The Terranauts (by T.C. Boyle)

I loved the concept of this book; loosely based on Biosphere 2, a real experiment in the Arizona desert in the 1990s that I knew almost nothing about. (Like, I think I heard about it when Biodome came out. Not exactly a scientific deep-dive.) And I enjoyed the three narrators, particularly the unreliable and very unlikeable Linda. (My god, Linda is the worst.) But the execution left much to be desired:

• The science is not detailed enough. I wanted The Martian-level nerdery about the science, and the novel never really delved into any of it that deeply -- it was more of a framework for the soap opera plot, mostly about who was sleeping with whom. Which is fine and all, but: nerdy science!

• The characters are undeveloped. I mean not to compare it to The Martian again but allow me to compare it to the The Martian again: The Martian does a better job of sketching out its team of astronauts with a far smaller word count.  Plus, all eight of the Terranaut scientists are white, and the one character of color inside or out is (arguably) the villain.  I guess that was true to life but I would rather have read about a more diverse cast with more distinctive personalities. 

•  The novel opens with Dawn and Linda both desperate to get inside E2, but I never quite understood why. Why were the stakes so high when there was another mission coming along in a couple of years? Why was Linda so psychologically devastated to miss out? I didn't quite get that.  And the motivations of the secondary characters are never explored.

• The ending feels abrupt -- I would keep reading (gladly) a series that continued on to discuss Mission 3 and Mission 4. Who knows, maybe there are sequels planned. But as it stands, the ending is a bit unsatisfying.

Overall, this review is not a pan: I actually really enjoyed it and found it a page-turner -- I would love to read more! But I felt like a lot of potential was wasted here. I found myself looking for any other books on similar themes that might be, for me, more well-constructed.  Maybe there's a good non-fiction account out there that may scratch that itch.