Agreed. I mentioned that it is 'imaginative and fun', but it is not the same style of "The Martian" which (in my opinion) had nearly perfect technical execution

Agreed. I mentioned that it is 'imaginative and fun', but it is not the same style of "The Martian" which (in my opinion) had nearly perfect technical execution. I admit to having had some apprehension about a loved author's next effort (I'm looking at you, "Artemis" and "Armada"), but "Hail Mary" did not fulfill that dread for me. So... yay!