Other than some Asimov, a couple of science-fiction books I read in middle school, and The Martian, I haven't read too many sci-fi novels. Part of what turned me off from the genre is that a lot of works were fantasy veiled in technology and pseudoscience. Another is the lack of attention to social and environmental issues that often elude many science-fiction writers, one of the main critiques of sci-fi that I've gathered from my recent research on feminist futurology.

Aurora checks all of these boxes. But good science necessities detail and the author walked a fine line between specificity and engagement, for me. I felt like I had to slog through the beginning a bit. I was lost in the weeds, perhaps. That's why I knocked off a star (I'd remove only half if I could).

But the payoff was worth it. Robinson left no stone unturned (except for intentional dramatic effect) in describing the the "hard," social, and ecological sciences and their effect on the characters' emotional states. It's a novel you get lost in and that becomes engrossing by the end. It also contains one of the most beautiful and interesting falling actions I've read in a long time.