A review by witcheep
Operaatio Ave Maria by Andy Weir

adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The plot captivated me with the incredibly high stakes and unexpected partnership in solving the main mystery/problem. My only regret is that I didn't read this book sooner!

The book delivers a very intelligent and resilient main character Ryland Grace, who finds himself on a suicide mission to save the Earth and the humankind. He must solve a huge scientific problem caused by an alien microscopic life force that threathens to power off the Sun. He is sent to
another solar system
to research how to make this alien species harmless.

There he comes across
an alien on a similar solo mission – and they team up to solve this huge problem both of their solar systems share. I enjoyed the way they find ways to communicate and to co-operate, becoming fast friends.
This dynamic is among the greatest aspects of this book!

A word of caution, though: at times (or if I'm being honest, often) the highly scientific details made me feel dumb or lazy, like I was trying to keep up with a lecture without doing my homework beforehand. That didn't diminish my enjoyment of the plot, however, since I don't need to be an expert to appreciate the attention to detail in which the main characters' love for scientific thinking is expressed. I can see how that could make the reading experience tedious, though. I think listening to the audiobook might have made the experience better for me, otherwise I might have struggled to get through these parts or chide myself for just skimming them.
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