Aurora

I loved the book, the style, the grandeur, the characters, everything.

Then why only 4.5 out of 5? Well, I've always was a space exploration nut, a condition ammeliorated or maybe made worse by all the high adventure science fiction classics on that topic. There's danger, there are problems, there are tragedies. But one thing that always, and I mean always is constant is the optimism - a certainty almost, that humanity's future is in the stars, that it is our destiny to leave our cradle.

That's evident even in KSR's work - the Mars trilogy is a perfect example of the sentiment.

And Aurora, with it's conclussion that it cannot be (and even more, that it shouldn't be) done, goes agains the grain of my hopes and dreams.