Michael Shum

Foreword Reviews: With quirky yet compelling intelligence, Queen of Spades creates its own small, interconnected universe, including those who want to escape the seductive lure of gambling, those who think they can outsmart Lady Luck, or those who simply put on a name tag and uniform and offer casino chips, cards, and drinks. (Meg Nola)
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Newfound: Why not assume our auras can glitter and glow as we shuffle closer towards death? Why not suppose that planetary magnetism, celestial bodies, and their curious dance in the night’s sky have a direct effect on the meaningful moments in our lives, the times when some personal mystery is unraveled to our utter disbelief and delight? This is the happy, hopeful high ground Shum takes, and his characters, though all losers, each somehow win. In an age where there are seemingly no more happy endings, Shum pulls several off. As it turns out, this is what we’ve all been waiting for. (Jennifer Lynn Christie)
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PokerTube: The solid, professional prose and richly imagined characters, are probably sufficient to keep you entertained but the book does have interesting ideas swimming about beneath its light entertainment surface. None of the explanations for the strange turns of chance and coincidence at the Royal seem sufficient. This constant hinting at the beyond without ever showing us the monster means the book operates in an ambiguous liminal area somewhere between being Rounders, and being a 21st Century fairytale. (Jon Pill)
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