I really wanted to like this book, having liked The Martian and… well, we don’t talk about Project Artemis. I enjoyed the movie just fine, and I hoped the book would fix some oversimplifications and convenient occurrences depicted there. Also, the main character is a teacher.
Unfortunately, the book had problems I couldn’t overlook.
So, what were the problems?
The main one, possibly, is a childish fairy-tale approach to both global politics and science. Trying to steer clear of spoilers as much as I can, there’s a global catastrophe lurking from space, threatening all life on earth, and all Nations work together? Call me a pessimist, but that’s not how it goes.
Also, they give the director of the mission powers above all National and International laws, and she actually gets the mission done instead of using all that power for some selfish, short-sighted goal? Again, that’s not how it goes. Not without a credible explanation and some serious, in-depth depiction of the character’s personality, at least. And we don’t get that.
Finally, the main character in The Martian knew his own very specific craft, which means he could grow potatoes like a charm but needed help from home on a bunch of other science. In this book, the character has no means of communication with other scientists, but that’s no problem, he knows all sciences because he’s a high-school teacher. As much as I love teachers, and I would applaud a book that sings their (our?) praises, again, that’s not believable.
There is some good development and the science seems solid enough, the general concept is intriguing, I’m bound to tear up when he talks about his kids, and of course I love Rocky to bits, but I think the book should have been at least twice its length, and the Earth portions should have been properly developed, Frank Schätzing style, because the scope and ambition of this book demands it. Right now, the good concept of this book feels developed by an inexperienced author. Which is weird.
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