PROJECT HAIL MARY (Andy Weir) - February 20/25

 I enjoyed this but gosh is it ever long and full of science technobabble that I absolutely could not follow. But the main character is awesome and I loved his friendship with Rocky (and I even got choked up with the reveal that Rocky was the only surviving crew member). *** out of ****

TRUE BELIEVER (Jack Carr) - February 12/25

 Woof, this is one long book. The first half is concerned mostly with James’ African exploits, which is a weird choice to be sure. And while the book contains its share of exciting set pieces, including the assassination of the Russian president, it feels padded out to an unreasonable degree. I still basically enjoyed it, though. **1/2 out of ****