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.