I have descended from my ivory tower and read a fiction book that was written in the 2000s…and I had such a fun time doing it! Andy Weir weaves science into his stories so well, and I loved the relationship between Grace and Rocky. Finally, as far as tropes go, humans and aliens trying to teach each other their respective languages is one of my favorites.
Ah yes, the story of the unlikable, supra-genius Grace who can solve any science/engineering problem in mere minutes while alone and isolated in space (it took teams of NASA engineers days to solve the Apollo 13 problem). He can also become fluent in a completely alien language in 3 days, fluent enough to be able to discuss complicated physics, science, and astrophysics with a living rock (I might be able to learn how to ask where the bathroom is in another language in 3 days).
I wasn’t overly impressed myself, and much of it was pretty hard to swallow (completely implausible). There was zero tension in the book because you knew Grace would just snap his fingers, and say “Aha, I got it! I’m really good at this science stuff…who knew!!!” /shrug
Excellent summary. I loathed this book. I was so disappointed as I really enjoyed The Martian. Even Artemis wasn’t that bad.
Excellent summary. I loathed this book. I was so disappointed as I really enjoyed The Martian. Even Artemis wasn’t that bad.