2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Just finished this. I agree with a lot of what @SarahKat said. Though I'd say (view spoiler)[I think those short moments of grief and sadness makes sense. Like if there were no moments of wiping away tears or feeling sad for the friends he vaguely remembers then I'd say that Ryland is probably a robot. He's in a highly stressful situation with little memory and two dead bodies for a good chunk of the book. Anyone would be crying out of sheer stress. So yea, I personally thought those moments weren't meaningless. I thought it helped show Grace was human. That he was facing impossible odds and while things got to him a little, he still pushed through to do what needed to be done in that moment to survive. Without them, I don't think I could believe that Ryland Grace was person and I wouldn't have felt connected to him. He'd just be a narrator spouting science facts (hide spoiler)].

Anyways, I also really liked it. Super fun. And I also feel like I usually read darker books, so it was nice that this was (view spoiler)[genuinely optimistic and ended on a happy note (hide spoiler)].

Hey all, I've moved this thread to the July folder since some of you are still reading or are going to be starting soon. And there was a request in the sign-up thread for this book in July.

I am excited to start this in July !!!

I just started this one and am a few chapters in. I'm loving it so far! This is my first book by this author too and I've been meaning to pick up his other ones.

I finished a while back but got super busy preparing for vacation! I just returned on Saturday and hope to get around to writing my review & sharing my thoughts here because I really liked the book! :D

I finished this Sunday evening, and will wait for more people to be done, but here is my review and there are no spoilers in it.

Karin, about the foul language, (view spoiler)[Ryland even comments on his own use of some silly word like "fooey" or "fudge" or something when he first wakes up and doesn't remember anything. I thought it was a good call on many levels making him a junior high school teacher (someone who would have to watch their language) so it's not natural for him to curse. (hide spoiler)]

SarahKat wrote: "Karin, about the foul language, [spoilers removed]"

Yes, I'd forgotten that part, but you're right. However (view spoiler)[ Mark Watney didn't swear too much for me (and the opening one fit the situation!), but there was a character on earth who did a lot of gratuitous swearing that was one of the two reasons it was 4.5 stars and not 5 for me. I can't remember who it was, but I think it was a woman. 8 years is too long for me to remember character names. I didn't notice anyone in this book that bad, even if there was at least one character a bit hard to like. (hide spoiler)]

I finished this yesterday. I really liked it. Some of the science stuff was a little over my head. But mostly it was explained to where I could understand what he was talking about. I loved the interaction between Ryland and Rocky. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending.

SarahKat wrote: "Karin, about the foul language, [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[which is exactly what makes it all the more impactful when he does explode with expletives! That was a great moment, actually. And I'm not one who enjoys the use of foul language. (hide spoiler)]

I loved Ryland & Rocky's friendship. (view spoiler)[They got so close, and I hated when they parted near the end. I'm so glad they ended up back together, and it was an interesting ending having Ryland spend the remainder of his days on Rocky's planet. I really felt like it was the best of all worlds (literally) that they were able to save both planets & remain friends for the rest of their lives (well, Ryland's anyway, since Rocky lives so much longer!).

When Ryland kept saying that he was going to die for deciding to go back and save Rocky, I kept wondering why they couldn't create some kind of bubble for him to live in & man-make (alien-make?) his food, so I was very pleased when that was exactly what they did!

I'm glad that there was no "bad guy" here -- that the aliens accepted Ryland & treated him very well, and that humans didn't find out about Rocky & his planet because I completely agree that we would've begun to meddle probably to the detriment of Rocky's planet. Because that's what we do... so, I'm very glad none of that happened in this book! (hide spoiler)]

Eirelyn wrote: "I loved Ryland & Rocky's friendship. They got so close, and I hated when they parted near the end. I'm so glad they ended up back together, and it was an interesting ending having Ryland spend the ..."

(view spoiler)[Yes! I loved the ending. It was so perfect and Ryland did say Rocky was his only friend. He didn't really have any friends back on Earth and it's possible the ones he did have would be gone by the time he got back. I was so glad he got to stay on Erid and be a teacher again.

I think the main issue of why he thought he'd die for taking Rocky back was the food issue. I'm sure it crossed his and Rocky's mind to build a bubble because Rocky is an engineer and could do that easily. But Ryland kept trying to figure out how he could make Rocky's food edible and he just couldn't. Luckily the "science Eridians" were able to come up with a solution for that! (hide spoiler)]

@SarahKat, I felt like the ending was just so (view spoiler)[sweet & cute & happy, with Ryland living on Erid with his only friend, and him getting to teach all the little Eridian kids. XD I was very pleased with the ending, especially since I didn't expect it to have such a happy ending, given the rest of the story and that the journey was basically a suicide mission! Very pleasantly surprised by that ending. :D (hide spoiler)]

The ending (view spoiler)[was good for the most part. Still no information on what happened on earth before the situation was resolved, but I loved that bit of hope there.

I just loved the self-sacrificing nature of both Ryland and Rocky--they are just a fabulous pair of friends. It reminds me of the ending of another book but I don't want to spoil it for people who haven't read it. I'll add the name of that book in a second spoiler. (hide spoiler)]

This second spoiler will make no sense unless you read the first one.
(view spoiler)[A Tale of Two Cities (hide spoiler)]

I'm really enjoying this one. It helps that the audio is entertaining! I'm on chapter 25 now. Looking to finish this one within the next day.

I finished this one a few days into July. I meant to finish it in June, but life got in the way. I really really loved this one! It was my first book by this author, and I'm really excited to check out his other books. I didn't expect the book to go the route it did, but I really loved it! The epilogue was really sweet too, I think it wrapped everything up perfectly.

excellent book, if you liked The Martian, which I loved, you will like this.

Heather wrote: "I finished this one a few days into July. I meant to finish it in June, but life got in the way. I really really loved this one! It was my first book by this author, and I'm really excited to check..."

I suggest The Martian next, but there is more swearing in it if that matters. I'd save Artemis for last as it seems to be the least favourite for those of us who read The Martian first, but I liked it at 3 stars (my normal like rating).

I finally wrote my review for GR, and I have given this book 4.25 stars. XD

My spoilery review: (view spoiler)[I really liked this book. I tried not to compare it to The Martian, but I had read that the month before this one and absolutely loved it (one of my favorite books ever!), so it was difficult not to. But I tried to read this one as its own entity.

I felt like Ryland was very well developed. In fact, all of the characters were, including Rocky. I loved the relationship & friendship between Ryland & Rocky, and I am so glad that they remained friends throughout the entire novel. I also really enjoyed all the backstory, as Ryland remembered more and more of his past. I also found it interesting (and rather refreshing, really) that Ryland absolutely, under no circumstances, wanted to be a part of the mission. He was terrified of going into space and had to be physically forced to do it, entirely against his will. When he finally remembered this fact, he mentioned something about how he was a coward, but honestly, I think most people would have had this reaction. He was not an astronaut; he was a science teacher. He never wanted to nor planned to ever go into space. That was not something that was even on his radar, and then suddenly, it was thrust upon him against his will. The refreshing part, however, was that he remained very human in his reaction. He didn't "rise to the occasion" and suddenly become this heroic person who decided to take on any life-threatening challenge that came his way (at least, not until he was already into it & had no other way to survive). He had to physically be forced onto the ship against his will. Of course, he did rise to the challenge once he was already in space, but a lot of that was self-preservation -- he was already in space, so everything he did was to survive. At least, until the end when he decided to put Rocky's life ahead of his own in order to save him & the Eridians.

I felt very satisfied with the ending. Ryland had mentioned earlier in the book that he really had no one back on earth (except his students, who would be all grown up by the time he returned), so I was glad that he and Rocky got to live together on Erid for the remainder of Ryland's life and that Ryland was also able to do what he loved in teaching the little Eridian children.

I was so happy that Ryland went back to help Rocky, once he realized the problem Rocky would be facing (& unable to fix himself). I was also glad that Rocky's "people" were able to solve the problem of Ryland's food on Erid. I didn't understand why they couldn't just, molecularly, create food that he could eat, so I was glad when he mentioned that that was exactly what they ended up doing.

I'm so glad this didn't turn into a "typical" alien/space story, where one or both of the species end up betraying or killing the other. It was so refreshing to see the two species able to work together & help each other out, with no ulterior or nefarious motives. All in all, I really enjoyed this book & the characters, and I found myself eager to come back to it each day. (hide spoiler)]

Eirelyn wrote: "I finally wrote my review for GR, and I have given this book 4.25 stars. XD

My spoilery review: I really liked this book. I tried not to compare it to The Martian, but I had read that the month be..."

I like your review and your rating is very close to mine ( so I rounded it down to 4 stars). I will say that (view spoiler)[there are a number of scifi books like this where both sides are curious about each other and try to learn, but I can't recall them off the top of my head. One thing I loved in this book is when Ryland and Rocky discuss why it is that both of their groups are at about the same level as far as IQ, etc, although I don't personally buy the theory about IQ being related to how fast the fastest predator/preys stuff is, although it's always interesting to see the various theories that come up! (hide spoiler)]

@Karin, thanks. :D (view spoiler)[I agree about the IQ stuff being interesting. I don't know if it's true or not about the predator/prey stuff either, but it did seem like a plausible explanation from an evolutionary standpoint.

I don't really read a lot of space/alien-heavy novels, so I'm glad to hear that there are many other books out there about different alien races actually not trying to kill each other. XD (hide spoiler)]

I have also started this book and almost 25% in. Got the AudioBook on Audible. Hoping to join this thread and discuss with all of you.

Eirelyn wrote: "@Karin, thanks. :D I agree about the IQ stuff being interesting. I don't know if it's true or not about the predator/prey stuff either, but it did seem like a plausible explanation from an evolutio..."

Right (view spoiler)[I studied a LOT of Biology in university--a minor--and had less confidence in most evolutionary theory when I was finished than when I was started. So much stuff is pure guesswork and they have not proven it at all--if they had, it would no longer be called a theory. They are just guessing about IQ in evolution :) (hide spoiler)]

Loved the book. The witty banters has been my favorite characteristic and ofcourse the ending which is heart touching.

The book has touched almost every branch of science that I could think of : Microbiology, Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy, Planetology, Engineering, Evolutionary biology, Xenology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Horology, Psychology ..................guess I lost track after a point.

Its an wholistic science fiction.

Neha wrote: "Loved the book. The witty banters has been my favorite characteristic and ofcourse the ending which is heart touching.

The book has touched almost every branch of science that I could think of : M..."

Yes, it is a bit wholistic in some ways, isn't it? At least as far as branches of science :). I do like Andy Weir's writing.