I'm not sure I understood all I read but I'm sure I was fascinated and learned a lot.
Well written and informative
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Good enough read!
Harry Cliff's task in this book is quite difficult. It involves explaining highly complex and sophisticated problems of today's particle physics to the masses and he has done a fair good job of the same.
Harry Cliff in this book delves into the mysterious anomalies that are showing up in data today that cannot be explained by prevailing theories and may or may not be signs of discoveries just around the corner. Navigating the mysterious muons and neutrinos, diving into the matter of dark matter and dark energy, and dissecting the search for the unified theory, this book is a roller coaster ride in the world of particle physics.

These are complex areas and there is only so much that the author can simplify for the layman. After a while, it became too complex to follow and I lost my interest in the second half of the book.

Nevertheless, it was an interesting read. Thanks, Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for providing an ARC.

The origin of the universe has fascinated mankind for eons and this book of the cosmic story attempts to bring the reader up to date to our present understanding of what is happening ‘out there’. The author brings us back to the basic principles of molecular theory and then takes on the journey of particles that emanate from space; this in turn takes us out to the furthest reaches of space and the description of what we can determine is and has occurred, many light years from Earth.
The book is very thought provoking and at times the reader may not fully understand the science within the explanations, but the author provides easy-to-understand real world examples to maintain our interest. This is a good read for anyone who would like to have a more scientific framework within which to understand the universe as we can observe it on a starry night without too much scientific fog in the way.

Space Oddities is modern science at work. It's mostly to do with particle physics, but whilst that highly theoretical realm always leaves me feeling 'does it matter?' the link between our understanding of the universe and why the only current solution to the missing mass is 'dark matter' are things I find baffling.

No longer.

Harry Cliff discusses the most complex science debates in physics to give us lesser mortals a good chance of understanding it. Even if I could only cope with one chapter at a time, due to brain fatigue. He also writes in a way that turns the search for the elusive anomalies into a thriller - and a highly suspenseful enjoyable one (with nobody under sentence of death or a more gory fate). It would have been good to have the diagram of the Standard Theory earlier, though

I did find myself wondering several times: but why does it matter? Why are we prepared to spend billions of dollars on extremely expensive kit that uses enormous amounts of substances extracted from the ground at huge environmental cost, then send billions of volts through them for years at a time to see what happens? The answer is partly that a huge number of academics are involved, and most governments like to support academics who might add prestige to their faltering political careers. What does it do to help you and me?

And then, you could say much the same about football (any version). Why does it matter? It's the goal, the prize at the end...

Although I am not a scientist and don’t have any background in any kind of physics, other than O level at school decades ago, the subject is still something that fascinates me. Harry Cliff's book is an outstanding addition to the literature on the subject, with the author exploring the subject from a different perspective and with a hugely enthusiastic style.

The majority of the book discusses (possible) anomalies resulting from recent experiments which could lead to questioning of the standard model of particle physics. Probably about 60% of this part of the book flew way over my head, I understood the outcomes but less so the description of the physics. However, Harry Cliff has an easy reading, amusing writing style which keeps the reader’s attention.

Following the particle physics section of the book, Cliff moves on to the standard model of cosmology, a far simpler concept to follow.

This is a complex and fascinating subject which is dealt with in an absorbing and engrossing manner and a fascinating addition to the literature on the subject.

If you did any science to a high enough degree, or have read much popular science, you'll know that the wrinkle in the scientific method is the people. People like to hang on their theories, if something works nine times out of ten, throwing away that tenth version means it worked all the time and things get lost. Space Oddities is about what happens when science got better, tried to get out of these bad habits, and what it does with its anomalous results now. Harry Cliff is a particle physicist, and this is another science book that spends much time hanging out at the Large Hadron Collider. Because every time we get close to a consistent theory of the universe, something always throws it out of whack. Nothing more so than Dark Energy and Dark Matter, something we know must be there but can't detect. So Harry travels the world in the book, from Switzerland to Antarctica looking at teams trying to solve some of these very gnarly issues with very tiny things.

What makes this the most working science book I've read in quite some time is that there are no grand revelations and no great breakthroughs. Instead, he is at pains to describe the level of evidence required to start playing with scientific anomalies, and the probability stuff is fascinating and no doubt remarkably frustrating for the scientists. There are a lot of astronomers here who would love to be looking at the edge of the universe, but instead are looking at records of photon hits on a sensor on the ice. This means it can be a little frustrating narratively, there is not much of a conclusion - its more of a check-in than anything else. But as he describes rival teams of scientists hoping they get the same results from the same data, there is something still quite breathlessly exciting about it all.

This book will leave you with a new appreciation for the universe (and the physicists who run the science)! It’s chock full of interesting knowledge and the storytelling is fantastic. It was a super enjoyable book and I was immediately swept away into the wonders of our universe. But take this from someone who has a healthy appreciation for physics and someone who likes to read about quantum mechanics in their spare time….

From the very beginnings of the universe, and the theories that make up our science to historical figures making their mark in history, it was a great book on the development of science and our understanding of the universe. I loved the authors writing style and also truly appreciated the sprinklings of humour throughout. It made it not only informative but an entertaining read.

Experiencing science through the authors own experiences were great too and the writing was fab. To take often complicated scientific theories and information and being able to convey it to the masses is a true skill and one the author did so well.

A really enjoyable read and a definite one for all science and physics lovers. (The only reason why it lost a star was because this happened to be my ‘in hospital’ read which mixed with the joyous (sarcastic) experience of A&E made me not as present and receptive as I otherwise would have been!)

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to the author, the publisher and Net Galley.

I think a good book either helps you learn something new, makes you feel something or entertains you. This book manages to do all three.

This is an absolutely fascinating book detailing several scientific discoveries in recent years and how they occurred. Not just the successful and proven ones but also mistakes and ones where there are still uncertainty. I’ve learnt so much from this book about Muons and Quarks and other subjects I knew little about before.

I found this so entertaining because although it explains the physics of the discovery, the story primarily focuses on how it was discovered and the people involved. Often in non-fiction I find there can be over the top descriptions of the people involved which is really distracting. Not at all here. I found I had quite a vivid picture of the people in the book just through their words and actions which was noticeable compared to other overt-described books.

I thought this was really well-written, educational and a compelling read.

Honestly, I loved this book so much. It was witty, inspiring and wonderfully scientific. My view is obviously coloured by my interest in physics, but any science book that mentions chocolate digestives and David Bowie's pants is a good one in my opinion. The book is written in a wonderfully readable way, though I do think that people without enough knowledge of the science behind it might need to go through the book a bit slower.
The writing style is also very pleasant to read, really eliciting wonder at the topics it discusses.
Overall, I loved this book and would recommend to anyone who likes science.