Basically the plan to crash an asteroid into the sun was just plain dumb and everyone went along with it. The was nothing reality based about the physics of that one. And, plot-wise, the whole plan was completely unnecessary.

You are not alone. I thought the first book was awful. I made it through, but only because the other book I was reading at the time was worse. Between “vomit zombies”, horrible physics, juvenile humor once the protagonist gets a girl friend, and the entire plot based on how the crew always makes the right decision (everyone else being wrong and being convicted to help them), I was just happy to be done with it.