The Authorities™

Executive Summary: I didn't enjoy this one as much as the Magic 2.0 books, but by the end I ended up liking it about as much as [b:Master of Formalities 24602307 Master of Formalities Scott Meyer https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1430403854s/24602307.jpg 44211513]Audiobook: Luke Daniels is awesome. As always. Reviewing his narration feels redundant. I'm always more likely to do a book if the audio is done by Mr. Daniels.Full ReviewI really enjoy Mr. Meyer's Magic 2.0 books. I'm still hoping he does another one soon. In the meantime, I've been doing his other books, especially since they all seem to get Luke Daniels as the narrator and available for pretty cheap.Cop/murder stories are overplayed. It seems like you can't tell a mystery story without murder. Or at least no one wants to. So of course this centers around a murder. However at it's core about this ridiculous private investigation company created by an eccentric tech billionaire.I really didn't like most of the characters, which was part of my issue with his last book too. I did warm up to some of them by the end however. That pretty much sums up my overall feelings on the book as well. I was kind of bored early on, but warmed up to things by the end. Likable characters go a long way for me.The humor wasn't as good for me as his Magic books, but probably about as good as Master of Formalities. It's always a subjective thing, but it probably comes down to the subject matter than anything. I'd probably be more likely to call this book ridiculous (at least some of the time) than funny.I'd probably read another book in this series, but I hope that now that all the setup is out of the way, it would be more enjoyable sooner.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader as part of a quick takes post is to catch up on my “To Write About” stack—emphasizing pithiness, not thoroughness.
—
This is a comedic police procedural with a dash of SF. A beat cop who ends up featured on a very embarrassing viral video gets the opportunity to capitalize on his inadvertent fame by becoming the face of an oddball group of crime fighting experts assembled by a tech guru to revolutionize policing.

This screams TV movie as backdoor pilot to an 80s TV show. I could see this as a pretty long-running series. I'm guessing the sales weren't there–or maybe Meyer didn't have a second novel in him (maybe it was a stand-alone all along?)–because there hasn't been a follow-up. With something that feels so much a kick-off to a series, the fact that there's nothing more takes a little of the shine off the ending. Just a little.

I enjoyed this–decent mystery, great cast of suspects–great cast of characters period–fun set up, solid (and goofy) execution. Lots of fun.

The narration on this was done by Luke Daniels, who I am an unabashed fan of, I'm not going to waste anyone's time talking about what a great job he did with this one, because it's obvious.