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strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
This book was way more interesting than I thought it would be. I seriously loved it. There is a lot of science talk that I don’t understand and it doesn’t explain it all, but it didn’t hinder the experience. I really enjoyed the sass ones of the main character, Mark Watney. He is such a punk and I love those types of characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Car accident, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Minor: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
woolen_pigeon's review
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, and Confinement
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
w3nda1's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Abandonment and Cursing
monicalaurette's review against another edition
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.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, and Excrement
Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
ms_elchert's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts
atalea's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Abandonment
Moderate: Excrement
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, and Suicide
alicewolfe's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Cursing
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Cannibalism
thebookgiraffe's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Excrement, Abandonment, and Confinement
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Cannibalism
andrewhatesham's review
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.5
The Martian by Andy Weir: Too much science, not enough fiction.
While it's cool that the scientific elements are pretty accurate to real life, most of the other elements lacked a lot for me. As a predominantly fiction-reader and a person who doesn't know much about science, this book was a bit difficult to connect with and enjoy. I have read other sci-fi books that I liked a lot, but they didn't have a heavy focus on scientific accuracy.
I wouldn't say the technical jargon made the book hard to read, because I found that I didn't need to completely understand the science to follow the plot, but for me, the plot lacked the level of emotion and character development that I hoped for. I also wished there was a bit more of a philosophical element because the plot had plenty of potential for that sort of thing.
Instead of philosophy and character introspection, much of the plot and main character hinges on humor. Unfortunately, the style of humor did not click with me at all. It was a bit of a turn-off. I didn't find the main character very likeable either. To be frank, I found myself not caring about whether or not he survives. I think his survival is the whole point of the book, so that was a big problem for me.
On the bright side, this was mostly fast-paced, so I was able to get through it quickly regardless of how I felt about the plot and characters! I'm not a fan of slow paced books so this is a huge plus for me.
Overall, I'd say this was not for me, but I can see why people like it. I would recommend it to people who are very interested in science and space and people who like dry/sarcastic humor.
While it's cool that the scientific elements are pretty accurate to real life, most of the other elements lacked a lot for me. As a predominantly fiction-reader and a person who doesn't know much about science, this book was a bit difficult to connect with and enjoy. I have read other sci-fi books that I liked a lot, but they didn't have a heavy focus on scientific accuracy.
I wouldn't say the technical jargon made the book hard to read, because I found that I didn't need to completely understand the science to follow the plot, but for me, the plot lacked the level of emotion and character development that I hoped for. I also wished there was a bit more of a philosophical element because the plot had plenty of potential for that sort of thing.
Instead of philosophy and character introspection, much of the plot and main character hinges on humor. Unfortunately, the style of humor did not click with me at all. It was a bit of a turn-off. I didn't find the main character very likeable either. To be frank, I found myself not caring about whether or not he survives. I think his survival is the whole point of the book, so that was a big problem for me.
On the bright side, this was mostly fast-paced, so I was able to get through it quickly regardless of how I felt about the plot and characters! I'm not a fan of slow paced books so this is a huge plus for me.
Overall, I'd say this was not for me, but I can see why people like it. I would recommend it to people who are very interested in science and space and people who like dry/sarcastic humor.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Confinement
Moderate: Cursing, Excrement, and Injury/Injury detail
orion_schuldt's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Abandonment, and Grief