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singalana's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I have seen the movie first, and I wonder whether I would have liked the book better if I hadn't. Since the movie is a pretty faithful adaptation, all the key plot points are essentially the same. And I kept imagining the main character as Matt Damon.
The book is about an astronaut named Mark Watney, who gets left behind on Mars, because everyone thinks that he's dead. Surprise, he's not, and now he has to survive.
I'm not an expert, but the science behind this book sounds plausible. It's a bit technical, but not so much that it would greatly impact my enjoyment of the book. This book is told mostly as log entries, but other types of narration are also used, and I think the narrative choice makes this a faster and easier to read.
The main character is mostly likeable, and since he narrates the story using logs, we aren't actually inside his head. On the other hand, we don't get to see his loneliness, fear and desperation that much, but it makes the tone of the book lighter.
However, I do have a few criticisms: almost all of the characters in this book banter with each other, so it would have been nice to have the characters have different voices. One character is German, and he uses stereotypical exclamations like: Ja! and Mein Gott! And there's one throwaway mention of rape I could have done without.
I've heard some reviews about Andy Weir's other book Artemis that say it's misogynistic. There are some hints of it in this book too, but not so much that it would affect the overall experience. I'm planning on reading Artemis as well, so we'll see.
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical content, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
ireadtoescape_'s review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really enjoyed this.
I also believe that by finishing it, I am officially a woman in STEM ðŸ¤ðŸ¤ðŸ¤ðŸ¤
So, Andy Weir is my white man exception. Even though he has the some typical white man author tendencies such as bringing up women’s looks in contexts that absolutely do not matter ever. Also I said the characters are diverse here but it’s in the typical white man trying to mix things up way. It doesn’t feel genuine and the characters are very stereotypical. Struggled a lot with how he wrote all the women here.
So as it is with Andy. Stay for the vibes and quirky nerdy characters. Acceptable enough for me.
I was in a spiral because I just recently watched Oppenheimer for the second time and then decided to rewatch a bunch of Matt Damon movies (I currently cannot emotionally handle a Cillian Murphy obsession so I am exercising self-control ðŸ˜ðŸ˜). Anyway, after rewatching The Martian for the 100th time, here we are.
I laughed. I was stressed.
I enjoyed the madness.
Could have used another few more pages to just see him back on Earth but emotions are also involved because I’m a little sad it’s finished.
Good!
I also believe that by finishing it, I am officially a woman in STEM ðŸ¤ðŸ¤ðŸ¤ðŸ¤
So, Andy Weir is my white man exception. Even though he has the some typical white man author tendencies such as bringing up women’s looks in contexts that absolutely do not matter ever. Also I said the characters are diverse here but it’s in the typical white man trying to mix things up way. It doesn’t feel genuine and the characters are very stereotypical. Struggled a lot with how he wrote all the women here.
So as it is with Andy. Stay for the vibes and quirky nerdy characters. Acceptable enough for me.
I was in a spiral because I just recently watched Oppenheimer for the second time and then decided to rewatch a bunch of Matt Damon movies (I currently cannot emotionally handle a Cillian Murphy obsession so I am exercising self-control ðŸ˜ðŸ˜). Anyway, after rewatching The Martian for the 100th time, here we are.
I laughed. I was stressed.
I enjoyed the madness.
Could have used another few more pages to just see him back on Earth but emotions are also involved because I’m a little sad it’s finished.
Good!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, and Excrement
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Cannibalism
katethecatlady's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Excrement, Blood, Cursing, Grief, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Cannibalism
savvylit's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Martian has been on my tbr list for nearly a decade. When I saw it at a thrift store earlier this year for only one dollar, I knew it was finally time to read this modern sci-fi classic. I was skeptical about it for years because I'd heard that it was very science heavy - not usually my jam. However, I was pleasantly surprised by just how readable The Martian ended up being!
The Martian works so well thanks to a) the accessibility of the science and b) Mark Watney as an incredibly captivating main character. I was surprised to find myself often laughing out loud at Watney's goofy sense of humor. Additionally, The Martian is mostly told through Watney's first person perspective via journals. This structure makes his saga so much more believable and compelling. I couldn't help but root for Watney to survive.
The Martian works so well thanks to a) the accessibility of the science and b) Mark Watney as an incredibly captivating main character. I was surprised to find myself often laughing out loud at Watney's goofy sense of humor. Additionally, The Martian is mostly told through Watney's first person perspective via journals. This structure makes his saga so much more believable and compelling. I couldn't help but root for Watney to survive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Confinement
saskiahill's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Colonisation
robbiehuman's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Confinement
chrisljm's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ngl I was confused for about 20% of the book because of all the math, science, and engineering. My brain was working overtime to understand and imagine everything. I tried my best but I'm pretty sure I was making shit up sometimes. But nonetheless, I still appreciated the amount of science and research that went into this book and it felt incredibly realistic (but what do I know, because I will not be fact-checking at all).
Although I enjoyed Project Hail Mary much more, this was still good and I was invested in the mission to save Mark Watney as well. The humor gets kinda childish, but it still made me laugh a few times.
I will say I was curious on how Andy Weir was going to handle the narrative of Watney being the only man on Mars and trying to survive and make it back to Earth. I thought it was very much going to be a solo mission and so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that we were also going to get the pov of the crew on Earth who are also working to save Watney's life. I think this is what I enjoyed most about the book, that even though Watney is physically on his own on another planet, he's not in the fight alone because he has a whole team and crew working with him to save his life. It was very touching to see the amount of people working to save one person.
Although I enjoyed Project Hail Mary much more, this was still good and I was invested in the mission to save Mark Watney as well. The humor gets kinda childish, but it still made me laugh a few times.
I will say I was curious on how Andy Weir was going to handle the narrative of Watney being the only man on Mars and trying to survive and make it back to Earth. I thought it was very much going to be a solo mission and so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that we were also going to get the pov of the crew on Earth who are also working to save Watney's life. I think this is what I enjoyed most about the book, that even though Watney is physically on his own on another planet, he's not in the fight alone because he has a whole team and crew working with him to save his life. It was very touching to see the amount of people working to save one person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Confinement
Moderate: Cannibalism, Death, Blood, and Cursing
Minor: Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
_persephone's review
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Cannibalism and Suicidal thoughts
elijah__'s review
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism
oceanwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf for years. In that time I built high expectations that grew larger whenever I heard people talk about it. Maybe I wasn’t in the right headspace or something, but it was disappointingly only an okay read for me.
Left behind on Mars, astronaut Mark Watney keeps a log of his survival efforts. The book follows his attempts to contact his crew so he can be rescued.
I love the plot of this so much. Everything about it. What I didn’t like was the narration style. It's not even the writing style itself as it works perfectly for this situation, rather, the overall voice. I guess I had imagined something more sophisticated sounding. A lot of it was comedic, which is great, I just don’t think I was in the mood for it.
I’ve heard many good things about the audiobook which I also own. I think I will revisit the book sometime that way and see if my opinion changes.
Left behind on Mars, astronaut Mark Watney keeps a log of his survival efforts. The book follows his attempts to contact his crew so he can be rescued.
I love the plot of this so much. Everything about it. What I didn’t like was the narration style. It's not even the writing style itself as it works perfectly for this situation, rather, the overall voice. I guess I had imagined something more sophisticated sounding. A lot of it was comedic, which is great, I just don’t think I was in the mood for it.
I’ve heard many good things about the audiobook which I also own. I think I will revisit the book sometime that way and see if my opinion changes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Confinement, and Abandonment
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, and Blood
Minor: Cannibalism and Suicidal thoughts