READ IT WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT. WATCHED IT A NUMBER OF TIMES ON TV, THE TV VERSION DIFFERS SOMEWHAT FROM THE BOOK. SAW THE AUTHOR DISCUSSING THE BOOK WITH THOSE FAMILIAR WITH THE SCIENCE INVOLVED AND ALL CRITICS AGREED THAT THE AUTHOR GOT THE SCIENCE, FOR THE MOST PART ON THE MONEY. FINALLY DECIDED TO GET THIS COPY FOR MY OWN MODEST LIBRARY SO I CAN READ IT OVER AGAIN AS MANY TIMES AS I WISH.
A really engrossing sci-fi thriller. Mark Watney is left for dead on Mars and must use his wits and knowledge to survive for close to 500 days. Watney is a botanist and engineer and is faced with starvation, lack of water, and must eventually travel over 3,000 km to the site of the next Mars landing to survive. He is faced with every mishap imaginable but manages to overcome these. This included making the Mars soil viable for growing potatoes using his own excrement and every inch of space available in his HAB on Mars. He must convert rocket fuel into water, modify his Mars rover to travel great distances, and use plutonium for heat. There are hazards at every turn and Mark faces these with humor and smarts! Also, he is stuck listening to disco music and 70's TV shows for entertainment (these were left by his crew mates). Overall, a really enjoyable read; however, I probably could have skipped a lot of the technical information on how he was able to survive. I haven't seen the movie version with Matt Damon but am looking forward to it.
Scott Gross (scottgross) -
I saw the movie first and loved it but still enjoyed the book for all the additional details the movie had to leave out. I then watched the movie again and enjoyed it even more knowing all the background information.
I wanted to read this book before I saw the movie. I am so glad that I did. Some of the technical descriptions lost me but Mark Watney's thoughts, actions and humor made the story worth it. I caught myself simultaneously laughing out loud and holding my breath. An edge of your seat read!!
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!
