Brian Burt's Blog: Work in Progress - Posts Tagged "nasa"
My Favorite Martian
As a struggling writer with only one published novel under my belt, I'm constantly inspired by the debut novels that "make it big" despite long odds. I'm also a confirmed tech geek who works in information technology (as an info security engineer), so I'm especially predisposed to pull for the "geeky underdog" writers.
So success stories among nerdy, computer-scientist debut novelists really inspire me. Enter the brilliant, clever, intricate, and energetic first novel from computer scientist Andy Weir - The Martian.
An info tech friend at work recommended this novel to me. Wow, am I grateful that he did! The novel opens with protagonist Mark Watney - a NASA astronaut specializing in botany and mechanical engineering - realizing that he has been accidentally marooned on planet Mars by his crew-mates, who believed him dead in the midst of a killer sand-storm. Watney is living the explorer's worst nightmare: he is the only living being on an entire planet, one hostile to life, devoid of sustenance, and millions of kilometers from rescue. If he is to have any hope of survival, he must find a way to grow his own food, extend the useful life of equipment designed for a mission of weeks so that it lasts for tens of months, and navigate across harsh, uncharted Martian terrain for thousands of kilometers to reach the landing site of the next Mars mission.
What follows, after NASA analysts realize that Watney is still alive, is an epic thriller as the entire world comes together to marshal their combined space resources in a desperate attempt to mount a rescue mission to recover one lonely, stranded adventurer. Watney is the ultimate hero. He overcomes obstacle after obstacle, fights through unforeseen system failures and constant adversity, and refuses to surrender to either despair or fatalism. He is more alone than any human being has ever been. He has only his own wits, ingenuity, and determination to sustain himself. And, despite concocting one MacGyver solution after another, he is running out of time.
The science behind this novel (at least to this non-scientist) is satisfying and impressive. The reader gets the impression that Mr. Weir did his homework and then some, scrupulously researching the feasibility of the protagonist's remarkable solutions to problems that would leave most of us cowering in the corner, devoid of hope. I felt like the science and tech in this novel, as incredible as they were, had been vetted by NASA / JPL experts. The protagonist is the prototypical astronaut we all dream of being as kids: he is a hero's hero, unflappable, clever, creative, and maintains a goofy sense of humor in the face of desperate circumstance.
Mr. Weir was (to me, at least) as inspiring as his protagonist. He originally self-published this novel after being rebuffed repeatedly by agents and publishers. His fans generated such a groundswell of enthusiasm for his debut novel that traditional publishers were forced to take notice; Twentieth-Century Fox ultimately secured the movie rights. What an inspiration to rookie novelists!
So Mr. Weir, like Mark Watney, shows us that we should keep fighting and never give up. In my own alternate reality, Mark Watney would run for president - as an independent - and would win in a landslide.
Who says that a Martian invasion has to be a bad thing?
So success stories among nerdy, computer-scientist debut novelists really inspire me. Enter the brilliant, clever, intricate, and energetic first novel from computer scientist Andy Weir - The Martian.
An info tech friend at work recommended this novel to me. Wow, am I grateful that he did! The novel opens with protagonist Mark Watney - a NASA astronaut specializing in botany and mechanical engineering - realizing that he has been accidentally marooned on planet Mars by his crew-mates, who believed him dead in the midst of a killer sand-storm. Watney is living the explorer's worst nightmare: he is the only living being on an entire planet, one hostile to life, devoid of sustenance, and millions of kilometers from rescue. If he is to have any hope of survival, he must find a way to grow his own food, extend the useful life of equipment designed for a mission of weeks so that it lasts for tens of months, and navigate across harsh, uncharted Martian terrain for thousands of kilometers to reach the landing site of the next Mars mission.
What follows, after NASA analysts realize that Watney is still alive, is an epic thriller as the entire world comes together to marshal their combined space resources in a desperate attempt to mount a rescue mission to recover one lonely, stranded adventurer. Watney is the ultimate hero. He overcomes obstacle after obstacle, fights through unforeseen system failures and constant adversity, and refuses to surrender to either despair or fatalism. He is more alone than any human being has ever been. He has only his own wits, ingenuity, and determination to sustain himself. And, despite concocting one MacGyver solution after another, he is running out of time.
The science behind this novel (at least to this non-scientist) is satisfying and impressive. The reader gets the impression that Mr. Weir did his homework and then some, scrupulously researching the feasibility of the protagonist's remarkable solutions to problems that would leave most of us cowering in the corner, devoid of hope. I felt like the science and tech in this novel, as incredible as they were, had been vetted by NASA / JPL experts. The protagonist is the prototypical astronaut we all dream of being as kids: he is a hero's hero, unflappable, clever, creative, and maintains a goofy sense of humor in the face of desperate circumstance.
Mr. Weir was (to me, at least) as inspiring as his protagonist. He originally self-published this novel after being rebuffed repeatedly by agents and publishers. His fans generated such a groundswell of enthusiasm for his debut novel that traditional publishers were forced to take notice; Twentieth-Century Fox ultimately secured the movie rights. What an inspiration to rookie novelists!
So Mr. Weir, like Mark Watney, shows us that we should keep fighting and never give up. In my own alternate reality, Mark Watney would run for president - as an independent - and would win in a landslide.
Who says that a Martian invasion has to be a bad thing?
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Work in Progress
Random musings from a writer struggling to become an author.
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