The Martian by Andy Weir
“He’s stuck out there. He thinks he’s totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man’s psychology?” He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”
LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.”
― The Martian
LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.”
― The Martian
“If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it's found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they're massively outnumbered by the people who do.”
― The Martian
Book Specifications
― The Martian
Book Specifications
- Title: The Martian
- Author: Andy Weir
- Book Type: Novel
- Genre: Science fiction
- Edition: Paperback
- Publisher: Broadway Books
- Year of Publication: 2015
- Number of Pages: 387
Synopsis
The story revolves around astronaut Mark Watney (170 pound astronaut, botanist and Mechanical Engineer. Smart –ass Chicago Cubs fan. Cheater of death) who, six days ago became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to
die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The
damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next.
die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The
damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next.
My Review
I’m pretty much fucked.
I can bet every one of us has exclaimed this more than once
in his life. And if you haven’t, well we've got a very bad liar over here!
Okay, so this book...it was good, not great for me actually.
I left this book halfway because I couldn’t get myself through it. I pushed
myself really hard to know the characters and delve deeper into the story but
after some moments, I didn’t want to anymore. The first hundred pages were a
real pain in the ass. They felt like reading a physical chemistry book which
you can’t really get through to the end cuz IT’S SO DAMN BOOORINGG!!! So yeah,
I was pretty much fucked.
Astronaut Mark Watney
“I’m stranded on
Mars.
I have no way to
communicate with Earth.
If the Oxygenator
breaks, I’ll suffocate.
If the Water
Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst.
If the Habitat
breaches, I’ll just kind of explode.
If none of those
things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.”
-From the back cover.
Rover 2
This book was a hardcore
science fiction one and apparently the worst choice for me because I’m always
the light sci-fi reader. The great deal of critical details put me in but at
the same time, put me off. There were times when I had to Google up MAVs, EVA
and other stuffs which looked like in some sciency language. Yes, I was curious
at the beginning about how Mark would turn his misery into something good,
something by which he could survive in the Martian environment. But soon, I was
caught up in a whirlwind of technical language and terms where I had no choice
but to skim the pages to the “better” parts. It was Weir’s humor and tone of
language that had me sane in those moments.
The plot was good. It was
nice to read about Mark’s adventures on Mars and at the same time, the NASA
working together for his rescue. I liked the writing style but as soon as it
came to the abbreviations, it made me freaking frustrated. It’s funny because I
study physics at school (and I like it!) but still, I didn’t have a smile up to
my cheeks. I just wish I could have more of Mark’s life here on Earth after
landing and also before the launch.
I also feel like the real
essence of this book can be felt well in a movie. I know, I know, I shouldn’t
say that but it’s just a thought. I have no idea about space shuttles and space
journeys so, I guess the movie will be better in creating an image of the
adventure better. And that’s why I’m looking forward to watching the movie.
Keeping my fingers crossed!
The plot picks up a lot when
it comes towards the ending. That was the time I enjoyed the most and I
couldn’t stop reading. And this is why I gave 3.5 stars to this (including the
writing style). I especially enjoyed the scenes on Earth and reading about the
rest of Watney’s crew. It was good to see how everyone reacted to Watney’s
coming-back.
I appreciate Andy Weir for
researching a lot and writing this book and wish him the best in his life.
Though I’m not really a fan of this book, I’ll surely read his second book,
Artemis. I feel like it’s going to be better.
.
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.
.
.
.
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Just watched the movie. It
was mind-blowing, like I said.
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