Chris’s Comments (group member since Sep 08, 2015)

Chris’s comments from the SluffWork Book Club group.

Sci-Fi is my genre. It's my wheelhouse. This is my neighborhood, so I'm super critical of novels in this genre.

That said, I'm really enjoying this book a whole lot. I grew up in a NASA family surrounded by uncles who are PHDs in a variety of delicious scientific flavors and the science is solid. Considering that this is near-future sci-fi, it better be. And it is.

I'm a fan of the writing style as well. It would be easy for an author to take this plot and be like, "well, this guy is a scientist and this is a journal and so it should be pretty dry and scientific, I guess." The author didn't and for that I'm grateful. At one point in the book, one of the characters notes that all astronauts are inherently insane. I've met and spoken with several of them and I gotta say, it's the truth. You have to have a certain disregard for personal safety, an addiction for adrenaline, and a thirst for glory to be willing to strap yourself to a bomb and boldly go. This is reflected in the writing style of the main character's journal entries and I love it.

I'm really enjoying this one so far. I give it a solid 4 out of 5. And the needle is creeping up.

1 - Chris Dumoulin

2 - The Marian, duh. (Also, Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan)

3 - I... I don't know. How can you even ask this? I don't have a favorite child, do I? Well, I do b/c I only have one child, but the point still stands!

4 - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. It was for a class, don't judge.

5 - I managed to run myself over with a moving van.