Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Martian by Andy Weir

26 reviews

woolen_pigeon's review

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adventurous hopeful informative tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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monicalaurette's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book was a RIDE. I liked that it was sort of mixed media by having the Sol Logs & different messages between NASA & Watney so that helped it get a little easier to get through while reading. I had watched the movie around the time it came out, but I literally only remembered one scene - and it’s a scene that happens relatively early on in the book
of where he blows himself up in the HAB while making water
. So I was glad that I was essentially going into this book blind on what would happen.

Andy’s comedic writing I thought was fun and was also exactly how I would be acting if I had to spend over a year alone on Mars. I found myself laughing at many moments in this book and it helped me to enjoy it even more. I don’t know if I would have liked it as much without the comedic moments.

”Life is amazingly tenacious.”

Watney literally going ‘hey NASA look titties!’ and ‘your mom’s a hoe’ in public forums was UNHINGED and I love it for him
the way Beck & Johanssen thought they were slick and secretive but they all just KNEW was so funny that’s one of my favorite tropes

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orion_schuldt's review

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-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

5.0


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bri__'s review

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

This was really really good. I loved the writing style, it was really engaging and kept me invested in the story. The layout of the chapters and the difference in perspectives made it feel so much faster and made it more interesting to read. I liked the characters, particularly the main one, Mark. The way he's written just made me want to root for him and his survival. The only reason why this book isn't 5 stars for me is because I found myself realising that I hadn't comprehended anything that I had read when it got really technical, particularly when explaining the mathematics or technology. With that being said, this is definitely a book I would recommend for someone that is into sci-fi, survival, space and STEM. And even if you aren't into these specific things, I would still recommend this book.

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val_theburrowofstories's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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singalana's review against another edition

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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. 

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saskiahill's review against another edition

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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


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slimywyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0


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the_harlequin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny inspiring tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0


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iridium's review

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adventurous funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0


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