I was excited to read this book because the cover and title sounded terrific.

The book's premise sounded intriguing, but the writing was a letdown. The story itself was incredibly dull to read, and I was not even sure how to rate this book for a long time.

I wanted to DNF this book multiple times. Ultimately, I gave it a chance until the very last page, and I came to regret it. I didn't like any character in this book, not even for a single page. I couldn't take any enjoyment from this book. Now that I had distance from this book and reviewed my notes from reading it, I noticed how much of a bad time I had while reading it.

I cannot give proper criticism because I didn't enjoy anything but the idea of the book.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
While the idea was interesting, the writing was not able to pull it off. Another issue was the two completely unlikeable and unredeemable main characters. While it is fine to have an unlikable main character, these two were just stereotypes so there wasn't anything interesting about them.

Really enjoyed this sci fi book set in a future that seems hopeless…trying to escape earth to a more habitable planet with information given by off planetary beings.

THE GOOD: Appreciate a near-future story with required autonomous vehicles and other innovations. The main character, Christopher unapologetically thinks like a red-blooded man, which is refreshing.

THE BAD: The science of the future world could use a little work. It came off a bit vague, leaving the reader feeling a bit underwhelmed.

CONCLUSION: A decent, independent effort worth a few hours' entertainment.

Having read Andy Weir, this book had big boots to fill. Unfortunately it didn't hit the mark for me. The book is told from the perspective of an unlilable and somewhat unreliable character whose humour doesn't quite land.

Good space-related book, but wasn't engaging enough for me. Solid 3*.

First of all--- this is best cover I've seen in years. 'This book could have been call Boring Trash You Don't Care About and I still would have given it a go because how could you not with that cover??!!

Now, the story. Loved it. Right from the start, the whole idea of the scientists being sent to another country to help collaborate on an important project that impacts the whole planet made me picture it as a Netflix movie. I've seen several reviews that seem to write off the book because the one character is such ridiculous womanizer. but I"m sorry, people like that (unfortunately) exist in real life, so while I couldn't be friends with him I'm not offended by him enough to stop reading the book.

I did think this one was a bit slow moving and some points, at one point near the middle it did start to lose me, but overall I really enjoyed it. I think this one would go over really well with fan of Andy Weir, since they're used to some peaks and valleys as far as plot speed and the occasionally overly scientific nature of a story like this. Would definitely read more from this author!

Love the cover art. Choose this book on a whim and it actually surprises me. Somewhat slow moving, the book did get me reading at a good pace. It almost lost me a few times, but I pressed through! lol About 75% through then it finally started getting good. Of course by the ending then, I felt as if we just got started with the good stuff! Needless to say, if there was a continuation of this book I would pick it up to see what happens.

DNF @ 10%

Pathologically dull, constant malapropisms and other mistaken use of the English language. Christopher, a POV character who is the personification of toxic misogyny, was the cherry on top.

I really didn't enjoy reading this. The main character exuded toxic masculinity and misogyny, and in 2022, this isn't acceptable. I will not be reading any more books by this author.

DNF
I was really interested in reading this book as the main character is a physicist working for NASA but this novel turned out to be extremely disappointing. I hated the protagonist, he a misogynist and extremely bland.
Here are some quotes:
“He missed out on a great piece of ass in a tight pink dress at Club Particle”
“All the other girls were wearing their designer clothes, heels, and makeup, which Christopher recognized very early on as simply “my parents overpaid for this getup just for you to look at my tits.”
“He decided she was surely a B-cup.”

Great cover, interesting blurb and good idea for a story but the writing was very OWM.

One of the main characters, Christopher, is a misogynistic narcissist and that made me want to skip the chapters from his POV. I get that even unlikeable MCs can propel a story forward, but this character didn't.

George, the other MC, is the stereotypical scientist. He was more likeable than Christopher, but I didn't click with him either.

The few women I read about, before I DNF'd, were very bland characters, which brings me back to my initial sentence: the writing was very OWM.

Perilman has written a great science fiction novel. I enjoyed the book and look forward to the next book Perilman writes.

I liked the book and interesting characters! I haven’t read that much science fiction recently other than two fantastic books by Andy Weir. Hard to match that high standard but the author made a pretty good effort to do that!

This book could perhaps be sent to the Prime Ministers in most countries throughout the world to help focus on the needs of our planet.

Not bad. I didn't always stay engaged, but like it overall. There seems to be a mixed reaction here, so It's hard to say where the ratings will ultimately average out to be.

Thanks very much for the free review copy for review!!

DNF.
I hate to write a review on a book that I did not finish but I have to get this out of my chest.
This book was promising and the plot seemed good enough to get my attention, but I could not keep going because I absolutely do not like one of the main characters. I understand the appeal of having a MC that is not liked but this Christopher guy is just plain boring and misogynistic to the point that I got really tired and just wanted to scream "I get it, you hate women". So as I kept reading I found myself not really caring about whatever happened from that point on with the actual plot because I would simply not enjoy going on this "ride" with such a Character.
Overall, I am very disappointed with this title because it started really well.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one! Although, I do have a lot of unanswered questions. It seemed to me that it was set up for another book, I hope so! I need more of this story!

I enjoyed this book very much, I did find myself feeling very bad for the two main characters and the ending was not as I had expected. WEll worth reading.

I picked up this book because of the fascinating book summary and stunning cover. The book follows mostly two perspectives, George, a career NASA scientist, and Christopher, a chauvinistic narcist who happens to be a high-ranking pilot for the Department of Defense. The setting is set in the near future but feels similar to our time. However, the world has changed with new technology and language, which helps differentiates itself from the present. The Earth is also experiencing detrimental weather events that hint the end is near. Overall, the author sets the story up for an interesting premise.

The first chapter really captured my attention, and I was excited to see where the story would go. I also felt the author created a realistic depiction on how the government would react to a mysterious set of blueprints and the political theater that would come from various sides.

Unfortunately, my feelings for this book quickly changed once I realized most of the book would be from Christopher. I don’t mind an unlikeable character, when it is done correctly, however, I found it tiresome on how he would comment on every woman’s cup size. I also felt slightly uncomfortable when the book would flashback to another character’s relationship. I almost felt as if I entered someone’s fantasy. Either way the scene felt unnecessary to show the character’s motivations or move the plot.

Another issue I had was with the dialogue. Some of the dialogue reminded me of Andy Weir, where despite the perilous situations the characters find themselves they would make jokes. I love humor in a thrilling book, but I found most of the jokes to fall flat for me. Humor is subjective so I wouldn’t fault the author on this.

Overall, this was an interesting concept, but I don’t think it was executed in the way I expected it to go. This felt more focused on relationships then the science. I do wish the author would have told the story from another perspective other than Christopher (like the lead CERN scientist). It would have been better to see how they develop the methods to understand the blueprint and the technology, while also navigating the politics.

The opinions included above are my own opinion. I appreciate the author and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book to provide honest feedback.

Just finished reading this ! Not bad! It's about two main characters set in the near future and the earth is dieing because of global warming and a few super volcanoes! Plans for a teleporter are mysteriously delivered! A test pilot is selected to test it!
I enjoyed reading it and the ending was good enough, but it could of been better! I might read it again but not anytime soon.

*Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy of The Escape Velocity Project in exchange for a honest review*
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George is an extremely intelligent scientist working for NASA when he is pulled in to work on a top secret project. Blueprint plans that are in a code from a lifeform other than human show on the doorstep of NASA. These plans are for a suspected time traveling and transportation device, and they need the brightest and best to decode the message and put the plans together. Time is of the essence, as Earth is crumbling beneath our feet. An additional time crunch is added when a secret super volcano under Philly explodes, leaving nothing but destruction behind.
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Christopher is a self absorbed, misognistic, high ranking pilot for the US Governemnt. Christohper's flying expertise is needed to be the first test of sending human life through the transportation Gate. Searching for further fame he agrees to leave everything behind for the glory of being hailed a hero. When The Gate doesn't work as expected, we are left with questions and more code that must be deciphered.
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Overall, I loved the premise of this book. I am a big sucker for coded messages, science fiction, and space themed books. The cover and the synopsis really caught my attention I loved the use of the alien language throughout the book as coded text. The twist near the end was also a nice ending to the book.
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I think Christopher as a character could have been edited a bit. It was pretty tiring seeing him refer to every. single. female character by her cup size. A few times? ok. But every time gets so boring and makes me roll my eyes as a female reader. You can display chauvenisitic tendencies in other ways. Our character George, literally just fell off the face of the Earth near the end of the book. The story line stopped following him completely until the last chapter which I found so odd.
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This book leaves you with the lingering question of "Who exactly sent these blueprints, and more importantly, why? What did they want us to know? Nice little mysterious ending!