Book Review: Small Medium at Large

Characters:

The standout star, and number one reason to read this story is the titular small medium, Chase Berrymore. In this installment, as with the previous, Chase is the heart of the story and the biggest draw. It is so refreshing as a reader to have a protagonist that is smart, witty, and not completely absorbed in their complaints of the world around them. It is also so nice to have a central character of a fantasy novel that doesn’t hit the ‘reluctant hero’ check-box.

Once again, Chase relies on her strengths of her quick wit and sharp mind, utilizing her down-to-earth rationales to overcome adversity. She knows what her strengths and weaknesses are, and actively plays towards them, often realizing that her only means of success lie in non-traditional approaches.

The main story-line sees Chase trying to handle the seedy underworld of Arretzi and deal with some overwhelmingly violent werewolves. It’s obvious at the outset that she lacks the martial prowess to combat the werewolves and the streetwise skills to handle the mafia. But, using her ability to discern the immediate future and thinking on her feet she somehow manages to meet her challenges.

Renny and Thomasi return as supporting characters in this book, and they are largely as we remember them from the first book. I felt it was a bit of a missed opportunity to expand on Renny’s background, but he serves as a good sounding-board to Chase. Thomasi continues to be a bit of a mystery in that he is a ‘player’ and he does reveal some of what that means, but his motivations are still clouded in uncertainty. It’s my hope that soon Thomasi will have his agenda revealed and some of his mystery resolved. As it stands, it’s difficult to trust or understand why he does what he does.

Cagna and Bastien are new characters in this novel and they serve as the local knowledge and humor respectively. While these new characters fit into the narrative well, I felt Cagna was somewhat one-note. Where Bastien steps outside the comic relief role to give some occasional sage advice, I felt Cagna to be somewhat flat.

Plot:

While not overtly stated, the meta-plot of this story seems to be based off the game ‘werewolf’. For those not familiar, werewolf is a social-deduction where a few people are werewolves and everyone else is trying to find them and stop them from killing. The main tension from the game of werewolf, and this story, is the race to find the werewolf before they can kill again.

I won’t comment more on the plot structure to avoid spoiling anything, but I thought there was a delicious nested meta-commentary where the characters are in a game-world where they know they are living under game logic, but are also playing another game (werewolf) without knowing it. A game within a game, in other words.

Characteristic of a social-deduction game, there are many plot-twists and surprises to keep your interest. However, as the reader I did feel bind/clueless at times, which is a little disappointing. I prefer to have a bit of an idea of where the story is going so I can have my guesses challenged. At points (like Chase vs. the mob boss at first) I was clueless where the plot was heading. This may not be an issue for you, if you’re the type of person who opens a book and follows where a book leads, but I tend to make theories and predictions as I read.

Settings:

In my previous review I mentioned wanted to see more of the Italian-themed setting, and this installment did not disappoint. The reader can tell that much care and effort was put into crafting a town with an Italian flair. The food, people, and political (mob and government) structure all have a nice Sicilian lilt.

Other than the nice flavor for the city of Arretzi, the litrpg setting that is well-familiar to readers from the Threadbare series is back in full force. There are a number of fun puns and references buried in the skill names, especially for Bastien and his muscle wizardry. Also, like previous installments in the universe, the characters make full use of the mechanical nature of the world to their benefit. While there is some mystery about how some of the mechanics of the game-world work, for the most part everyone knows the basics, and acknowledge how it all works. It’s kind of a fine balancing act, between general knowledge and the thrill of new discoveries, but the author does a good job of making the game-elements interesting and relevant to the story.

Recommended for: fans of the litrpg and lighter fantasy fare. Anyone who has read the first book in the series.

Stay away if: you have no experience with rpg gaming, a lot of humor and references will pass you by if games aren’t in your wheelhouse. Also, while not strictly necessary to read the first book in the series, you’ll likely be lost if you haven’t read Small Medium: Big Trouble.