Weir is clearly a great biologist, but has no understanding of politics or morality beyond the superficial. As a biologist myself, his dive into speculative xenobiology was delightful, but you are also right that he has no aptitude for xenopsychology or moral philosophy.
I would give the book 8/10, because Weir knows his strengths and plays to them well.
This gave me pause ".. What if the Eridians are fundamentally morally incompatible in some way? .." because the alien signaled no 'tells' of dishonesty, his actions were rational.
And what if wrong?
The European Christian settlers and American indigenous shared-areas, comes to mind.
When a Christian family or families were considered weak and vonerable with something the savages wanted,, then all previous agreements were ignored by the murdering raping torturing thieving morally-broken savages, and they killed and burned and stole.
Then the Christians simply went and killed them, not for vengeance but safety and to cleanse the area of their wild-beast soulless danger.
And You would too, or someone like me will shoot you dead like the sick-dog you seem to be. There is no time for Vag-Feelie whining anymore. You help or die.
I felt that there is a much larger world that goes unexplored because the author is unwilling to face the moral and ethical dilemmas required of doing so. The book itself is a fun little story, but it's definitely self-contained because the author recoils from the setting's larger picture. Three Body Problem (The remembrance of earth's past trilogy) is willing to tackle those big questions. I like that series a lot.
Heh, if you want a First Contact book where the human gives the alien the means to destroy humanity, pick up Signal to Noise by Eric Nylund. The book is cyberpunk but also first contact and also one of the more remarkable books I've ever read. The sequel is even weirder. I don't really know how else to describe them, but I think about them like a puzzle I don't quite understand.
It discusses big ideas. I have a review of the Rememberance of Earth's Past trilogy on my substack. It coined a theory for xenosociology and Darwinism at a pan-galactic scale. If you've only read the first book, I kind of get where you're coming from. In reality though, the first book should be thought of as more of a prologue to the 2nd book.
I read the book up to Chapter 4, then put it down. The story’s premise is interesting, and the way Weir drives the narrative forward using the MC’s coma-induced memory gaps and sudden flashbacks is really well done. But the nerd-speak is unbearable. The MC can’t go a single paragraph without cheeky, sassy, smart-ass remarks. Over time, it just gets annoying—and feels unrealistic too, because even scenes that are supposed to convey tragedy, grief, or danger get dragged into the ridiculous because of it.
Is this kind of MC personality a hallmark of late 2010s / early 2020s US sci-fi? It reminds me of the Bobiverse trilogy. In both cases, the MC seems to lack any moral compass or deeper guiding principle beyond things being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ according to some default neoliberal value system—and the idea that ‘science and technology are cool.’
That's the big issue that I had with it. Same issue the Bobiverse (there are 5 books now!) had. I enjoyed the Bob Books, even if I had to put up with the Hallmark stuff. The Bob Books actually tone that nonsense down as you get further through it. I really enjoy watching the author of Bob wrestle with his moral relativism/moral universalism as the culture changes in the United States. It's fascinating watching the author realize that liberalism is not the 'forever ideology' he grew up thinking it was.
Back to Andy Weir, the hallmark nature of the character does get irritating. He has no deep-set moral compass and doesn't consider any of the long-term consequences of his actions. He's a very simple character, but it somewhat fits given that he's a school feature from the 2010s. It's not out-of-character, it's just irritating. It's definitely not a book with big ideas like the Bobiverse... or massive ideas like The Three Body Problem.
I think of it as a light book for when I've got nothing better to do that's worth listening to while driving long-distance somewhere. In that context, it's fine... It's acceptably interesting.
When you said Andy Weir's allien was too psychologically human, I thought it would be fun to think about the possible evolutionary psychology of the Eridians.
Eridians are hermaphroditic colonial organisms that build rocky, mobile nests around themselves to withstand the elements on their Venus-like homeworld. These nests are squat and powerful, with dexterous manipulators. Perhaps proto-Eridians broke into the equivalent of termite mounds, then used their delicate fingers to pluck out the inhabitants. That would make sense if all of Erid's fauna is "walking beehives" like the Eridians themselves.
I imagine Rocky's ancestors as something like a black bear. Omnivorous, but with a special taste for eusocial insects. Because these "insects" can operate their entire nest as one big mecha, hunting them requires cunning and cooperation.
The Eridian social nucleus seems to be the pair, one of whom guards the other while he sleeps. (pause for a moment to recommend the stories in Larry Niven's *Draco Tavern*). I don't remember if Weir said exactly how the Eridians reproduce, but they seem to invest heavily in large, K-selected offspring just like we do. So, we can imagine their ancestors roaming around their hot, high-pressure homeworld in small bands composed of pairs and their children, hunting beehive-boars, anthill-sheep, and termite-mound-auroxes.
Such a species would place great emphasis on trust and loyalty. If your partner doesn't guard you when you sleep, you'll die. If your partner doesn't bring back food (or properly take care of the babies while you're hunting), it's a disaster. That means everyone specializes into a role. You're a hunter or you're a child-rearer, not both. If you're a hunter, you don't track prey or plan the attack - other Eridans do those jobs. You're the boar-stabber. You stab boars. Stay in your lane.
So, Grace was happy to find a loyal friend and a genius engineer, but as he got to know Rocky, he would have been frustrated by the Eridian's incuriosity about tasks outside of his specialty. It must have also been a shock to the Eridians when Grace told them he was both a physicist and a school teacher. Grace also ended up teaching children on Erid because, once he told his hosts about his background, they gave him no other choice.
Weir is clearly a great biologist, but has no understanding of politics or morality beyond the superficial. As a biologist myself, his dive into speculative xenobiology was delightful, but you are also right that he has no aptitude for xenopsychology or moral philosophy.
I would give the book 8/10, because Weir knows his strengths and plays to them well.
That's fair. He definitely plays to his strengths, and when there, he's a great author.
A really good book.
This gave me pause ".. What if the Eridians are fundamentally morally incompatible in some way? .." because the alien signaled no 'tells' of dishonesty, his actions were rational.
And what if wrong?
The European Christian settlers and American indigenous shared-areas, comes to mind.
When a Christian family or families were considered weak and vonerable with something the savages wanted,, then all previous agreements were ignored by the murdering raping torturing thieving morally-broken savages, and they killed and burned and stole.
Then the Christians simply went and killed them, not for vengeance but safety and to cleanse the area of their wild-beast soulless danger.
And You would too, or someone like me will shoot you dead like the sick-dog you seem to be. There is no time for Vag-Feelie whining anymore. You help or die.
I felt that there is a much larger world that goes unexplored because the author is unwilling to face the moral and ethical dilemmas required of doing so. The book itself is a fun little story, but it's definitely self-contained because the author recoils from the setting's larger picture. Three Body Problem (The remembrance of earth's past trilogy) is willing to tackle those big questions. I like that series a lot.
Heh, if you want a First Contact book where the human gives the alien the means to destroy humanity, pick up Signal to Noise by Eric Nylund. The book is cyberpunk but also first contact and also one of the more remarkable books I've ever read. The sequel is even weirder. I don't really know how else to describe them, but I think about them like a puzzle I don't quite understand.
I'll add it to my list, thanks!
A good review, which makes me think of two books I've read in a new light. I am still curious, though, why anybody likes The Three Body Problem.
It discusses big ideas. I have a review of the Rememberance of Earth's Past trilogy on my substack. It coined a theory for xenosociology and Darwinism at a pan-galactic scale. If you've only read the first book, I kind of get where you're coming from. In reality though, the first book should be thought of as more of a prologue to the 2nd book.
Interesting. What's the theory?
I read the book up to Chapter 4, then put it down. The story’s premise is interesting, and the way Weir drives the narrative forward using the MC’s coma-induced memory gaps and sudden flashbacks is really well done. But the nerd-speak is unbearable. The MC can’t go a single paragraph without cheeky, sassy, smart-ass remarks. Over time, it just gets annoying—and feels unrealistic too, because even scenes that are supposed to convey tragedy, grief, or danger get dragged into the ridiculous because of it.
Is this kind of MC personality a hallmark of late 2010s / early 2020s US sci-fi? It reminds me of the Bobiverse trilogy. In both cases, the MC seems to lack any moral compass or deeper guiding principle beyond things being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ according to some default neoliberal value system—and the idea that ‘science and technology are cool.’
Soyjacks in space.
I see where you're coming from.
That's the big issue that I had with it. Same issue the Bobiverse (there are 5 books now!) had. I enjoyed the Bob Books, even if I had to put up with the Hallmark stuff. The Bob Books actually tone that nonsense down as you get further through it. I really enjoy watching the author of Bob wrestle with his moral relativism/moral universalism as the culture changes in the United States. It's fascinating watching the author realize that liberalism is not the 'forever ideology' he grew up thinking it was.
Back to Andy Weir, the hallmark nature of the character does get irritating. He has no deep-set moral compass and doesn't consider any of the long-term consequences of his actions. He's a very simple character, but it somewhat fits given that he's a school feature from the 2010s. It's not out-of-character, it's just irritating. It's definitely not a book with big ideas like the Bobiverse... or massive ideas like The Three Body Problem.
I think of it as a light book for when I've got nothing better to do that's worth listening to while driving long-distance somewhere. In that context, it's fine... It's acceptably interesting.
When you said Andy Weir's allien was too psychologically human, I thought it would be fun to think about the possible evolutionary psychology of the Eridians.
Eridians are hermaphroditic colonial organisms that build rocky, mobile nests around themselves to withstand the elements on their Venus-like homeworld. These nests are squat and powerful, with dexterous manipulators. Perhaps proto-Eridians broke into the equivalent of termite mounds, then used their delicate fingers to pluck out the inhabitants. That would make sense if all of Erid's fauna is "walking beehives" like the Eridians themselves.
I imagine Rocky's ancestors as something like a black bear. Omnivorous, but with a special taste for eusocial insects. Because these "insects" can operate their entire nest as one big mecha, hunting them requires cunning and cooperation.
The Eridian social nucleus seems to be the pair, one of whom guards the other while he sleeps. (pause for a moment to recommend the stories in Larry Niven's *Draco Tavern*). I don't remember if Weir said exactly how the Eridians reproduce, but they seem to invest heavily in large, K-selected offspring just like we do. So, we can imagine their ancestors roaming around their hot, high-pressure homeworld in small bands composed of pairs and their children, hunting beehive-boars, anthill-sheep, and termite-mound-auroxes.
Such a species would place great emphasis on trust and loyalty. If your partner doesn't guard you when you sleep, you'll die. If your partner doesn't bring back food (or properly take care of the babies while you're hunting), it's a disaster. That means everyone specializes into a role. You're a hunter or you're a child-rearer, not both. If you're a hunter, you don't track prey or plan the attack - other Eridans do those jobs. You're the boar-stabber. You stab boars. Stay in your lane.
So, Grace was happy to find a loyal friend and a genius engineer, but as he got to know Rocky, he would have been frustrated by the Eridian's incuriosity about tasks outside of his specialty. It must have also been a shock to the Eridians when Grace told them he was both a physicist and a school teacher. Grace also ended up teaching children on Erid because, once he told his hosts about his background, they gave him no other choice.
I want ta check this out now.
It's a fun book if you're into that kind of thing!
I mean, I liked the Martian, so I might like this one as well...
You'll probably like this one as well.
Good to know. I think I will try it.