Seveneves

In this epic sci-fi novel, we follow present day Earth as the moon explodes due to some unknown force. However, the various pieces all loosely keep their same assembly and their same orbit around Earth. Scientists quickly realize that in about 2 years time, all of those pieces will start slamming into each other at such a high velocity that they will start raining down on Earth, raising the temperature and wiping out all life. Therefore, they have 2 years to get as many people into and around the ISS with the proper equipment to survive for thousands of years as they can. The first half of the book follows this 2 year span, as well as about 5 years after the Hard Rain. The second half of the book has a huge, 5000 year time jump, showing what has become of humanity and their endeavor to reinhabit Earth.

I absolutely loved the first half of this book. It is definitely a hard sci-fi, with so much science involved. It was so fascinating to see how Stephenson showcased the human fight for survival, as well as the psyche as they watch their entire home demolished. It was masterfully written. This premise could become incredibly impersonal because of the scale, but Stephenson does a great job of making the characters that have made it into space feel very relatable and human.

However, after the time jump, I felt like the story took a very strange turn. Without going into too many details, there ends up being distinct human races with very different characteristics and mannerisms. To me, this seemed very strange because of the tight quarters they had to live in for thousands of years. I also felt like the plot got boring in this second half. There were obviously all new characters that I had a hard time connecting with. It just didn't work as well for me.

Overall, I felt like this book was a very ambitious story to tell, and Stephenson did a commendable job with it. The second half just fell short for me.