I’ve been trying to get back into reading and picked this up at the recommendation of a ton of people, online & in real life. I’m about half-way through and I honestly am thinking about putting it down and picking something else up.
I don’t know if this is a Project Hail Mary issue or an Andy Weir issue (this is the first book of his I’ve read) but holy shit is this character dialogue / development cringey. I know this is science fiction, but I can’t stop calling Andy Weir a fucking nerd in my head while reading this.
He can’t write women well at all, and everything about Ryland Grace is god-awful (i.e, see my comments on cringe nerd). If I haven’t bonded with it half-way through, I don’t think I am at the end, right?
I think it’s a cool concept as a whole, but this formula of problem -> science jargon -> solution mixed in with weird dialogue and Stratt being written as a “badass boss babe” is not bonding well with me.
by blackiechan99
8 Comments
Despite really hating Grace I still enjoyed the book, it’s a light read that shouldnt be taken too seriously imo.
Not sure why you think Stratt was written as a “badass boss babe” though, I really didn’t get that impression lol. She was just a woman in charge and wanted to get shit done. Women irl like that do exist
If you are halfway through and not enjoying it then you aren’t going to enjoy the rest of it. I personally loved the book, but everyone has different taste. You gave it a fair try, time to move on and find something you enjoy more.
That’s OK. It’s probably just not your type.
It’s OK to not like a book.
I *hated* the main character. I *loved* his companion. So it was literally a love/hate read for me. (And by “hating” the main character, I guess that’s hating the author.)
Yeah, I hated it too. A lot of people (at least on reddit) like me say it’s super cringey but a lot of people don’t seem to to feel that way. Although I haven’t seen anyone who likes it specifically discuss and counter the cringe aspect of it. I’d be very curious to see that.
Best to just move on. I thought the Martian movie had a little bit of the cringe in it and I’m guessing now that the book probably has way more of it.
It didn’t really land with me either. I totally get why people love it (the formula of problem > science jargon > solution… I mean, I get why others like that), but I’ve read other books that did it much much better in my opinion. For example, most of Michael Chrichton’s books.
Some might disagree with me, but that’s how it is. You’re not alone, though.
Ironically, though, I am looking forward to watching it as a movie. I dunno why. lol
Same. DNF at about 30%, but I am ok with others liking it 🙂
I loved it, but its engineering / competency porn. I desperately need that type of read in this world 🙂