Oh, this one was so hard to rate! First of all, if you're into sci-fi, give this book a shot! Second... Push past the writing. It's an easy read and it's worth it! I was ready to hate on the book (and will still do a little bit of hating) but I can see why it gets the ratings it does.

I think the prose and a majority of the dialogue in this book is rather... Amateur-ish. Grace's internal dialogue is a bit cringe-worthy at times, a lot of the humor didn't really work for me, there's a lot of weird little stereotypes sprinkled around, and I think some characters speak in ways that a real person probably wouldn't speak in. Grace and most other characters are pretty one-dimensional and Grace's knowledge base was often a little unrealistically broad just to make the plot work.

But honestly, the destination made the journey worth it for me. Where the story takes us and the characters we meet really make for an enjoyable tale by the end. Weir, while not the best author in my opinion, can really weave a plot and has some interesting ideas - perhaps screenplays are his calling, but maybe he just really likes the chance to write out all his science.

I'm happy I gave this book a go and saw it through to the end!