Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had high hopes. The first two pages of this book immediately intrigued me. A Martian Robinson Crusoe so the previous reviews said– bring it on! All smoke! This book reads like a mediocre fix-it manual and not like a story. It’s missing key structural elements any well-developed story should have: The main character describes in “layman’s terms” how he fixes or modified systems in a MacGyver-like fashion in order to survive long enough to be rescued. Great popular concept but from one chapter to another, it’s repeated over and over ad nauseum. Naturally, I wanted to hear how this character manages to survive and this narrative voice speaking to the reader initially kept me engaged, but only briefly. Eventually, I realized I wasn’t going to get the backstory. I listened to the main character’s continually snarky, adolescent-like conversations through his journal directed at strangers, never at the people in his life. Grossly unrealistic. If anyone was at risk of death on an unknown planet, they’d write at least one or two log entries to be read by family and friends they left behind. They’d discuss their internal musings beyond the superficial, physical problems to be addressed – at least during their down time. Instead, we get to listen to him tell us how “screwed” he is. But we never get a peek at his inner emotions or learn about the forces motivating him to survive, never get to hear his doubts or regrets. There’s no meaty character development, and we never learn how this horrific experience changes him beyond reinforcing his dislike of 70’s disco. He always comes out ahead and everybody is cheering for him. Not even a hiccup of ongoing internal conflict. Secondary characters are bland and stereotypical. All his comrades willingly risk their lives to attempt a rescue and everybody is happy and confident and HELLO? –where is the CONFLICT? Even the protagonist, which I assume is Administrator Venkat, never gets to do anything more than wander around anxiously giving an occasional order. Sometimes I’m not even sure why this author presents certain characters – like Mindy Park – because NOTHING happens with them. They don’t become an integral part of the story. We get introduced and then, oops…dropped after a job description. If you want to read a book outlining someone fixing things over and over again, this book is for you. If you want a real story, skip it. It lacks proper editing, structure and character development and most of all, conflict and resolution beyond superficial physical challenges. This is one of the worst books I’ve read in a long time and it needs a major re-write.