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bomenvernietiger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
There's a really interesting and well thought out plot, but it's massively dampened by the many little mistakes and plot-holes, prose that sounds like it came from a drunk text message, an overly light-hearted and casual tone that doesn't fit the story, a boring main character, events that are often way too plot-convenient, annoying humour, cheesy dialogue, and Andy Weir's stubborn unwillingness to explain or do research into anything that doesn't adhere to his highly specific personal interests. This last flaw is clear from his refusal to get into any substantial world politics even though a third of his book is supposed to be about international cooperation, and his _extremely_ half-assed attempt to conceptualise a pitch&harmony-based alien language, which contained mistakes which could only be possible if Weir did not consult a single semi-professional musician or musicologist before publishing.
This could have been an amazing hard scifi that teaches people about physics and astronomy, but it's written in such a way that the science never really matters; whenever there's a plot issue Weir's science can't solve, it's either glossed over or splattered with plot convenience sauce (aka 'xenonite'). It could have also been a nice, silly, emotionally deep, feel-good soft scifi, but the characters and the prose are way too dull for that, and anything heartfelt about the book is drowned in constant scientific explanations. Both of these ideas would have been great stories, but they were smashed together and the result is a mess.
This is extra sad considering Andy Weir can write something as good as The Martian. But looking back, the Martian already contained the cracks in Weir's storytelling which became full-on rifts
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Medical trauma, Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, Death, War, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Pedophilia
the_real_al_cal's review against another edition
- 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
Even if you usually swing more towards the fantasy side of the fantasy/sci-fi genre, I HIGHLY recommend this book. The way this book is organized is so impactful, with the main character waking from a coma out in space and unable to remember why he's there. Throughout the book, he slowly recovers his memories, thus discovering that not everything is as it seems.
I'm being a little vague in my review, because this book is fun to read without any prior information. But rest-assured, you won't regret picking up this book about courage, sacrifice, and, ultimately, eternal friendship.
Graphic: Medical content, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcohol, and Body horror
amiegold's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
thesadiestorm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, and Suicidal thoughts
edgaranjapoe's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Racism, Cancer, Misogyny, Blood, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, War, Excrement, Medical trauma, Cannibalism, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Sexism, Murder, Gaslighting, Animal death, and Cursing
victoriapatella's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief and Cursing
marissasa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Violence, War, and Sexual content
kb_sherman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing
readbycarina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing and Drug use
writtenbydnicole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, Confinement, and Injury/Injury detail