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** spoiler alert ** No Rating.

I am not in the practice of having no rating, but this book really confuses me and I don't think it'd be fair to slander/boost the rating with a misplaced star.

The Pros:

I loved Jazz. I know a lot of people had problems with her and her awkward humor, but I found it reasonable for her to act in the ways that she did. She practically raised herself at 16 and is constantly around men who tease her for being a harlot--it would make sense that she had a stilted way of relating to people and an awkward sense of humor. I liked that she was a little unlikeable (unlike Mark Watney). I didn't agree with everything she did or said, but she was a realistic character because of that. I don't know one person who I agree with all of the time, and frankly, it was refreshing to see that reflected in a novel. Say what you want about her, she was willing to rise above herself and sacrifice herself for the good of an entire town. I feel like people are forgetting that essential part of her character. Sure she is immature, brash, and petty, but when it really counted she rose above those flaws and became a hero in her own right.

The science, as always, was interesting to me though most of it flew over my clueless little head. Even the welding part was interesting to read about-in fact those were the most suspenseful parts for me.

THE POLITICS was a shiny bright star. I know some people had a problem with the plot line in comparison to the Martian. Mark was struggling to survive while Jazz is out to get rich quick. But in all honesty, wasn't she also fighting for her life? Well, a life that she dreamed of at the very least. She lived in a capsule for goodness sake. It's the American dream epitomized in a space book. She wasn't overly greedy; she had a modest goal even. And she was content with the ending of her story. But I digress. My goodness, I gasped so many times. Maybe it's because political corruption is kind of my obsession in fiction, but I thought it was super intricately thought out.

The pacing was on par. No other words for that.

The Cons:

There were several critical errors in judgment concerning representation. First of all, there should have been no discussion of a naqib being used as simply a "disguise." I'm not a part of the Muslim community, therefore I can't have an opinion on how they were represented in this novel, but I imagine that that could be quite offensive. Secondly, there were several other racist comments that were disguised as world-building that I wasn't comfortable with. Thirdly, there were also comments directed towards the LGBTQ+ community, specifically the gay community, that were quite untasteful. Again, to clarify, I am not a member of any of these communities, but I can see where several of Weir's lines would be offensive.

The sex jokes got to be a bit much at one point and became more of an intrusion than anything else.


Though the number of pros outnumbers the cons, I believe the cons are so critical that they outweigh much of the merit of the novel. So did I enjoy this novel? Hesitantly, yes. It was fast-paced and exciting. Did I LIKE this novel? I would have to say no.

Didn't realize I could enjoy a novel, but not really like it--here you go, I've seen everything now.