Ryland Grace is a high school science teacher who finds himself on a wild ride through space. He wakes up on a spaceship without any memory of how he got there or even what his name is. With his amnesia he has no idea how he ended up on a mission to save the Earth from destruction. Grace is a smart guy and finds that if he applies some reasoning to his situation, he can make some deductions, gain some of his memory back, and then go on to puzzle out a solution to a whole host of problems.
Grace is an immediately likeable character. He has a can-do attitude and he’s a very funny guy who doesn’t take himself too seriously. The author, Andy Weir, employs a very brilliant technique in this novel. As Grace is figuring out what happened, he’s explaining things to himself and thus to the reader as well.
His ‘teacher voice’ made the science palatable for me and made me root for him. I’m generally not a fan of science fiction, but a good teacher can make you interested in just about anything, and that is what happened to me reading this book. It was such a delightfully suspenseful, endearing, and captivating story. I was a little worried about how Weir would finish the book, but the ending was perfect. This book is a gem that I would recommend to absolutely anyone, which is why I gave it full marks.
A book club member chose this title. Thanks Heather! I’m sure I never would have found it or picked it up on my own. I hope there’s a movie one day!
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