Well, this WAS an odd one. I see why some people were reluctant to call it science fiction, but that category is fine for me. I enjoyed the characters and the pace of the story, though became more and more confused as the book progressed. And yes, baffled by how it ended. ( )

Well, that was a great big bucket of weird. Started off as a paranoid thriller and ended up deep into some WTF territory. Without getting into specifics, the ending did not entirely click for me. But it's an enjoyable ride nonetheless. ( )

The Second Shooter is a fast-paced and darkly funny novel that carries readers along like a storm surge, twisting and turning around ever-changing plot points and perspectives. It's a great send-up of America's contemporary culture of conspiracy theorists and the media figures who engage with and encourage them for the sake of the show, as well as a biting critique of everyone who benefits from public tragedies. I found it both entertaining and eerily believable.

The main drawback of this novel, for me, was that I had some difficulty finding the main character engaging. Everything that happened to and around him, and everyone he encountered, was much, much more engaging, which saved the book and ultimately resulted in a satisfying reading experience. I think it might have been a five-star read had there been just a bit more to Mike Karras, though perhaps his essential lack of, well, pretty much everything was important to the plot. At any rate, though his characterization was a flaw for me, I still enjoyed the book quite a bit.

I'd recommend The Second Shooter to anyone looking for a slightly paranormal thriller that's short enough for a fast reader to blaze through in an afternoon. Fans of the X-Files, Neal Stephenson, and William Gibson alike should find plenty of thematic satisfaction here, but Mamatas's take on familiar themes of omnipresent surveillance and vast conspiracy is individual enough to offer most readers something new to think about.

I received a free e-ARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my review. ( )