I gave this a 3/5 on Goodreads. If I could do half points I'd maybe give it a 2.5/5. Overall, I thought it vacillated between being fun and engaging and repetitive and frustrating and could've been a lot better, but I liked parts of it enough to finish it. Overall it was just fine and I don't quite get the hype since I've seen this displayed in the front of every bookstore I've walked into for the last couple of years. It's also a rare "this has potential to a better as a movie" book so I am curious to see the movie when its released.
What I Liked:
- The story and concept was interesting – unique and fun while being high stakes.
- Rocky was a great character and what was made a lot of the book worth reading.
- Interesting 'real' science (though this also works against the book – see below)
- Grace has a good sense of humor and could be likable (but also had issues – see below)
- I enjoyed the ending, even if it took too long to get there.
What I didn't like:
- Overall, this the story and concept was great but the writing was not and it was not well-written or executed. The style was extremely repetitive and frequently felt like a slog. Almost every page/chapter that took place on the spaceship was some variety of "I have a problem, in order to solve it I'll try applying this scientific explanation to solve this puzzle. Darn, heck, it didn't work! Now, I'll try solution B. Let me explain solution B in great detail. Fist pump, it worked! Yet, now we have this new problem to solve." and so on.
- The chapters that did not take place on the spaceship as above were mostly just one-dimensional characters and dialogue that wasn't particularly engaging (the hardened government official saving the world, the awkward and brilliant scientist, the vodka chugging Russian, etc et). Grace can be likable, but his awkward-but-likable-cool-teacher-nerd who says 'heck' and 'darn' and 'crud' constantly like he's a youth pastor got stale and corny.
- The science was interesting and accessible enough to non-Scientists like myself. However, Weir over-explains and repeats details constantly instead of trusting the reader to figure it out or recall key points (how many times must we be told that Rocky is a 'great engineer?'). The novel felt like it needed better editors to help him not always "tell" the reader what was happening and the novel could've been trimmed by 75-100 pages.
by SgtStupendous