Having already seen the film and knowing that I'm a sucker for survival stories, I knew even before reading this book that I would love it.
And, of course, I wasn't disappointed by my expectations. This is evident in the fact that, even though I already knew the story from the film, I couldn't help but remain glued to the book.
But what I didn't expect was the incredibly accurate scientific and technical descriptions blended with a fun, casual style and a dash of salty humor, making this one of the best hard science books - even for those who don't love numbers.
This book takes the hard science fiction philosophy really seriously, as everything is tried to be explained with a scientific eye. Most of the time, you don't feel like what's happening is unreasonable or unrealistic. And when you do, it's not due to the science explanation, but rather the feeling of "how many times can this man survive ?".
I also loved the writing style, particularly the choice to write this book as a daily journal, or rather, a SOL journal.
The only flaw I can find is that the book doesn't explore the emotions and background of the protagonist too deeply. Usually, when something emotional comes up, there's a joke to cover it.
One takeaway from this book is that I'm glad I abandoned my childhood dream of becoming an astronaut.
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