A review by ladyk23
The Martian by Andy Weir

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I watched the movie of The Martian in the cinema and liked it, but it hadn’t made me want to read the book. It wasn’t until a friend recommended it to me that I picked up my second hand copy that I apparently bought a while ago (so long ago that I forgot I had it and bought the audiobook - but I’m not mad about that as Wil Wheaton’s reading of it is perfect). I listened and read together and loved every minute. There are lots of major plot points left out of the film, but mostly what I feel like the film only scratched surface of was the character of Mark Watney. Yes they included some of his logs, we saw glimpses of his personality, but I just don’t feel like you get to know him properly in the film at all, whereas in the book I feel like you get to know him so well that you really root for him to succeed. I was in genuine tears at the end of the book, whereas in the film I was happy he got rescued, but I wasn’t nearly as emotionally invested in it as I was in the book. So if you saw the movie and thought it was okay, or even if you really liked the movie (or even if you didn’t tbh), I highly recommend giving the book a go, as it (unsurprisingly) is WAY better than the movie.