#max epstein

I don’t know what I want to do... But whatever I do, I want to be with you guys.

It’s been a month since the NeoScum finale and I’m still so, so emo about how it ended. Truly the most found family of all time. <3

Book #125 of 2023:

Stephen Leeds: Death and Faxes by Brandon Sanderson, Max Epstein, David Pace, and Michael Harkins

[Disclaimer: I am Facebook friends with the first credited author of this book.]

This audiobook production is set within Brandon Sanderson’s existing Stephen Leeds / Legion trilogy, and an afterword makes it clear that he really only licensed out the characters and series premise to the other three writers listed on the cover. The result is a pale imitation of what made the earlier books work — to the extent that they do; I have mixed opinions on those original novellas myself — with a drearily slow investigation and a love interest so poorly written that I was erroneously convinced she would turn out to be a villain in disguise, especially after the protagonist immediately starts referring to the hacker he’s tracking as a man, despite not having any evidence as to the suspect’s actual identity. The tech-thriller genre and the concept of the hero hallucinating imaginary subject matter experts are inherited, but not taken anywhere new or interesting this time.

My ratings for the associated Sanderson stories have ranged from two stars to four, and since this volume is unequivocally worse than all of them, I suppose I have no choice but to give it my lowest possible score in turn. That’s an unfortunate surprise, as I’ve liked some of the author’s previous co-written ventures, like Sunreach with Janci Patterson or Dark One: Forgotten with Dan Wells, although I now suspect those were truer collaborations than this. Still, it’s certainly given me pause about jumping on any future titles just because they carry Sanderson’s name on the front. It hurts me to say this about one of my favorite novelists, but he’s really damaged his brand for me here.

[Content warning for gun violence, torture, and gore.]

★☆☆☆☆