Jason Paterson

I wasn't sure if Andy Weir could capture my imagination again like he did with The Martian. It turned out that tis second book, Artemis, wasn't up to the task - but Project Hail Mary? That's a different story. From its amnesia infused beginnings and all along its two-timeline narrative that eventually dovetails together, the book works brilliantly at unravelling a mystery. Similar to The Martian, the plotline here is driven by one person (or in the case of the second timeline, a small team of people) overcoming massive technical and science problems. I feel like this is a signature of Weir's best work, though time will tell. Project Hail Mary simply proves that Andy Weir is not a one hit wonder and that, in fact, his best work may be yet to come.

By now the folks who follow me here likely know that I have a love for Mark Kurlansky's approach to writing about history - tracing a single object's impact on the world - as he did with “Salt” and “Milk”. In this book, the author turns his attention away from edibles and toward a seemingly more mundane subject - the history of paper! I suspected there would be some interesting historical tidbits about this fibrous stuff, but in this work Kurlansky explains that it's not the paper itself that is the focus of the examination, but the various methods of communication that humanity has employed through the use of the stuff. From writing on hides, to parchment and velum, to handcrafted art paper, to more modern printing, and even Japanese nori (seaweed paper)... Kurlansky weaves a story. I particularly liked the argument that he repeatedly makes about technology not changing society - but that technology is developed in response to changing societies. “Paper” is another fascinating trip through time, and while it may not be quite as engaging as the aforementioned books on Salt or Milk, it still holds a lot of interesting moments.

A good, entertaining read. It was likely hard for Weir to follow up a success like The Martian, but Artemis does a good job. It's not as focused a story. Where The Martian was a singular plotline driving everything (ie. Get off this planet.) Artemis has more intrigue and subtlety. The main character is a smuggler (who happens to know a lot about engineering), and while she is engaging and interesting, the rest of the cast feel very one dimensional. Still, it's a quick read... with lots of tense moments driven by (as was The Martian) an understanding of science.

Horne's writing is delicate, elaborate, and sweeping. He lavishly paints a picture of the events leading up to Verdun and the battle itself, highlighting the major players in command and tracking the nightmare on the front lines. I always knew Verdun as a “meat grinder” and while that's true, there are distinct beats to this 10 month long battle and I came away with a more nuanced understanding of them.

The author depicts the flow of battle with expertise, and illustrates the effects it had on both sides. He dives into the nightmare of the new weaponry introduced at Verdun, like flamethrowers or phosgene gas - and you can almost feel the panic as your own heart starts racing imagining what it must have been like to confront these terrors.

I have only two criticisms of the book. Horne will sometimes reference a “well known” figure without giving any context. If you don't happen to know what person or their backstory, it's up to you to figure it out. He will also regularly cite quotes in French (less often German) without any translation, so you'll need to have at least a basic understanding of the language if you want to understand these, or run them through a translator.

Regardless, this stands as one of the best books I've read on WWI and I highly recommend it.