BookWyrm

ariii reviewed The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers, #1)

Becky Chambers: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Paperback, 2015, Hodder & Stoughton)

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, …

Cute found family story with a little bit of bite

4 stars

In general I really liked this book. It is obvious that Chambers loves worldbuilding. For how queer it was though, I kept getting distracted by how rigidly it stuck to the gender binary. One character is introduced as "they", but then it turns out that they're plural. The diversity in the story wasn't bad exactly, but as an enby it felt really alienating.

ariii rated Laziness Does Not Exist: 4 stars

Devon Price: Laziness Does Not Exist (2021, Atria Books)

Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

From social psychologist Dr. Devon Price, a conversational, stirring call to “a better, more human way to live” (Cal Newport, …

ariii rated Het recht van de snelste: 5 stars

Thalia Verkade: Het recht van de snelste (Dutch language, 2020, De Correspondent)

Het recht van de snelste by Thalia Verkade

From traffic lights to traffic jams, from a street full of stationary cars to bicycle highways: how we move has …

ariii reviewed Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Andy Weir: Project Hail Mary (EBook, 2021, Random House Publishing Group)

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission–and if he fails, humanity …

A fun read with mediocre social science

4 stars

Project Hail Mary was a really fun read. This book is a lot more ambitious than The Martian, but mostly well executed and I didn't trip over any questionable science. I didn't like how the main character ended up on the mission, but that can be forgiven. I'm a little disappointed in the politics. The world is ending, Grace is imagining people he loves dying, and we don't get their perspective at all. I get that that's completely beside the main story line but it feels like the story takes place in an uncomfortable social vacuum. And yeah, I have to mention Rocky's gender. Of course the scientist is excited about communicating about atoms and number systems more than social science. But defaulting to he/him for the little creature and never circling back is wrong. It would work as commentary about cishet guy scientists, but instead it only tells us …

Project Hail Mary was a really fun read. This book is a lot more ambitious than The Martian, but mostly well executed and I didn't trip over any questionable science. I didn't like how the main character ended up on the mission, but that can be forgiven. I'm a little disappointed in the politics. The world is ending, Grace is imagining people he loves dying, and we don't get their perspective at all. I get that that's completely beside the main story line but it feels like the story takes place in an uncomfortable social vacuum. And yeah, I have to mention Rocky's gender. Of course the scientist is excited about communicating about atoms and number systems more than social science. But defaulting to he/him for the little creature and never circling back is wrong. It would work as commentary about cishet guy scientists, but instead it only tells us something about the writer.

ariii reviewed Artemis by Andy Weir

"Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only …

A letdown

1 star

I read Artemis after The Martian and Project Hail Mary. Where I felt a connection with an alien in the latter, Artemis offered no such thing, even though the main character is roughly my age and gender. Or because of it. It feels like Weir is uncomfortable with the political and social side of this story. This could have been such a solid exploration of a future society, but we got some dumb luck and a happy ever after instead.