It was definitely engaging from start to end. However, I'm pretty sure I only enjoyed reading it because I had seen the movie and loved it. Had I not, I would have had a hard time making sense of what was going on because it's very math and science heavy, there are words whose meaning I didn't know before and don't know now, I just glided over all of those scientific descriptions. Another thing that made me want to finish was my love for Project Hail Mary - a masterpiece. That being said, I now realise why so many people say that the MCs are exactly the same. They really are way too similar and I had the exact same issues with them, with the difference that while Ryland eventually grew on me, Mark did not as much. I found myself often cringing at his humour and some things were just in poor taste. It was also difficult for me to believe that a person's mental state and positive outlook would remain so static in such a difficult situation and extreme isolation.