SluffWork Book Club discussion

All right! So we've read the first couple chapters of the book. What is everyone's first impressions? What do you think of the main character? How do you like the writing style? What do you give the plot so far on a scale of 1-5 (5 being awesome.)

I'll go ahead and start the conversation: I don't science fiction at all so this is a new genre for me. It seems pretty interesting so far. The character has a strong voice and he's relate-able - not some high tech guy that I can't understand. (Although I did gloss over some of the technical jargon in the chapters.)

On a scale of 1-5, I give the plot a 3 so far. I'm interested in seeing where it goes.

What do you guys think?

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.