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I'm not a math nerd, but if I were, this would have been more like 4 stars. I am, however, other kinds of nerd and I found the non-math parts of the book to be absolutely bonkers, but not in the joyful way. Weir has given us a protagonist with zero backstory. And I don't mean his amnesia. He ends up remembering how he got on the ship, but apparently those few months were all there was to his life. There's no family, no friends, no flings, no hobbies, no likes or dislikes--and mind you, the book is almost 500 pages in length. When he does finally make a friend, he doesn't even notice that it's the first friend he's ever had. There's no emotional interiority to this guy at all. He's just there to solve puzzles. This is truly science fantasy, not science fiction. There's nothing believable about the majority of science in this, the character isn't believable, and yet I read to the end. Rocky truly saves this book from being impossible, but despite him, I can't recommend this one.

I really enjoyed this, but I left it feeling like I should read it again because I feel there were a lot of deeper, philosophical things I missed. (that's a bonus: I love a book that's full enough to read over and over and find things you missed.) So, the thing I want to share, I can't because it's a huge spoiler. But, a hint won't hurt? A little past mid-way through the book, I felt like I was missing something. Like something was almost not-quite visible out of the corner of my eye. And then a twist happened, and yep. Also, this is such a brilliant take on something else I can't say because spoilers. Dang it! Okay, this quote I can share, right? "But you have to understand, while we are all unchosen together, I'm not like the rest of you." Or this one: "Fame, she says, is how a ruling class conditions artists to docility and incorporates their work to lesser ends." See? It's a great book. There's this wry humor and big concepts and sadness and hope. I highly recommend it, but don't rush through it. It's a savoring type of book.