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Overly poetic, but explores some interesting philosophical concepts, the experience of synthesized consciousness, and the power of how much thought you can put into things, given accelerated brainpower and access to the entirety of world knowledge.

Very clever plotting, and some enjoyable interludes contemplating morality, philosophy, and the ethics behind cloning and creating/manipulating consciousness. It gets talky at times, but never dull, and the pace keeps moving. I’m impressed with the way Scalzi is expanding on this story.

One gets the sense Crichton would have ironed out a few repetitive or unfocused areas in a subsequent draft, but what we get is reminiscent of his best. Sharp characters, well defined; an artful blend of story, science, history, and the history of science; appealing and varied adventures. Plus a wry take on the motivations behind the billionaire benefactors of the era.

It’s a clever expansion on the world-building of [b: Old Man’s War|36510196|Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)|John Scalzi|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1509467059l/36510196.SY75.jpg|50700] with some recap, and some new info. It offers a look at the human perspective as well as the political dynamic, which is an angle of Scalzi’s sci-fi writing that always impresses me.

Crouch often flirts with very high concepts, and he usually delivers a solid read. In this case, there are too many narrators and the whole thing feels overly choppy. The mood and characterization are effective, but the bleak ending felt exhausting.

I enjoy Scalzi’s approach to world-building, and he’s set up a very interesting speculative future with some fertile threads to explore. The pacing is excellent and the characters are enjoyable, even though they all have pretty much the same voice. (Except for the racist guy, thankfully; nobody likes him.)

I’m always a sucker for fake words, but this story was pretty thin, and more amusing than hilarious.Rather than identifying with exceedingly anxious characters in novels, I often find them tedious. Maybe it's because it takes a lot of time to write out the racing thoughts of a nervous person, and I spend enough time living that experience, I don't want to wade through half a page of the transcribed version. These characters were vividly articulated, just not much fun to be around.

Not quite up to the standards of [b: The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg|21825181] and [b: Project Hail Mary|54493401|Project Hail Mary|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1597695864l/54493401.SY75.jpg|79106958] (though, frankly, three books at that level in this amount of time would be downright suspicious). The tone is a little less appealing and the plotting is overly tidy at times, but Weir keeps it enjoyable and briskly paced. He takes a somewhat sophomoric approach to writing a female narrator, though; hopefully not something he'll attempt again soon.

Enjoyable pacing and characterization, and a fresh perspective. It’s inviting to younger readers without being condescending, and the plotting and emotional complexity held my attention even as a reader who hasn’t been young for a very long time.

Warm, sincere, and genuine. The brothers’ closeness leaps off the page, and together they’re unafraid to show ego, failure, embarrassment, or sentiment. Their story inspires a real appreciation for spectacular parenting, and Ron’s reminiscences provide an engrossing look at the career of a prolific filmmaker who’s more of a craftsman and a fan of cinema than an auteur.

It explores an interesting concept in the most infuriatingly limited way, bogging down its potential with a bunch of senseless rules, and falling short of a true exploration of any of its avenues.

Most authors would dream of putting out something as fantastic as [b: The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg|21825181] just once in their careers. Somehow, Weir has done it again, with a very different story that nevertheless captures the same charming manner of making scientific minutiae feel fascinating. Mark Watney is probably my favorite character over Ryland Grace, but the emotional punch that’s delivered as Grace’s adventure unfolds is unlike anything else. (I just wish there were any way to prevent them from making a movie version.)

I should give this another read sometime. Possibly my first impression was affected by my staggering expectations from how much I loved [b: Axiom’s End|51171377|Axiom's End (Noumena, #1)|Lindsay Ellis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1579072263l/51171377.SY75.jpg|72729696], but I’m not excited to go through it again anytime soon. It lost so much of the emotional core of the previous novel by shifting focus to the global political debate, less-interesting relationships, and restating its points ad nauseam.

Dry at times, but full of engaging insights and thoroughly documented case studies. It’s astonishing how much of the human experience feels scary and unknown simply because we never talk about it.

Perel’s profound insights into human emotions, and romantic relationships especially, expertly reveal judgments and stereotypes we don’t even realize we have. Her informal, relatable observations create an engaging environment for broadening perspectives and increasing self-knowledge.