Thank you Jeff Perilman and his team for allowing me to read this ARC. I don’t read a lot of Science Fiction but this book was to good to put down!

DNF at 20%.

This is bad y'all.

It's badly written, with long rambling passages of character inner thoughts that do nothing to bring the plot forward. Most important details are omitted while the author chooses to concentrate on the inane. And there are weird jumps in time between chapters. Important things happen in those gaps, but we only learn of them via long and boring exposition. Seriously, the author doesn't know how to show, not tell to save their life.

The male characters in this book are despicable selfish assholes. The women... well, there weren't any to speak of in the portion I managed to read.

Ugh, this is a hard bounce. Sorry book, it's totally you, not me.

PS: I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into the story but once I hit the 40ish percent mark, it got to a little better. I did feel like the story had a lot of potential, I love a space exploration story and how it connects to humanity, but the character development was missing and they were unlikeable. I was expecting more.

I recently read The Escape Velocity Project by Jeff Perilman and found it to be a compelling blend of science fiction and mystery. The story revolves around NASA physicist Dr. George Sansor, who receives an enigmatic blueprint for interstellar teleportation. As he embarks on building the device, the narrative unfolds with Christopher Wendell becoming the first human to test it, leading to profound discoveries about the device and human nature.

The novel’s strength lies in its engaging plot and the way it explores the implications of advanced technology on humanity. Perilman’s writing effectively conveys the excitement and danger of space exploration, making it a thrilling read. However, I did find some of the scientific explanations a bit dense, which might be challenging for readers without a background in physics or engineering.

Overall, The Escape Velocity Project is a fascinating read for science fiction enthusiasts who enjoy a mix of technological intrigue and philosophical questions about human progress and its consequences. If you are looking for a thought-provoking and adventurous journey, this book is worth picking up.

I was excited to read this book because the cover and title sounded terrific.

The book's premise sounded intriguing, but the writing was a letdown. The story itself was incredibly dull to read, and I was not even sure how to rate this book for a long time.

I wanted to DNF this book multiple times. Ultimately, I gave it a chance until the very last page, and I came to regret it. I didn't like any character in this book, not even for a single page. I couldn't take any enjoyment from this book. Now that I had distance from this book and reviewed my notes from reading it, I noticed how much of a bad time I had while reading it.

I cannot give proper criticism because I didn't enjoy anything but the idea of the book.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
While the idea was interesting, the writing was not able to pull it off. Another issue was the two completely unlikeable and unredeemable main characters. While it is fine to have an unlikable main character, these two were just stereotypes so there wasn't anything interesting about them.

Really enjoyed this sci fi book set in a future that seems hopeless…trying to escape earth to a more habitable planet with information given by off planetary beings.

THE GOOD: Appreciate a near-future story with required autonomous vehicles and other innovations. The main character, Christopher unapologetically thinks like a red-blooded man, which is refreshing.

THE BAD: The science of the future world could use a little work. It came off a bit vague, leaving the reader feeling a bit underwhelmed.

CONCLUSION: A decent, independent effort worth a few hours' entertainment.

Having read Andy Weir, this book had big boots to fill. Unfortunately it didn't hit the mark for me. The book is told from the perspective of an unlilable and somewhat unreliable character whose humour doesn't quite land.

Good space-related book, but wasn't engaging enough for me. Solid 3*.

First of all--- this is best cover I've seen in years. 'This book could have been call Boring Trash You Don't Care About and I still would have given it a go because how could you not with that cover??!!

Now, the story. Loved it. Right from the start, the whole idea of the scientists being sent to another country to help collaborate on an important project that impacts the whole planet made me picture it as a Netflix movie. I've seen several reviews that seem to write off the book because the one character is such ridiculous womanizer. but I"m sorry, people like that (unfortunately) exist in real life, so while I couldn't be friends with him I'm not offended by him enough to stop reading the book.

I did think this one was a bit slow moving and some points, at one point near the middle it did start to lose me, but overall I really enjoyed it. I think this one would go over really well with fan of Andy Weir, since they're used to some peaks and valleys as far as plot speed and the occasionally overly scientific nature of a story like this. Would definitely read more from this author!

Love the cover art. Choose this book on a whim and it actually surprises me. Somewhat slow moving, the book did get me reading at a good pace. It almost lost me a few times, but I pressed through! lol About 75% through then it finally started getting good. Of course by the ending then, I felt as if we just got started with the good stuff! Needless to say, if there was a continuation of this book I would pick it up to see what happens.

DNF @ 10%

Pathologically dull, constant malapropisms and other mistaken use of the English language. Christopher, a POV character who is the personification of toxic misogyny, was the cherry on top.

I really didn't enjoy reading this. The main character exuded toxic masculinity and misogyny, and in 2022, this isn't acceptable. I will not be reading any more books by this author.

DNF
I was really interested in reading this book as the main character is a physicist working for NASA but this novel turned out to be extremely disappointing. I hated the protagonist, he a misogynist and extremely bland.
Here are some quotes:
“He missed out on a great piece of ass in a tight pink dress at Club Particle”
“All the other girls were wearing their designer clothes, heels, and makeup, which Christopher recognized very early on as simply “my parents overpaid for this getup just for you to look at my tits.”
“He decided she was surely a B-cup.”

Great cover, interesting blurb and good idea for a story but the writing was very OWM.

One of the main characters, Christopher, is a misogynistic narcissist and that made me want to skip the chapters from his POV. I get that even unlikeable MCs can propel a story forward, but this character didn't.

George, the other MC, is the stereotypical scientist. He was more likeable than Christopher, but I didn't click with him either.

The few women I read about, before I DNF'd, were very bland characters, which brings me back to my initial sentence: the writing was very OWM.

Perilman has written a great science fiction novel. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next book Perilman writes.

I liked the book and interesting characters! I haven’t read that much science fiction recently other than two fantastic books by Andy Weir. Hard to match that high standard but the author made a pretty good effort to do that!

This book could perhaps be sent to the Prime Ministers in most countries throughout the world to help focus on the needs of our planet.

Not bad. I didn't always stay engaged, but like it overall. There seems to be a mixed reaction here, so It's hard to say where the ratings will ultimately average out to be.

Thanks very much for the free review copy for review!!

DNF.
I hate to write a review on a book that I did not finish but I have to get this out of my chest.
This book was promising and the plot seemed good enough to get my attention, but I could not keep going because I absolutely do not like one of the main characters. I understand the appeal of having a MC that is not liked but this Christopher guy is just plain boring and misogynistic to the point that I got really tired and just wanted to scream "I get it, you hate women". So as I kept reading I found myself not really caring about whatever happened from that point on with the actual plot because I would simply not enjoy going on this "ride" with such a Character.
Overall, I am very disappointed with this title because it started really well.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Although, I do have a lot of unanswered questions. It seemed to me that it was set up for another book, I hope so! I need more of this story!