THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN! Not only that, this steampunk murder mystery features queer (and otherwise) prostitutes along with a slew of interesting characters who don't exactly fit together but team up anyway to take down the bad guys and save their city. I was just an all-around terrible failure as a commando, and that was that.' 'I realized that again I'd forgotten to pick up a weapon. Bear's writing also felt blunt, made more noticeable by the mic drop thoughts of the main character about women's rights, racial equality, etc. Though I appreciate that this book has a diverse cast of characters (different races, ethnic heritage, sexuality, gender identity), it felt forced, like Elizabeth Bear was attempting to single-handedly balance representation. As usual, I found more of the side characters intriguing, and part of me wonders why the stories couldn't be told from their perspective with multiple PoVs. I felt no sympathy for the main character losing her father, and it took so long for Bear to reveal enough about Karen's past that it felt like a gimmick to keep readers interested (and I still wasn't interested). None of the characters were well-developed. I like the general idea of the main character in a western/steampunk setting, but the execution didn't keep my interest.

As a disclaimer, I've found that I'm not a huge fan of steampunk or westerns, so that plays a role in my lackluster experience of this book.

Karen memory by elizabeth bear