In short.....it wasn't as expected. I couldn't connect with Solvig, and definitely didn't feel invested in her life enough to really care about her choices. I think its a good quick short read at around 200 pages, but for me it never quite caught my interest.

The premise of the book is that Solvig is torn between starting a family with her boyfriend or going to Mars, and she might get chosen to do this as part of a contest? Will the contents of an essay really be the deciding factor for the organisers in choosing who will get the opportunity to go?

I liked that Solvig worked in STEM - and who knew deep sea welding was a job? But for me - it didn't captivate me, and didn't draw me in enough to the 'baby versus ambition' concept I had hoped for.

While this book’s premise seemed to offer a dilemma I could relate to–having to decide between career and family–its plot was ultimately mired in too much internal monologue to make it compelling enough for me.

Do you read author notes? I love them and I was fully drawn into Bright and Dangerous Objects from the moment I read the author note at the front of the book. Mackintosh wrote about hearing an interview on a podcast with Sonia Van Meter - a woman who was shortlisted for the Mars One project. At the time, Mackintosh was talking to her husband about starting a family - and she started thinking about the balance of parenthood vs ambition.

In this book, Solvig is captivated by the idea of leaving for Mars - but is also debating starting a family with her partner here on Earth. Through the story, Solvig is living her life and trying to figure out how to make a decision when it seems her desires are completely at odds with each other. How can you know you're making the right choice until after you've already made it?

I loved how this book talked about science in ways that felt more like poetry. There are many sections I highlighted as I read. It wasn't a happy read and there are times it was hard for me to understand the choices Solvig made - but I am really glad I read this and will be reading more by Anneliese Mackintosh.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

There were things I liked about this book, and things I really didn't.
Pros:
- we need more books about women's ambiguous feelings towards motherhood. Is this a biological urge or the protagonist caving to her boyfriend's pressure? Is it selfish to say no if he wants a baby?
- A woman doing a very technical, unusual job that she absolutely loves
- Sci/fi themes without it being ONLY for sci/fi fans (sci/fi light, if I may)

Cons:
- She MIGHT go to Mars. It's a contest that she has applied for, so she's debating about having a baby while applying to go to Mars at the same time, and nothing is certain because it's some sketchy contest?
- Her inner thoughts weren't that riveting, considering that's the point of this book
- I left the book feeling unsatisfied

In short, Bright and Dangerous Objects follows Solvig, our main character and narrator. She works as a commercial saturation diver, and when she's not working a month-long stint on the sea floor, she's living with James, her boyfriend of three years in Cornwall. James wants to move their relationship forward but Solvig is harboring a secret. Her boyfriend wants to have a baby together. Solvig wants to move to Mars. Ever since she's heard about The Mars Project, she can't stop thinking about it.

Solvig definitely grew on me. At first I found her cold and detached, and maybe she is those things. But she's also ambitious, caring and at an uncomfortable crossroads in her life. I appreciated her honesty and the tone of this book. Like Solvig, the prose is sparse and direct and suits the narration to great effect.

The story focusses on themes I, personally, enjoy reading about. Most notably parenthood, independence, and your desires for yourself and your future. Solvig struggles terribly with these concepts and her thoughts constantly cycle through her questioning of them. Over the course of the year this book follows Solvig all of this comes to a head. What does she want and what does she want to be?

I don't really know how to describe this book other than contemporary. Solvig is a very independent person, working in a male-dominated STEM field, in an unconventional long-term relationship. I see myself in the questions she asks herself and in her future possibilities. She's such an original character and I enjoyed her story though it's not what I would call a joyful one.

Bright and Dangerous Objects is a book about a woman who is unsure of what she wants in life. I've never read a book with a character like her, i related very much to her.

Anneliese Mackintosh’s Bright and Dangerous Objects combines two kinds of female-led stories that are currently very popular; the dysfunctional millennial drifting through her life, and the woman struggling with the realities and fantasies of potential motherhood. However, Solvig, the 37-year-old protagonist of this novel, is a bit different from a lot of her literary counterparts; alongside her internal conflicts, she is also occupied with a skilled and dangerous job, commercial deep-sea diving for an oil company in the North Sea. (This addresses one of my most frequent complaints about this kind of novel, so kudos to Mackintosh for that!) She also toys with what is probably one of the most extreme solutions to her present problems contemplated by any of these literary women: joining the first mission to Mars as a colonist. Bright and Dangerous Objects doesn’t have a lot to say about either deep-sea diving or Mars, so I wouldn’t advise picking it up if your interest really lies in either of those areas, rather than with Solvig herself. However, I thought that Mackintosh’s take on this sub-genre was smarter and more engaging than many I’ve read, especially when she starts getting into the idea that going to Mars could potentially be seen as a suicide mission, given the high death rate anticipated among colonists. While the novel never seems to take the Mars mission totally seriously as an option, this does give it some thematic resonance; is there something appealing for Solvig in bowing out of life when she could still just about be perceived as the maiden, rather than the mother or the crone? Bright and Dangerous Objects, as a piece of work, was too sketchy and brief for me, but it suggests that Mackintosh has the potential to write something brilliant. 3.5 stars.

I've been learning to love literary fiction this year, and this certainly didn't disappoint. We need more books that provide representation for women in STEM subjects, so I was very happy to receive an ARC of this!

Commercial deep-sea diver Solvig has a secret. She wants to be one of the first human beings to colonize Mars, and she’s one of a hundred people shortlisted by the Mars Project to do just that. But to fulfill her ambition, she’ll have to leave behind everything she’s ever known—for the rest of her life. As the prospect of heading to space becomes more real, thirty-seven-year-old Solvig is forced to define who she really is.

I found this book to be a really intriguing read. It's not exactly the happiest book in the world, and that is probably due to the heavy topics, but it was remarkably easy to read. Despite only being ~250 pages, the author still managed to craft a story that packed a punch. It is a book about choices and questioning the choices that we are made to make in our lives. Motherhood, sexuality, career versus lifelong aspirations - these are all choices that are touched upon in this book and I loved how relatable it all was. My main gripe was the ending. Obviously, it's quite difficult to wrap everything up perfectly in a book of this length, but I did feel that it was a bit of a weak conclusion.

I loved the female in STEM representation and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read!

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I loved the premise of this book, it spoke to a lot of my interests, but ultimately it didn't connect with me the way that I thought it would. I wanted to feel more invested in the characters, but they lacked something which made the story a little forgettable. I really wanted to love it! I'd give it 3.5 if that was an option. :)

A very interesting, beautifully written book about the realities of space exploration. This isn't the space hero on a grand adventure, this is a real person making a decision that could very well lead to her death. Is it a selfish decision because she wants it so badly, or completely selfless to risk herself to further humanity?

Really beautifully written. "Hard scifi" focuses on the accurate technical aspects of space travel. Books like this, while still heavy with technical details, should be classified as "human scifi."

For as long as I can remember, I've been fascinated by outer space. Stars, planets, space exploration--all of it; and while I've never wanted to be an astronaut, I will read anything in this genre. This cover is beautiful and immediately caught my attention, and with an equally intriguing blurb, I was excited to dive in.

Solvig is a diver in the oil industry, spending months at a time submerged in a tight ship with mostly men. She loves her job, loves her boyfriend of three years, loves her life--but she can't help but wanting more. When she reads about a contest offering her the opportunity of a lifetime, Solvig must reach into her depths to figure out what she truly wants: to start a family or to *quite literally* reach for the stars, and apply for a position as one of the first settlers on Mars.

I knew from Mackintosh's forward that this wouldn't be a space adventure, but rather the internal reflection that leads up to the most important decision of Solvig's life (so if you're looking for a high-octane adventure with mechanical failures in deep space or alien lifeforms, this might not be the book for you). However, Solvig's voice is engaging and her spirit is contagious. She's unapologetic in her choices and while she understands people will judge her for some of her more unconventional life choices, she's able to separate societal pressures from the pressure she puts on herself to find happiness. In doing so, she considers her choices from all angles: she uses logic, relies on rationality and calm reflection, yet she also embraces her emotions. She doesn't shy away from crying when she feels something deeply.

Because of this, I found her incredibly relatable and authentic. I was moved to tears by her description of miscarriage (which, disclaimer, might be triggering for some, but is not done in the lens of a spectacle here, which I appreciated), her questioning whether you can feel like you've lost someone who was never born. I feel this will strike a chord with many readers, including myself, having two children, but miscarrying in between in almost exactly the same way, and I appreciated that Mackintosh doesn't shy away from the painful realities, the things we so often view as taboo and suffer alone. In sharing this moment, there was a connection, a universal truth, that really balanced not only Solvig's character arc, but the trajectory of her choices.

What struck me most was her examination of womanhood. The separation of mother from lover, how the idea of being pregnant isn't a phobia as much as she has serious doubts and doesn't know if she'll ever be sure she's ready. How she loves her work and wants more. Is she too late to be a mother? Is she crazy for wanting to be a mother? Is she crazy to dream? To want something so much bigger than herself? To want it all?

While we're not debating going to Mars forever in our daily lives, Solvig's debates about what it means to be a woman are questions we face every day. In her search for the Right Choice, she raises several intriguing points about sacrifice and desire, readiness and flexibility, attraction and deprivation. The dichotomies are beautiful and painful, and Mackintosh nails the inner turmoil that many women struggle with at the crux of this next step.

Overall, Bright and Dangerous Objects is a beautiful, insightful, honest reflection on love and ambition. It's a story of a woman daring to dream. It's a story of truth, and oh, what a rarity that is nowadays.

Huge thanks to Tin House and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

Bright and Dangerous Objects by Anneliese Mackintosh is about a woman struggling to work out what she really wants from life and reflecting on how the loss of her mother has impacted her ambivalent feelings.

Mars. The final frontier. Well, some of it anyway. A tantalizingly inviting yet impossible dream. And as with all such things, there are those who just won’t take no for an answer, like Musk, trying to go there and colonize it anyway. But with all the numerous and very serious risks involved…who’d want to be on that (most likely) one way mission? Well, this book’s protagonist, for one. And that was the main appeal of this book for me. There’s absolutely no way I’d just select a book wherein a main character’s sole raison d’etre is contemplation of procreation. This book actually offers an even split of motivations…a 37 year old woman named Solvig who, despite severe commitment quirks, decides to have a baby with her boyfriend, while simultaneously applying to be on a mission to Mars. The entire book is essentially dedicated to her trying to find the balance between the two seemingly impossible to balance things. Intellectually, theoretically this was interesting to me…to read about someone who wants most of all the two things I’d never ever want to do. I don’t get the mindless biological drive to procreate, I’d never have the guts for space flight, but that’s what books are for, anyway. To visit different people, different worlds. Ideally to understand both. Solvig isn’t an easy character to get to know or understand or even like. Presumably her commitmentphobia stems from her mother’s death, which may have seemed like abandonment to a child. She’s fearless but in a sort of blasé disconnected way. So she can do things like live beneath the sea for a month at a time or have a child or go to Mars, but you’re never quite sure why or how. She seems like someone who is profoundly unmoored, marching to a drum beat so distant it may require a different frequency altogether to hear. She decides to have child on a complete whim, at her boyfriend’s suggestion, and then proceeds to try to get pregnant with a determination and dedication you’d find in a most stereotypical procreation minded mommymachine but seemingly only to prove to herself that she can. Almost like a weird sort of dare. She doesn’t seem to actually want a child. Or if she does, it is unclear as to why. It’s kind of similar with Mars, only she really wants to be on that spaceship, it just isn’t quite obvious why. So you can’t read Solvig like a book. She’s kind of motivationally murky. And the author actually wrote this book while contemplating those very two things, space travel and procreation, although it seems like the latter was the stronger driver, she did have a baby and was pregnant again at the time of writing the foreword. So this must have been a very personal journey of a book. Which made me contemplate this book as a metaphor for women balancing ambition, work and motherhood. It might work as such, although again it isn’t that much of an intellectual contemplation with Solvig, since as a character she is mostly driven by unseen undercurrents and not quite explained desires. But at any rate, the writing was quite good and I really enjoyed the Mars angle and even Solvig, for all her reticence, had a certain appeal or gravity, all distant and unknowable like…well, like a far away planet. So this definitely elevated the book above the typical women’s lit biological clock driven sort of fare. Thanks Netgalley.