Reviews

brings up the whole book and I was confused on where it was going before that. I will say this book has some beginning and end pacing issues but the middle is phenomenal. I nearly dropped this book in part of the beginning but I’m glad I stuck through!

amarettto's review against another edition

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5.0

I devoured (most of) this book in a day. Straight off the bat, some hits for me were the unique sense of humor, immense character likability, captivating plotline, and a desperate yearning to have Rocky be my house pet. I'm not sure how he does it, but Andy Weir manages to construct riveting stories around plausible scientific theories and phenomena and you still don't feel like you are either reading a children's book, or something that goes over your head with physics and calculus thrown at you. I find that that sweet spot is hard to achieve and I think that's impressive.

That does bring me to the one thing that bothered me about it though - how wildly improbable the whole concept is. And I know it's fiction so before you write off this complaint, I'll explain just a bit further. For a book that comes off as so giddy about science and statistics, I couldn't help but keep thinking about the probability of some of these events. For example, the probability of running into alien life is already negligible, and on top of that, running into non-hostile alien life that is so similar to human life (in terms of having their own culture, reasonably similar ideas etc.) was just so fantastical. The idea that each could so easily pick up on intricate concepts put forth by the other was just a bit too much at times for me.

All this being said, I feel like I know what I'm going to rate a book just from how I feel when I turn the last page and set it down, and this book sent 5 star vibes all through me and so that was a no brainer. Above all else, it's just so wholesome and leaves you thoroughly satisfied with the warm fuzzies. It will be one of my top recommendations going forward!

friendlylisek's review against another edition

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5.0

this was so fun to read!

grunkle_stan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I read the book and listened to the audiobook. The audiobook was phenomenal

amcriah's review against another edition

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3.0

The beginning of this book had me hooked. The main character Ryland was quirky and fun and his excitement was so palpable that I was also excited. But, as this book went on, I got tired of the over-explaining that had to take place and the nuance/excitement of the whole plot got lost in translation. I mean, I get that Andy Weir had to explain the experiments and stuff, but it got to a point where there was explanations for everything on every page. I’m sad that I didn’t love this book, but I still liked it enough. It’s a really cool plot, just too much explaining that prevented me from fully enjoying this book. On the plus side, this book made me want to relearn physics/chemistry/biology to understand what was going on.

side note: attempted to read for the first time 1/1/23, but dnf’d halfway through 1/4/23. tried again 4/25/24 and finished it. the experience was better the second time because a basic understanding of physics helped.

helloitsemmy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

dornzz's review against another edition

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5.0

I will never stop talking about this book. Easily one of my favorite books of all time now, I’m speechless about what to even say for this review. The science was so clearly explained, it was heartwrenching, heartwarming, UGHHHH I LOVE THIS BOOK

yulie's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

3.5

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