mariahhanley's review
3.0
I would consider this to be aggressively mediocre. I wouldn’t recommend it. But I didn’t hate it.
niktruebright's review
Eh...It was kind of interesting, but not enough to make me finish it.
nakedsushi's review
5.0
In the beginning of this pandemic, I made a comment to someone about how it's going to be like being in individual spaceships going somewhere far away. You're isolated in your home. You can only interact with people not in your spaceship virtually. The world and time moves on, but you feel like you're standing still. And yet, you emerge from your spaceship eventually and you're not the same person as you were going in.
This is one of those books where you come out slightly changed after reading it. Some of my favorite science fiction, under all the spaceships, aliens, and other planets, are really about people. What drives them? How do they react to other people? What are they thinking? A lot of navel gazing, but removed from typical Earthly-annoyances like fixing leaky sprinklers and sitting in traffic.
In The Wanderers, it's the cast of people and their internal monologue that's the star of the book. The premise of it is that they aren't even in space. A trio of astronauts get picked for a simulated trip to Mars so that they can prepare for a real trip to Mars and this book is about the simulation.
I have to admit that the writing took a bit to get used to. It's somewhat removed and has an anthropological tone, but it worked once I got into it. It's also an interesting experience to be reading this while in the middle of playing Returnal. No spoilers on the game or the book, but there are some similarities that are hard to miss.
I can see some readers coming to this expecting a lot of action or tension like The Martian, but no, this is a completely different beast.
This is one of those books where you come out slightly changed after reading it. Some of my favorite science fiction, under all the spaceships, aliens, and other planets, are really about people. What drives them? How do they react to other people? What are they thinking? A lot of navel gazing, but removed from typical Earthly-annoyances like fixing leaky sprinklers and sitting in traffic.
In The Wanderers, it's the cast of people and their internal monologue that's the star of the book. The premise of it is that they aren't even in space. A trio of astronauts get picked for a simulated trip to Mars so that they can prepare for a real trip to Mars and this book is about the simulation.
I have to admit that the writing took a bit to get used to. It's somewhat removed and has an anthropological tone, but it worked once I got into it. It's also an interesting experience to be reading this while in the middle of playing Returnal. No spoilers on the game or the book, but there are some similarities that are hard to miss.
I can see some readers coming to this expecting a lot of action or tension like The Martian, but no, this is a completely different beast.
alexsaunders's review
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hoosgracie's review
3.0
This was an interesting book. Set in the near future, it features an Elon Musk-esque company that is prepping to send 3 astronauts to Mars. In preparation, they are in a simulation in Utah for 17 months. The story is told from the perspectives of all three astronauts, their family members and one of the handlers. For a primarily character based story - there is not a lot of action - it moves along quickly. I felt somewhat dissatisfied at the end, thus the rating.
kittykornerlibrarian's review
2.0
DNF about one-third through. This is well-written, but I didn't like the premise of three astronauts (one from Japan, one from Russia, and one from the U.S.) living for seventeen months together in a simulation in preparation for the first mission to Mars. I just didn't find this setting appealing so I decided not to keep going.
nickeubank's review
4.0
Very interesting writing; fun (and believable) perspective into cognitive perspectives of a certain class of people. I do wish a little more was done with the plot.
literatehedgehog's review
4.0
A supremely realistic, thoughtful science fiction.
Premise
It's the near future and we have technology and a private corporation that can get people to Mars. They embark on a extremely taxing simulation on Earth to train for their epic space journey. They and their families and their observers have a hard go of it, learn things, make some jokes, and undergo some maybe good, maybe bad changes.
What it feels like
Like, if the Martian, Omon Ra, and All Our Wrong Tomorrows met and had a beautiful, whopping science fiction baby together. The jerkiness of that guy on Mars in The Martian is tempered by the satire and loving-of-science of Omon Ra and the uplifting humor of. It feels less like science fiction - no aliens, no space battles, no jargon - and more like contemporary fiction, but we can actually send people to Mars.
Now I want to get it into the hands of many people. Go, go, go!
Premise
It's the near future and we have technology and a private corporation that can get people to Mars. They embark on a extremely taxing simulation on Earth to train for their epic space journey. They and their families and their observers have a hard go of it, learn things, make some jokes, and undergo some maybe good, maybe bad changes.
What it feels like
Like, if the Martian, Omon Ra, and All Our Wrong Tomorrows met and had a beautiful, whopping science fiction baby together. The jerkiness of that guy on Mars in The Martian is tempered by the satire and loving-of-science of Omon Ra and the uplifting humor of
Now I want to get it into the hands of many people. Go, go, go!
amelie5m's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25