Robin reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
xkcd.com/1536/
My sort of thing.
Paperback
4 stars
(913 reviews)
The Martian is a 2011 science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. It was his debut novel under his own name. It was originally self-published in 2011; Crown Publishing purchased the rights and re-released it in 2014. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in 2035 and must improvise in order to survive. The Martian, a film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, was released in October 2015.
Fait reviewed Der Marsianer by Andy Weir
Review of 'The Martian' on Goodreads
4 stars
NASA fanfic
Jack 💜 reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
It really is a shame that such a good concept is bogged down by some of the saddest dialogue that I've seen in some time from a bestseller.
Weir knows his science, but he sure as hell doesn't seem to understand how people interact. Every conversation in this book feels like a tea party between HAL models. Watney in particular seems to have a mentality that revolves between genius and fourteen year old redditor.
Maybe I'm just a big killjoy prude, but I feel like there is so much potential wasted here. Weir had a perfect opportunity to examine the consequences of Watney's isolation, and all of that is squandered for the sake of an absurdly happy-go-lucky attitude that never, ever lets up. It's great to have a plucky character, but Watney's insane optimism never gets tested. It never gets used as a character flaw, so he ends up being …
It really is a shame that such a good concept is bogged down by some of the saddest dialogue that I've seen in some time from a bestseller.
Weir knows his science, but he sure as hell doesn't seem to understand how people interact. Every conversation in this book feels like a tea party between HAL models. Watney in particular seems to have a mentality that revolves between genius and fourteen year old redditor.
Maybe I'm just a big killjoy prude, but I feel like there is so much potential wasted here. Weir had a perfect opportunity to examine the consequences of Watney's isolation, and all of that is squandered for the sake of an absurdly happy-go-lucky attitude that never, ever lets up. It's great to have a plucky character, but Watney's insane optimism never gets tested. It never gets used as a character flaw, so he ends up being uninteresting.
The science is cool, but it gets tiresome by the middle of the book. When that's the strongest element that the writing has to work with, it makes me feel like I'm reading a textbook instead of a novel.
jellybeyreads reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Characters aren't very well developed; even the main character is rather one-dimensional. But the book is not really about the characters, so much as it is about science and problem-solving and creativity; and interpreted as a love letter to science and engineering, it's very moving.
There's a huge segment in the last third of the book which is entirely absent from the film, and it was perhaps the most thrilling part of the book. Worth reading just for that.
Pentapod reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
One of those very hard to put down suspenseful books that just keeps you engaged till the very end... and then you are so disappointed it ended that you have to go back and repeat the good bits in case you missed anything! Full of lots of science but not in an overwhelming way, and a really great and realistic scenario that remains gripping till the last word. Look forward to seeing the movie version now to compare!
Eduardo Santiago reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Exposition was painfully clumsy, but even so this was a real treat. Primo geek porn, constant thrills with no cop-outs.
Kibrika reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
Good ol' action packed fun. Loved that it had all those calculations.
okenwillow reviewed Seul sur Mars by Andy Weir
Review of 'Seul sur Mars' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Un titre à faire bondir mon petit cœur ! La réputation de ce roman de Hard SF le précédant, je n’ai pas hésité à me jeter dessus, d’autant plus que la sortie du film était imminente, il me fallait ABSOLUMENT le livre AVANT. Je compte désormais les jours avant sa sortie. Il ne me sera pas possible, dans mon bled où les cinémas sont aussi rares que les librairies, de le voir en VO, mais le spectacle annoncé me semble valoir le sacrifice, quitte à le revoir plus tard.
Nous avons donc ici un roman classé Thriller, mais il s’agit bien de Hard SF, dans un contexte de survie extrême. Le personnage de Mark Watney se retrouve livré à lui-même sur Mars, avec pour seul abri l’Habitat prévu pour 31 jours. La mission suivante, Arès 4, étant prévue 4 ans plus tard, il va devoir prolonger la durée de vie …
Un titre à faire bondir mon petit cœur ! La réputation de ce roman de Hard SF le précédant, je n’ai pas hésité à me jeter dessus, d’autant plus que la sortie du film était imminente, il me fallait ABSOLUMENT le livre AVANT. Je compte désormais les jours avant sa sortie. Il ne me sera pas possible, dans mon bled où les cinémas sont aussi rares que les librairies, de le voir en VO, mais le spectacle annoncé me semble valoir le sacrifice, quitte à le revoir plus tard.
Nous avons donc ici un roman classé Thriller, mais il s’agit bien de Hard SF, dans un contexte de survie extrême. Le personnage de Mark Watney se retrouve livré à lui-même sur Mars, avec pour seul abri l’Habitat prévu pour 31 jours. La mission suivante, Arès 4, étant prévue 4 ans plus tard, il va devoir prolonger la durée de vie de l’Habitat et subvenir à ses besoins les plus basiques. Fabrication d’air, de nourriture, recyclages en tous genres.
[La suite sur mon blog, merci :)]
Alex Keane reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
So much was done so well in this book. The narrative jumps keep you on your toes, the blended first person and third person narratives cover the story unfolding in multiple places. The pacing is amazing. I really couldn't put this book down. I loved it.
Ell reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir
Review of 'The Martian' on 'GoodReads'
4 stars
Man, what a blast. I read a description that this book was heaven for people who wished that Apollo 13 was entirely that bit where they go "well we have to connect this to that and flip this, and then...", and that's the best description I have. But it's also funny, entertaining, suspenseful, and even heartwarming. Good job, Andy Weir. Movie, here I come.
Moorlock reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
A good old-fashioned space adventure story of the sort you might have read as a kid. The technological details feel very realistic, and that's the strong point of the book: making a "shipwrecked on Mars" story seem plausible.
On the other hand, the characters are two-dimensional comic book figures, and the plot is just one can-he-get-out-of-this-fix after another. It's pretty fluffy stuff.
Ell reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir
Review of 'The Martian' on Goodreads
4 stars
Man, what a blast. I read a description that this book was heaven for people who wished that Apollo 13 was entirely that bit where they go "well we have to connect this to that and flip this, and then...", and that's the best description I have. But it's also funny, entertaining, suspenseful, and even heartwarming. Good job, Andy Weir. Movie, here I come.
Ell reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Man, what a blast. I read a description that this book was heaven for people who wished that Apollo 13 was entirely that bit where they go "well we have to connect this to that and flip this, and then...", and that's the best description I have. But it's also funny, entertaining, suspenseful, and even heartwarming. Good job, Andy Weir. Movie, here I come.
Gossamerchild reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
More like a 3.75, but I'm rounding up. Honestly, my eyes glazed over a little when Mark got into his descriptions of how he was fixing things. That said, I thought he was hilarious and really enjoyed the vast majority of this book. I kind of rushed the end because I NEEDED TO KNOW, so I think at some point I'll reread this and give myself more of a chance to think about it. So so excited to see the movie; I really believe this will be an amazing adaptation.
mothlight reviewed The Martian by Andy Weir (The Martian, #1)
Review of 'The Martian' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This has gotten lots of hype. But it is funny and a page turner. It is totally geeky, filled with reasonably accurate science. Who would have thought that pages and pages of science calculations, showing your work, could be dramatic and push a plot driving along.
What a great read. All that hype, ok, I'm in.
