Reviews

What a fantastic book. Almost from the start you know the main character is repressing something and there's this slow feeling of dread that keeps amping up to a devastating conclusion.

I've read a couple of one star reviews, and the common theme among them is that the main character is unlikable and whiney and that the therapy chapters are boring. He is pretty unlikable, but entirely human and sympathetic and complex. It's clear from the start that he's dealing with some unspeakable trauma.

As for the therapy bits being boring, I couldn't disagree more. They added so much to that growing feeling of impending doom.

Another bit I liked were the snippets of mission reports, and classifieds, and scientific lectures. Stan On Zanzibar did something similar, but I felt it worked much better here.

There are sequels to this book, but I don't think I'll pick them up. I honestly loved this book just as it is.

freshie's review against another edition

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2.0

First half of the book (excluding the parts with the robot therapist) was fun and interesting. What I don’t understand is why write a book about space exploration where the MC is afraid of exploring space so he just has sex instead? Also why is the MC so horrible if you wanted to talk about the existencial fear of space then why make him a woman beater, asshole, and annoying? Also I’m sorry was the “he’s actually bisexual” plotline suppose to humanize him because it did not work and also you don’t become bisexual because you mom used a rectal thermometer (no joke what they said in the book). Also the main ending scene was like 10 pages so it felt like we did all that buildup for the author to speed through the main crisis (in which the MC was not super pivotal other than being a workhorse). I will say the end is unintentionally super funny where is asks “is it really murder if they’re not dead yet because they’re experiencing time dilation in a black hole so it’s only been two hours since I left them for dead instead of 2 years?”