A
Review of "Interstellar: The Official Movie Novelization"
Novelization
by Greg Keyes
Written
by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan
Being
that I own a Kindle, this is the first “physical” book I’ve read in some time.
In fact, having grown tired of looking at screens all day, whether it’s a
computer screen, television screen or a Kindle screen, I recently bought a
bunch of paperback books to reduce my exposure to technology…and I have to say
that the experience has been a pleasure thus far. I typically read quicker with
my Kindle, but I finished this book in under a week (with only an hour or two
set aside each night), so it’s a testament that real paper books still hold
their value.
Enough
with the comparisons, though. Since I never got a chance to see the movie, I
figured the novelization of Interstellar would be the next best thing. The plot
focuses on the need for NASA to find life elsewhere as crop blight and dust
storms have ravaged the planet, essentially poisoning the air and dwindling food
supplies. Through the use of a wormhole, NASA’s “Lazarus Missions” have found
three potentially habitable worlds, and a former astronaut named Cooper (played
by Matthew McConaughey in the movie) is recruited to pilot the mission. Along
with several other scientists, their goal is to obtain data collected by the
original astronauts and determine which planet, if any, is most suitable to
support human life.
Though
the science of space travel, and space in general, is not something I’m very
knowledgeable about, I found this aspect of the book to be fascinating. It’s
still not something I can fully comprehend, but many things were explained in a
way that I could at least gain a basic understanding of them. Gravity,
dimensions, relativity, time, wormholes, black holes, and so forth. Significant
research was done to make this book/movie as accurate and realistic as possible,
and the reader will definitely notice this. Some of the science was absolutely
mind-blowing.
The
book moves at a quick pace, and I never found myself getting bored at any point
during the story. There were also times when I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
I told myself I’d read just a little longer, but I literally had to force
myself to close the book. Otherwise, I would have been up all night. I would
have liked to see a little more of the story take place on Earth but I can’t fault
the writers for this. So much goes on in space that it really can’t be avoided.
Overall, I loved this book and thought the ending was fitting. Even if you’ve
seen the movie, I’ve heard the book compliments it well, offering some details
and pieces of information left out on the big screen. As a result, I recommend
reading it either way.
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