Who knew the end of the world could be so much fun?

This book was such a joy to read. It’s got page-turning tension, a heartwarming friendship story, and science-nerd pleasures galore. I couldn’t put it down. My sister’s dog Cassidy seemed to like it, too!

This is Weir’s third novel. His most well-known is The Martian, which was also his debut. I enjoyed that book and thought they did a great job with the movie. The protagonist is once again an ultra-nerdy dude stuck in space (Ryland Grace), but Weir’s character work is the best it’s ever been here. Ryland has a compelling arc that is revealed in non-linear fashion due to the character’s amnesia, and the scientists with which he works are fun and well-written.

**Spoilers ahead**

I loved that Weir made the alien life forms truly alien in this story. First off, there are the Astrophages, a space-faring microorganism that feeds on stars. Awesome! And then, Ryland makes first contact with intelligent life, a 5-clawed spider-like being that lives in a pressurized ammonia environment. I absolutely adored the friendship that formed between Ryland and “Rocky” the alien. When the book first started, I was really worried it was just going to be Ryland alone in space, which would have been a bit too much of a Martian rehash. Luckily, that didn’t end up being the case, and the flashbacks to Ryland’s time on Earth illustrated another really interesting side of the story. Like I said: this one’s a real page-turner!

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