★★★★☆
Andy Weir has clearly found a formula that works. A brilliant lone scientist stuck in space, who must overcome calamity after calamity in order to survive and hopefully get home.
This time, the story involves space fungi that are eating our sun (technically, it’s more like a space algae, but whatever). The nations of Earth band together and launch a mission to the stars in order to turn the tide on this interstellar parasite.
Our narrator wakes from a coma and doesn’t remember a thing. Where is he? How did he get there? What is his name?
Like Mark Watney before him in the Martian, our narrator is going to have to “science the shit” out of his situation in order to answer all the questions above, and also hopefully, maybe save Earth, too.
Oh, and sprinkle in a bit of first contact as well. Mark Watney never found himself a sidekick while he was on Mars.
Some parts were overly verbose, other parts were cringe-worthy and corny, but this was still an entertaining story I tore through in about 3 days.
If you liked The Martian, you’re going to like this book. If you didn’t, well, sorry. This book is more of that and then some.