The Martian
Ratings2,431
Average rating4.4
Science Engineering bitch!
This book is nothing short of spectacular. It is insanely well-researched, and it's impossible not to be charmed by Mark Watney's hilarious sense of humor, or not impressed by his smarts, ingenuity, and spirit, despite that the situation he's in is nothing to joke about.
Andry Weir probably invested a lot of time researching Mars, astronautics and possible solutions to all kind of problems Mark Watney encounters in his unfortunate adventure, and because of that, this book gets half of its stars.
I'm just not the audience I think. It's an intense read, how could it not be with the subject matter...solidarity for 18 months on a desert planet without atmosphere. What this came down to for me was: it was just way too technical, and frankly that dulled it tremendously. I found myself skimming - especially toward the end - and I hate that.
Comfort reread. I LOVE that Weir can make a hard science book that I actually comprehend and don't just substitute in ‘magic' every time a sciencey thing happens.
Holy crap! This is the most fanominal, action-pack, fast-paced, most intriguing book I have read in a while. Dont get me wrong I have read many other good books but this one felt like a complete breeze because of how captivating it is! Sorry no spoilers, but trust me you want to read it.
Absolutely brilliant! I loved Mark Watney's logs and humour throughout this book and even when the science stuff got a bit much it was still compulsively readable and funny. I also really liked that it wasn't completely told in logs but that it also alternated with the teams back on Earth and on Hermes. Just a wonderful, positive and feel good book!
This was SO good. Evidence of how strong character writing (just one in this case) can make for a fantastic reading.
“Beberé lo que necesite y tiraré la orina y los excrementos. Sí, eso es, Marte, me voy a mear y cagar en ti. Eso es lo que mereces por tratar de matarme todo el tiempo.”
MacGyver en Marte. Mark Watney, ingeniero mecánico/botánico, es un tipo extremadamente listo que sabe una infinidad de cosas de todo tipo. Sí, lo sé, no siempre salía todo perfecto, simplemente me cuesta trabajo creerlo. Claro, la NASA no manda a cualquiera a Marte, pero, ¿en serio? Algunos capítulos los leí a la velocidad de la luz porque la información me aburría: los oxigenadores hacen esto, la hidrazina lo otro, el VAM aquello, el atómo del hidrógeno... Me pasó algo parecido con Marte rojo.
Eso sí, Watney (Weir, de hecho) es un tipo muy gracioso. Los últimos capítulos me los pasé mejor. El final fue bastante emocionante. En resumen: una entretenida historia en mi planeta favorito (después de la Tierra, claro).
“The Martian: Sunset on Mars” por Mushstone
This is very hard-science. Though there were some parts I didn't like (misogyny being one of them), I realize that most of this book was written in 2009, where things.. were more accepted. I like it, though, for what it is.
I LOVED THIS.
It was so science-y and nerdy and I ate it up. It was action based, intense, and thrilling. It truly kept me on the edge of my seat. Just ask my parents how dinner went today. I dare you.
I loved the characters in this. They were so lifelike and vivid. And, honestly, Mark Watney is one of the best protagonists I have read about in a while. He's funny and relatable and really kept the book light-hearted despite the heavy science and heavy subject. I also felt for the other characters as well and enjoyed the slight developments they all went through over the course of the novel.
Like I mentioned, the plot is really engaging. It's filled with plot-twists and intensity that keep the reader guessing. I was never bored at any point in the novel, even when Weir digressed a bit and discussed some hard science. But maybe that's just because I'm a bit of a nerd. What can I say? There are worse things to be.
The setting is good. It's not spectacular, but it is sufficient. I can picture Mars well enough to get by with this novel, however it is not vivid in my head. Luckily, other aspects of this book contributed to its excellence, so this was something that could be a little, to put it in a very non-eloquent way, “not good”.
Overal... READ THIS. It's so good. Seriously.
I watched the film 6 months ago, and I adored it. Matt Damon has been a favourite actor of mine for years and I love science fiction (particularly that which feels grounded in reality). Within 10 pages of the book I knew Matt Damon was the perfect choice to play Mark Watney.
Mark Watney is possibly the most likeable character I've ever read. I suppose he has to be, as he and he alone carries the book for at least 75% of the pages. He is funny and interesting, and I appreciated his discussion of the science and technology he was using (abusing) to achieve his goals. It was a highly entertaining read but it also sparked my interesting in the topics he was discussing.
There's not much else to discuss, because for me the character of Mark Watney is what made this book so special. The writing was fantastic, I enjoyed that each Sol entry was brief and packed full of interesting events. I felt like I was with Mark, or at least listening to him speak about his experiences. I expect an audiobook of this would be even better, particularly if it is read by Matt Damon.
Easy five stars.
The Martian was an absolutely fantastic read. Mark Watney is an engaging, interesting protagonist, who deals with existential terror of being alone on dead planet with wit and determination. Some might compare Weir's book to the works of Jack London or to Robinson Crusoe, but with the added element of having a more engaging protagonist. Regardless of comparisons, it's a tight, engaging, thrilling account of man vs nature that at times literally had me on the edge of my seat.
Reading this so shortly after Chris Hadfield's memoir, it really feels like Weir got the astronaut mentality down. Watney's willingness to admit error, his problem-solving focus, and his dark humour seem a little unusual if you're comparing him to the average person – but for an astronaut these qualities seem to fit perfectly.
Another thing I found interesting about the text was the way that Weir used mathematics as a tool to build tension in scenes. He'll start by having Watney calculate how much of something will kill him – acceptable CO2 levels in the atmosphere, say – and then track how they slowly rise to that point. It's a novel type of countdown clock to add to the tasks he has to complete, and while an actual countdown clock would no doubt seem cheesy, here it's an essential part of the plot.
Really fun read (until I hit the end, but that may because the boyfriend forced me to watch the movie before I was done reading the book)! I enjoyed the Perils of Mark Watney and his ability to think himself out of tough, near-death situations. Frankly, the book is quite funny and I enjoyed the mix of intelligence and profanity from Mr. Watney.
The Broadway Books edition includes discussion questions, a Q&A, and a short article about the writing of the book.
Survival / adventure books aren't really my thing, or, at least, I enjoyed the movie quite a bit but didn't really get much more out of the book. But I guess I should give the book some credit for generating an entertaining movie. I listened to the audiobook of this, which was overall well narrated, although there were some awkwardly bad foreign accents.
Plus: partea de jurnal e foarte bine realizată, scrisă natural, reușește să contureze bine un personaj și să-l facă agreabil. Totul e realism și concret 100%. În general captivantă. Cam 4/5 pentru că după 2/3 deja m-am plictisit și am citit din inerție. Poate prea multă chimie/fizică totuși.
Minus: partea de la NASA e prost scrisă: personajele nu sunt creionate destul, nu au motivații, interacționează stângaci. 2/5 Era un roman mai bună fără ea, doar cu jurnalul.
A ver, el libro es excepcionalmente bueno desde el punto de vista de la ciencia ficción, está muy bien documentado, tiene una narración impecable que te lleva de la mano de forma tranquila y al mismo tiempo contundente en una situación que en términos generales es, o podría ser aburrida. Año y medio de un hombre tratando de sobrevivir en la soledad absoluta y con todo en su contra... más de una vez piensas que sería más fácil que lo dejaran morir y ya. Sin embargo hubo algo que me estuvo molestando en más de una ocasión, y es que no hubo más que pequeños párrafos de introspección y reflexión, cuando, entre más pasaba el tiempo en la novela, más evidente era que el hombre necesitaba eso... año y medio solo y una sola vez lloró; año y medio solo y nada más dijo una vez: “las papas saben a rayos...” incluso el más optimista de los optimistas truena. En fin. Es mi único pero al libro, por lo demás, ciencia ficción pura y dura. Genial.
Geeky survival story, good humor and believable drama.
Enjoyed various problem solvings by Watney and NASA!
Space is fascinating. Space is fascinating because it is big and because it's filled with unknown stuff and it is fascinating because it is profoundly isolating. Most sci-fi can only handle at most two of those things. In fact, most sci-fi focuses on disposing of the isolation of space as quickly as possible. In contrast, The Martian dials up isolation and down exploration. This shouldn't work, but it does and it's awesome.
The whole book reads kind of like a merge of an escape the room game and an episode of MacGyver, except set on Mars. The entire first sequence is Mark trying to do the algebra and botany to figure out how to create a farm from his own stool and the provisions in his emergency kit. The utter solitude of Mark on Mars is omnipresent for the first third of the book, and I really enjoyed contemplating that. If your speed is more space opera, this runs slow and technical. There's a lot of math and a lot of science and a lot of facts about Mars.
It's also really novel and deeply enjoyable to read a book where the conflicts are people versus the environment. All of the characters in this book (and eventually, there is more than one) get along and work as a team. On the one hand, Weir cares little for his characters and most of them read flat, on the other hand, it really optimizes the exploration of what really smart people, working together at their best can accomplish. I have no freaking clue how they made this into an enjoyable movie, BTW, maybe watching that should go on to my to-do list.