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A review by lauraborkpower
The Martian by Andy Weir
5.0
I've been telling everyone about this book for the last week (which is about how long it took me to read/listen to it).
It's SO MUCH FUN.
It's a geek's perfect adventure story, full of math and science problem solving, space travel, and disco-bashing.
Is it high literature? Absolutely not. But is it a fast-moving thinking reader's adventure? It sure as shit is.
I wouldn't normally give a book like this a five-star rating--a book with a couple of big problem areas (frequently corny dialogue in the form of Watney's first person log entries; some point-of-view liberties taken by Weir)--but it's just SO MUCH FUN.
The corny dialogue is much easier to deal with in the audiobook medium. The narrator, R.C. Bray, embodies this stranded astronaut using the log entries as his only conversation with the outside world. Bray also does a good job with an international cast of characters, although I could have done without the Mexican-American accent for Martinez and the vaguely Chinese accent for Ng--these felt totally unnecessary and walk a fine line between character-specific and racist.
But as a whole package, Weir's got an exciting story, great sense of pace, and a terrific grasp of the science. And it's SO MUCH FUN.
It's SO MUCH FUN.
It's a geek's perfect adventure story, full of math and science problem solving, space travel, and disco-bashing.
Is it high literature? Absolutely not. But is it a fast-moving thinking reader's adventure? It sure as shit is.
I wouldn't normally give a book like this a five-star rating--a book with a couple of big problem areas (frequently corny dialogue in the form of Watney's first person log entries; some point-of-view liberties taken by Weir)--but it's just SO MUCH FUN.
The corny dialogue is much easier to deal with in the audiobook medium. The narrator, R.C. Bray, embodies this stranded astronaut using the log entries as his only conversation with the outside world. Bray also does a good job with an international cast of characters, although I could have done without the Mexican-American accent for Martinez and the vaguely Chinese accent for Ng--these felt totally unnecessary and walk a fine line between character-specific and racist.
But as a whole package, Weir's got an exciting story, great sense of pace, and a terrific grasp of the science. And it's SO MUCH FUN.