>>>>>>> Yeah, I'm liking it so far as well ...
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Haven't got very far but, if there's a twist at the end, I'd guess he's the star of a 'Big Brother' style reality TV show.....
>>>>>
>>>>>Right now, it's more like the movie "The Truman Show".
>>>>
>>>>Finished. An enjoyable read I suppose and, as a starting point for a movie script (which it appeared to be), it would make yet another 'gung-ho space adventure' movie with the usual special effects and happy ending.
>>>>
>>>> As a novel : No. The hero had no real depth - mainly just a robot with a sense of humour. If he had never re-established contact with Earth (and given a better author) it could make a good book - sort of a cross between Hemingway's 'Old Man of the Sea' and 'Snows of Kilimanjaro'.......
>>>
>>>Done already?!?! You're a fast reader, or maybe you just spend more time reading that I do. I've still got a little less two hours left to go ... but, I only spend about an hour reading in the evening before bed.
>>
>>I must admit I skimmed over the schoolboy maths bits on potato counting and solar panel efficiency :-}
>>
>>>I like the guy, and it's probably *because* of his sense of humor.
>>
>>All the other characters seemed even more 'two-dimensional'. I can't recall a single instance where we were told what they were thinking - they just talked at each other.....
>
>Isn't what people say and what they are doing how you usually tell what they might be thinking ?

It's 'what they are doing' that's missing. We're told we rely on non-verbal communication much more than verbal. That kicks in when you're watching a movie.
I think that In a novel you need an alternative source of information if the characters are to have any depth.