Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) -
Helpful Score: 4
To paraphrase the character Birdie in "All About Eve": "What a story! Everything but the bloodhounds snappin' at his rear end." This is an entertaining read, but somewhat exhausting. All right, not as exhausting as being marooned on another planet, but still...
Although probably integral to the story, I found all the minute details about detaching airlock seals, how many liters of this or that, and the descriptions of everything Watney does tiresome. I found myself skimming almost as much in this book as I used to in any Stephen King book.
Thankfully a good part of the 300+ pages is spent away from Watney, which was a nice break from having to remember what the RTG, OMS, et al meant. It's a quick read and picturing Matt Damon as the hero made it more more fun.
Although probably integral to the story, I found all the minute details about detaching airlock seals, how many liters of this or that, and the descriptions of everything Watney does tiresome. I found myself skimming almost as much in this book as I used to in any Stephen King book.
Thankfully a good part of the 300+ pages is spent away from Watney, which was a nice break from having to remember what the RTG, OMS, et al meant. It's a quick read and picturing Matt Damon as the hero made it more more fun.
I enjoyed this book. Was worried it might be too technical, but it wasn't.
A good hard science fiction book with a premise that could happen in the next 50 years. Not the stranding of an Astronaut on Mars, but regular almost routine manned missions to Mars. Have not watched the movie.
I found it impossible not to binge read this book. I have heard people talking about it for months, so I finally decided to see what all of the fuss was about. I wasn't disappointed.
For me, The Martian struck a great balance between the science and the fiction. This is a book about people who are wicked smart and doing insanely challenging things, yet Weir made it surprisingly accessible (even though I still don't understand half of what he actually said). It's also a great survival story of on man vs Mars, and the characterization of Mark Watney was both believable and incredibly funny.
This is the kind of book that would appeal to people who wouldn't normally read sci-fi. It's space without aliens, space travel without wormholes, futuristic without being too far removed from our present reality. It's plausible enough that it could actually happen, and for that reason alone it is going to appeal to a broader base of readers.
Also, The Martian is a self-published book, so kudos to Weir for taking his love of space and turning it into a best-selling book. One a side note, the movie is also very well done and follows the book very well (although in typical movie-Cliffs-notes style). Matt Damon was a perfect cast for the brilliantly resourceful astronaut with a gallows sense of humor, and Sean Bean's role as Mitch was delightfully amusing for reasons that I won't spoil in this review.
In all, this was a completely entertaining and absorbing read. Highly recommended!
For me, The Martian struck a great balance between the science and the fiction. This is a book about people who are wicked smart and doing insanely challenging things, yet Weir made it surprisingly accessible (even though I still don't understand half of what he actually said). It's also a great survival story of on man vs Mars, and the characterization of Mark Watney was both believable and incredibly funny.
This is the kind of book that would appeal to people who wouldn't normally read sci-fi. It's space without aliens, space travel without wormholes, futuristic without being too far removed from our present reality. It's plausible enough that it could actually happen, and for that reason alone it is going to appeal to a broader base of readers.
Also, The Martian is a self-published book, so kudos to Weir for taking his love of space and turning it into a best-selling book. One a side note, the movie is also very well done and follows the book very well (although in typical movie-Cliffs-notes style). Matt Damon was a perfect cast for the brilliantly resourceful astronaut with a gallows sense of humor, and Sean Bean's role as Mitch was delightfully amusing for reasons that I won't spoil in this review.
In all, this was a completely entertaining and absorbing read. Highly recommended!
