Genre: Hard Sci-fi

Reading and now reviewing Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir felt like one of the greatest tests of my patience as a reader and my ability to separate the book’s objective and subjective strengths/weaknesses. The writing style and presentation resulted in one of my least favorite reading experiences of the last year and would rightfully deserve a 1-star rating if not for the book’s concept and attention to probable scientific theories. I’ve since learned a lot of my distaste for Project Hail Mary is mostly due to Andy Weir’s signature (or potentially infamous) writing style, with only the following character-related items being Project Hail Mary-specific points. However, after taking some time to review the material after finishing the book, I can appreciate some of its strong technical qualities that no doubt contributed to its popularity and nomination for a 2022 Hugo Award. I was not previously familiar with Andy Weir’s past novels and had only seen short clips of the theatrical adaptation of The Martian, however what was immediately obvious is Weir’s strength for writing geeky science reactions and creative sci-fi concepts. The premise’s catastrophic phenomenon and its implications for life on Earth is not only creative, but also fascinating…

Picked up on a blind Goodreads algorithm suggestion (dangerous choice, I know), I had no expectations or experience going into Robert Charles Wilson’s Spin. Obviously I assumed it would be at least competently plotted with a high-concept as the coveted 2006 Hugo Award winner for best novel. What I did not expect and was pleasantly surprised by was the highly restrained, nuanced, yet incredibly character work that carried me all through Spin. This is notable particularly when some of the science-fiction elements, pardon the bad pun, occasionally spun a bit out of control. A 4.5 rounded up, this rating is not necessarily a rating for a fun or entertaining time, but for a rating that respects the quality of the writing and the execution of the story. Some of my 5-star reads are entertaining or a thrill ride to read; Spin is slower and smart one that I know will stick with me for a while. The main plot of Spin asks the age-old question, what happens when a potentially catastrophic, maybe even apocalyptic event occurs? When faced with possibility that the end of the world is ending, how do people react and grapple with their impending death? (a possibility…

Much like Darrow facing impossible odds against the forces of the Sovereign, Morning Star had the daunting task of concluding an epic that is monstrous in scale. Breaking the chains and political hierarchy introduced in Red Rising then replacing it with a fair society in a 500+ page book is a tall order but Pierce Brown’s decision to extend the originally announced trilogy to a saga (albeit announced after Morning Star was published) smartly avoids a rushed or worse, contrived conclusion. Disclosure upfront, Darrow does not fix the political system in place (that is continued over the next four books) but does attempt to overthrow the powers that be within Morning Star. As a side note, this review will be spoiler free but I will lightly detail a few specific plot arcs that do not take away anything from the read. If you want to go in completely blind I would recommend not reading my review past this paragraph. Summarizing the rest of the review, t I thought the 2nd half of the novel was great and very much a continuation of the general feel and action of Golden Son. The 1st half is an entirely different being that’s introspective,…

If Red Rising was the hook to get me interested, Golden Son delivered the full goods and sold me on this series. While I found Red Rising to be ambitious and an exciting read, it had some pretty notable drawbacks that took me out of the story at times. Does it matter that a random reader with no following like myself has critiques and notes for a book published a decade ago? Absolutely not but regardless, I found Golden Son to carryover all of the elements Red Rising got right and improve on every aspect I found initially lacking. The main elements that I found to be weak in Red Rising were primarily the sheer number of characters involved that are largely shallow and undeveloped, story arcs that were inconsistent in interest for me personally, and Darrow’s character voice being tiresome and being hyper masculine honor-based. While I’m still not a huge fan of Darrow’s personality, his growth and maturity in Golden Son is exponential which made him far more tolerable to me. With the narrative growing increasingly complex and politically-driven, it was a relief that he develops more emotional and strategic intelligence. With a smarter and more rational character…

I was very close to dropping this in the first part but stuck with it as I heard the story picks up quickly. Furthermore many fans often consider Red Rising to be one of the weaker books in the series and thematically different due to its culling game-focus. I’m glad I stuck with it though as I thought Red Rising was ultimately great (with a few reservations), a 3 that progressed to a 4.5 rounded up. A mesh of different genres and styles, Pierce Brown is a certified fantasy sci-fi action nerd irl and it shows in his work. The writing style is no-nonsense laced with some advance vocabulary while the plot is fast-paced and furious. The book often takes pleasure in going where the reader wants/or doesn’t want it to go. Case and point if someone commits a terrible act, the book will gleefully and gruesomely execute some sort of twisted judgement on them. But if there’s a character who you are getting attached to and seems to be thriving, you know they’re going to meet an unfortunate end. There are elements in the narrative that are familiar and comfortable to fans of the genre such as the focal…