My experience of this book suffered by coming straight after The Martian. If reading The Martian is like accelerating into the upper atmosphere in a rocket, reading Station Eleven is like plodding down a rocky road in a wheelbarrow pulled by a tired horse. 
 First, the positives. Station Eleven is very well-written. The language is often beautiful and the descriptions of the new and old world are powerfully evocative. It gives you an increased appreciation of how integral the miracle of electricity is to our lives and just how much we take it for granted. The "pre" and "post" pandemic narrative threads were woven together with skill and, apart from the short "interview" sections, nothing seemed surplus to requirements. 
 But I didn't connect with the characters... 
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