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A review by bandgeek3997
The Martian by Andy Weir
4.0
Am I ten years behind on this book? Yes, but to be fair, I tried maybe six or seven times to read it on my Kindle. I never got very far, though. There were a lot of acronyms that I would have to go back and refresh myself on. Or I would want to see how many days passed between the last log update. It was just too cumbersome, so I’d give up. But I saw a pristine hardback cover in a Goodwill for $1.99 and snatched it up. And I’m very glad I did.
First, can I just give props to Eric White who designed the cover? It is just the most beautiful book jacket, and it actually elevated the reading experience.
Okay, as for the book, it comes as no surprise that it is so popular. The characters are so real that you need to catch your breath when something tragic happens and you want to jump for joy when there’s a celebration. Weir also is quite the comedian. I laughed out loud several times while reading the book.
The only thing that brought this book down to 4 stars instead of 5 is that it felt bogged down to me with details that I didn’t find truly necessary. Then again, I have always struggled with conceptualizing scientific jargon (I went to a small Christian college— it was part of my training!), so to me there was a lot of explaining in the logs that felt like overkill to me. However, I’m sure it was absolutely needed for the real science buffs out there. In the end, I learned to just skim through some of the explanations that I knew wouldn’t matter all that much to me.
Overall, I’m glad I finally got through this book. I can’t wait to pick up Project Hail Mary next!
First, can I just give props to Eric White who designed the cover? It is just the most beautiful book jacket, and it actually elevated the reading experience.
Okay, as for the book, it comes as no surprise that it is so popular. The characters are so real that you need to catch your breath when something tragic happens and you want to jump for joy when there’s a celebration. Weir also is quite the comedian. I laughed out loud several times while reading the book.
The only thing that brought this book down to 4 stars instead of 5 is that it felt bogged down to me with details that I didn’t find truly necessary. Then again, I have always struggled with conceptualizing scientific jargon (I went to a small Christian college— it was part of my training!), so to me there was a lot of explaining in the logs that felt like overkill to me. However, I’m sure it was absolutely needed for the real science buffs out there. In the end, I learned to just skim through some of the explanations that I knew wouldn’t matter all that much to me.
Overall, I’m glad I finally got through this book. I can’t wait to pick up Project Hail Mary next!