red Granny by Mur Lafferty

Mur Lafferty is the host on the podcast I should be writing If you're a writer and you're not listening to it, you should. The podcast is a wonderful resource for self-published and traditionally published authors alike.

Mur Lafferty also publishes her own books and Marco and the Red Granny is one I recommend reading.

Book description borrowed from Amazon: By bringing back the patronage system, a new alien species has transformed the moon into the new artistic center of the universe, and Sally Ride Lunar Base soon gains the nickname “Mollywood.” These aliens can do amazing things with art and the senses, allowing a painting, for example, to stimulate other senses than simply sight. When someone asks a starlet, “Who are you wearing?” she could as easily say “J.K. Rowling” as she could “Gucci.”

Every creative person in the world wishes for a patronage. It’s quite competitive.

Marco wanted one, once. But then his girlfriend got one and shuttled off to Mollywood for fame and fortune, and Marco stayed home, waiting for his own patron. After several years, he gave up entirely. His career faltered. His agent dumped him. And then, one morning, he gets a call. At last he has a patron, at last the aliens want him. But he’s about to find out that an artistic patronage isn’t what it was in the good old days, and that the only friend he’s made, a tiny old woman who’s the star of a blood sports reality series called The Most Dangerous Game, has secrets of her own.

I enjoyed this book. It's a short, simple story that you can sit down and read in a day. Except for a few areas that could have used some editing, the book is written well with a style that's easy and flows naturally. The setting and world development are interesting. Everything is set on the moon with aliens that are patrons of the arts. The idea that you can put on a shirt and experience a novel from wearing it is unique.

The character Marco is likable and comes across real. The secondary character the red granny is also likable, I wish there was more of her in the story, more about her past and how she ended up in the Dangerous Game.

One gripe, it would seem to me that Marco would've had a harder time excepting Penelope's name change and in the narrative would have continued to call her Penelope.

I enjoyed the ending. I thought is was well plotted out and executed. The ending leads me to believe that there may be sequels to the story and I hope Mur Lafferty does write them.

 

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