Humanities last hope rests in the unknown…

Ryland Grace is many things – he’s a scientist, he’s…a man he’s…actually he’s not quite sure who he is at all. All he knows is he’s hurtling through space on a mission to save Earth from the ‘Astrophage’, a star eater which if not stopped will promptly put an end to life on Earth. 

The only problem with this is Grace is the last of his crew, and due to some unforeseen accident on his travels to the Tau Ceti solar system his memory has gone kaput. With his time scarce, his memories veiled and his survival chances almost as low as his use of vulgar language[dm1]  its seemingly all up to this one lone astronaut to save the world. Or is it?

I’ve never read any Andy Weir novel before, and in fact I’m not much of a hard sci-fi reader in general. My last foray into the genre was Stephen Baxter’s The Time Ship almost an entire year ago. And to be frank I found the dedication to scientific theory more intriguing than the plot. 

I was expecting Weir, given what I’d heard about his writing style from The Martian, to be humorous but more concerned with the factual accuracy of scientific law than with providing intriguing. So, when I say this was one of the most engaging and emotionally evocative novels, I’ve read I hope you understand that I mean that with utter sincerity. 

Truly, Weir manages to capture my heart and mind. Whilst demonstrating how one can measure gravity using a piece of string with a weighted piece and a clock he also delves without fear or hesitation into the mind of our doomed travel Ryland Grace. He embraces all the elements of the drowning man – the doom, the desperation, the grief. And there is also a great deal of bravery and a sense of duty towards not his country but his species.

Out there in the cosmos it is Ryland Grace against the universe and a ticking clock that he doesn’t even know the time to – due to the effects of time dilating his travel. Though seemingly brief, it has taken a much longer period than he’s experienced. As such it not simply the fact that he is on a one-way trip that haunts him, but that he has no knowledge of whether there is still an Earth to save. 

It is Grace’s reaction to these situations that compels one forward. Certainly lesser minds might crumble, yet it seems as though Earth chose well with this former High School teacher. Grace’s resilience to the emotional beatings he receives result in some truly hilarious and heartbreaking hijinks. These range from escaping a robotic arm whilst naked to fixing a tear in the hull of his ship during a flight. 

There isn’t a moment it seems where Grace isn’t moving or trying to solve a problem, and this remains true to life – as it feels like the sort of thing one might do if they realized they were doomed to die. Humans have a unique way of finding things to do to displace their grief, and Grace is the epitome of this mentality. 

It’s a story that gets you from go, and while it’s not packed with action, the scientific methods used by Grace allow for enough intrigue into the problems he faces and has to solve that we can almost field the burden carried by Grace, and at times almost wish we ourselves could jump to the place between letters and carry that burden for him. 

Of course, Grace isn’t entirely alone – in his flashbacks we experience the cold logic and commanding power of the world bowing behind Eva Stratt with whom the world imbues their full power and authority. It is through her authoritarian yet logical dictatorship to the will of science that all nations and corporations submit. 

There is certainly a political dialogue within this novel, especially surrounding how science is built on a culture of co-operation amongst different cultures. I can almost feel the Trump era politics, and the more recent controversy surrounding migration, being discredited through the demonstrative actions of the novel. 

Indeed, more than a story about survival this is a story about unity. It’s a story about coming together and solving a problem – about our fear of the other and the unfamiliar. Weir carefully and decisively demonstrates how different cultures can contain so many of the same qualities – fear, hope, sorrow, joy, sarcasm, wit – and that unity against terror is a stronger front than one person alone. 

Ryland Grace is the one man in space, sent by the sum of many nations and people – who still out there in the darkness is willing to put aside all his fears and reach out into the unknown for the sake of the common goodness. 

This book is not action packed, yet it feels as though each chapter carries with it the tale of victories and losses in a brutal warfare for the fate of all sentient life (read into that what you will). For anyone who is a longtime fan of Weir’s or hard sci-fi, or even those seeking a start, this is an excellent addition to the hard sci-fi genre. 

 [dm1]Does this mean his chances of survival are low, and he rarely uses vulgar language; or he swears constantly so his chances of survival are high?