Finished a SECOND book this year!
Fun, quick read. Basically a must-read for any Star Trek nerd. It's a riff on some of the more absurd elements of Trek, but it's not trashing on Trek and has its own story to tell .
It's consistently interesting and entertaining, but I think it's a bit oversold as a comedy. Writing comedy is hard and I think maybe most sci-fi nerd authors are just kinda mid when it comes to their sense of humor.
I'm also not convinced that Scalzi is a great writer. He's certainly crafted a fun concept, but the word-by-word execution is just... fine... but not exceptional. He has about two main characters too many and never manages the load of all their weight; pretty much right up to the end I was still struggling to remember who was who. Ensembles work way better on TV.
However, the final coda is lovely and lovingly written. It actually is pretty exceptional (reminded me of Ann Patchett which is an absurd, unexpected compliment to Scalzi).
Overall well worth the short time commitment. It's not a masterpiece, but that's okay.
Fun, quick read. Basically a must-read for any Star Trek nerd. It's a riff on some of the more absurd elements of Trek, but it's not trashing on Trek and has its own story to tell .
It's consistently interesting and entertaining, but I think it's a bit oversold as a comedy. Writing comedy is hard and I think maybe most sci-fi nerd authors are just kinda mid when it comes to their sense of humor.
I'm also not convinced that Scalzi is a great writer. He's certainly crafted a fun concept, but the word-by-word execution is just... fine... but not exceptional. He has about two main characters too many and never manages the load of all their weight; pretty much right up to the end I was still struggling to remember who was who. Ensembles work way better on TV.
However, the final coda is lovely and lovingly written. It actually is pretty exceptional (reminded me of Ann Patchett which is an absurd, unexpected compliment to Scalzi).
Overall well worth the short time commitment. It's not a masterpiece, but that's okay.
The last book I finished might've been The Bitcoin Standard or Popper's "Digital Gold". Focusing on nonfiction and narrowing to mostly just bitcoin books is likely a huge part of my nonexistent reading pace.
Aside from being fiction, I wonder if "Hail Mary" being told in the first person also helped combat my bad attention span. Third person: you're being told what's happening. First person, you're inside someone's thoughts and part of your brain receives it as if it was happening to you ("Ouch, that hurt!" vs "he burned his finger").
---
Quick review:
"Hail Mary" is pretty engaging (good job starting *in medias res*) with chapter length tailored to short attention spans (🙋♂️). Never gets to "omg I can't put this down" intensity but obv kept me hooked enough to enjoy coming back to it each day.
As is usual with Andy Weir, real-world science is baked into the story's bones. Though as it gets more speculative, it can seem a bit disappointingly simplistic. Something like the movie "Arrival" spends all of its focus on solving ONE really complex problem, but Weir's protagonist too easily overcomes what should be a number of near-impossible barriers.
I forgot that Weir is just never as funny as he thinks he is, or perhaps more favorably: his characters have a pretty lame, predictable 4-out-of-10 sense of humor. His protagonists also never talk or think like a normal person and the "it's 'cause I'm a super science nerd" excuse can only take him so far.
But the story is well told, pretty cool and interesting from a sci-fi perspective, moves fast, and never gets boring. The protagonist isn't as annoying as I'm making him sound and he gets a lot more accessible (and even funny!) after his disorienting beginning.
Critiquer gotta critique, but I really enjoyed it.
Recommended for sci-fi nerds who can ease up a bit and take in a nerdy-but-not-super-nerdy story.
---
*(yes, that's Japanese text; huge Japanese community here)
