Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir

Andy Weir sure has the extended science experiment genre covered. I haven't read Artemis yet, but Project Hail Mary definitely works the same vein of hard SF gold as The Martian. This time with rather more spectacular experiments, involving space life that stores a gazillion New-York-City-power years (enough energy to power NYC for a year).

Some of the reviewers knock this book down a little for the extended "nerdgazm" (borrowed that, love it) episodes with Rocky the mineral-like alien, but this is a book for enthusiasts and it really brings that content. We also have a real try at a more complex character--Ryland Grace is not a perfect man, he's revealed to be emotionally immature and not really up to what's expected of him, but he also has a lot of real feelings for his teammates. Plenty of material for screenwriters to work with.

It's really not lacking much--not quite as deep as Ted Chiang or Kim Stanley Robinson, authors who have had many years refining their voices. But Andy Weir definitely has a sense for science adventure. Maybe he'll collaborate with Randall Monroe on a book sometime...

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The Water Outlaws, by S. L. Huang

According to the introduction this book is intended to evoke "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (thought that title is not explicitl...