The Martian

There is a lot about The Martian to like and I understand why there are people who absolutely love this book, but at the same time there is a lot to strongly dislike and I understand the people who hate this book at the same time.

The book feels split up into two distinct sections; section one is nearly endless logs from the protagonist, Mark Watney, section two is more of his logs as well as a look at everyone else involved in the story. Needless to say, the first part is not a joy to read unless you are really into reading the logs of what feels like a YouTube parody account that leaves comments in the voice of a mock Redditor.

Mark Watney is what Wesley Crusher would be like if he was stranded on Mars and left for dead if Beverly Crusher had somehow worked MacGuyver's DNA into the birthing process. There is zero tension in what should be an incredibly tense situation due to how effortless everything is for Watney. Not enough food to last? No problem, Watney is an expert botanist who is able to take his own shit, soil he brought with him and convenient potatoes, mix it with Martian soil and have an indoor farm that can sustain him for almost two years. Need more water? He's also an expert chemist who can create it out of thin air and have enough to last as long as he needs. He could probably end world hunger in the snap of his fingers if he wanted to, he's just that damned good.Every problem is met with a nonchalant series of jokes and asides while Watney is able to utilize increasingly convenient items in his vicinity while he rags on the poor taste of his teammates as he goes through their possessions in search for entertainment. What's frustrating is that when it's convenient for the plot to move along this innate ability to solve every problem regardless of complexity disappears from Watney's possession and he's left helpless.The big issue that I have is that I'm forced to fill in blanks and assign reasons and events to flesh out these strange holes in the plot and character. He probably had a mental break, maybe he lost his will, maybe he wasn't in class on the day when they had you clean up an experiment after a disaster to see that something might be salvageable, etc. What little is given about Watney is downright unlikable most of the time, which can make the early parts of the book a slog to get through.Things pick up when other characters are introduced and things move from the journal-based style to a more normal style of prose. You don't really get much of a feel for any of the characters, not much description about their features, personalities or lives outside of saving Mark Watney, but then again, this whole book is just about Mark Watney, isn't it? We know that Lewis and her husband like Disco and the 70's, we know that Johannsen is an attractive, younger female and so forth, but we're never given much of a reason to care about them and it kind of feels like a shame.The brief glimpses that the reader gets into these ancillary characters shows the potential for a lot more interesting, likable and worthwhile characters, but instead they are just to serve Watney and his brilliance as set dressing. I know that I'm really kind of ripping into this right now, but there were some really great things in this book as well. After around 40% or so it was hard to put down due to how the plot just flowed. There was a good sense of tension built throughout and it was genuinely exciting to read at times. There was obviously a lot of effort and research put into this book, which I appreciated and the approach kept things from being overly dry when veering into the realm of the scientific. I also appreciate the attempt at doing something different, but honestly the execution was just lacking and hurt the book overall. I'm also well aware that I just found the lead character to be abrasive and awful, but that's just personal taste and you might love him and feel a deep, soulful connection to him. I can only imagine how good this book could have been if the same level of attention to detail was put into building up the characters more and helping to create some increasing tension throughout the book as opposed to only in the second half.