The Martian in Audiobook Junkies

Mar 28, 2015 Melanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-narration, favorites, 5-stars, z-2015, z-2015-audiobooks, science-fiction

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

The Martian is not a book or audiobook that I would’ve picked up on my own. I would like to thank Marcela (@BookaholicCat), Carmel (@RabidReads) and Hot Listens’s very own Loupe for hounding me until I listened to this book. I’m so glad that I did and I will highly recommend that you listen before it comes out in the theaters in November. It is starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney.

The Martian is basically about a NASA m My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

The Martian is not a book or audiobook that I would’ve picked up on my own. I would like to thank Marcela (@BookaholicCat), Carmel (@RabidReads) and Hot Listens’s very own Loupe for hounding me until I listened to this book. I’m so glad that I did and I will highly recommend that you listen before it comes out in the theaters in November. It is starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney.

The Martian is basically about a NASA mission to Mars. There is a storm that comes through and the mission is aborted. Mark Watney, the mission’s engineer and botanist, was left behind when everyone left Mars. Everyone was convinced that he was dead after he was knocked out during the storm. When Watney wakes up and learns what happens, he has to figure out how to survive.

Watney is a very interesting character. He is like MacGyver (once again, thanks to Marcela for that reference, but once I heard it, I couldn’t get it out of my head). The way he is able to make something out of nothing, is pretty remarkable. When he makes a mistake, he has a pretty funny panic attack, but then he recovers pretty quickly and gets back to how to solve the problem.

Once NASA figures out that they’ve left a living person on Mars, things really start to pick up. It is great to see how NASA really comes together to save this one person. Red tape that disappears to help bring Watney home. Plus the really tough decisions that had to be made. They had to think about the crew on the way home, Mark Watney left alone on Mars and the public here on Earth.

I loved the science. I don’t know how much of it was truly real and would work if put to the test, but the author and narrator made me believe that everything that happened was entirely possible. There was also some math involved, and while it was pretty intense, don’t let that scare you off. I just took that he knew more than he did about it and took what he said as fact and didn’t let it bog me down.

Mark Watney was a great character. Throughout a completely impossible situation, he kept a level head the majority of the time and tried to figure out what he needed to do to survive. One of my favorite scenes is when he first gets communication (done through written cards and photos, no voice) with NASA and NASA asked him for a photo op without much more information. Watney decides to go out in his spacesuit, the camera in question was outside, he writes “Heyyy!” and does a thumbs up. The PR person at NASA was unamused. That was pretty much Watney’s sense of humor, in a nutshell.

Once again, I can’t recommend this story enough. It is not something I ever would’ve picked up if it weren’t for the ladies who highly recommended it. Now, I’m going around and recommending it everyone I see. I don’t know how it would be to read, because the narration is done so well and I really think it helped bring the story to life. Please don’t let the sci-fi genre scare you off. It is so much more than that. While this is a science fiction story, the sci-fi is mostly a mission to Mars. Outside of that, it is a story of survival.

Narration
What to say about R.C. Bray’s narration of The Martian. This story was narrated so well that I forgot that I was listening to a book. It was more like listening to several people tell me this story about a guy left behind on Mars.

He really brought out the humor in Watney. When Watney was panicking, I could really feel it. I started to feel for the guy so much and really felt he was going to die. When the other characters from NASA come into the story, he delivers them seamlessly. Whether he voicing men or women, he is just as passionate. ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 22, 2015 Tiara rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, book-turned-media-and-vice-versa, audiobook, z-2015-audiobook-challenge, z-narrator-rc-bray

Review to come.

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2016 Darcy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: space-drama, audio-book, 2016

I finally grabbed this one from the library, wanted to see what all the hype was about. I liked Mark, couldn't believe everything that happened to him. If it wasn't for bad luck he'd have none. But with that said, I found the parts with him a bit boring, a little too technical for me. I did love Mark's humor and how he dealt with his horrible situation. I found myself more interested with what was happening back on Earth, how everyone reacted, how they were so invested to save Mark. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Apr 03, 2015 Lupdilup rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Audiobook rating 4.5 stars - story - 4.0 Stars- Narration 5.0 Stars
It's not easy to keep me engross amidst mathematic calculations, but listening to this tale of survivable and the ingenuity of Mark Watney was enthralling. The perfectly achieved tension, mixed with Mark's down to earth and humorous attitude kept my ears glued to my phone and made me cheer out-loud its conclusion, thanks to the excellent interpretation by narrator R. C. Bray.

...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Feb 14, 2014 Chrizette rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audio, favorites, reviewed, sci-fi

You can find more reviews at http://justreadingforfun.blogspot.com

**Beware of Adult language**

I am not exactly sure how I got interested in reading The Martian. I admit I am a cover lover. Pretty covers always catch my eye.
This cover would not have caught my attention and I would have assumed that it is directed at a male audience (well, look at it. don't you agree?).

This is exactly the reason why I am so glad that that it was discussed in one of the audiobook discussions on Goodreads. I wou ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 23, 2015 Debbie Stone rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio

What a fun read!
And now I kinda have a crush on Mark Watney!
It was just a fun read.
I can't wait for the movie.
4 stars from me! ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 15, 2020 Melindeeloo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

It took a little bit to get used to the reader - I'd seen the movie first so Matt Daiman was Mark Watney in my head - but the book is every bit as engaging as the movie, but with even more calamities for our intrepid hero. Thank goodness his fellow astronaut had the foresight to leave behind an ascii table and that mark had the ability to science the s**t out things. This is really an ode to science geeks and very fun. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2015 Summer rated it liked it

Shelves: kindle, 2015

Hoo boy, this book needed another round of editing. My first impression that Mark read like a 14 year old girl, but that's an unfairly gendered comparison. More accurately, he reads immature and juvenile, which clearly seemed to be the author trying too hard. If an author writes a solid character, as Mark mostly was, there doesn't need to be a gimmick to keep readers invested.

Pretty immediately (wasn't there a "Yay!" on the first or second page?), I noticed that Weir sounded like a self-pubbed ...more

Like · see review

Nov 23, 2014 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, bookclub-reads, 2015-shelf-love-challenge, 2015-audiobook-challenge

I find survival books very tedious but I really liked the characters and the audio narration was very well done.

1 like · Like · see review

Sep 14, 2015 Nichole ~Bookaholic~ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, sci-fi-fantasy, fiction, xx_2015, xx_2015-audiobook-challenge

Wow....awesome listen.....

I was not sure what to expect going into this one......after listening to Seveneves I was hesitant to start another sci-fi, but I am glad I listened.....

While at times a bit technical it was tolerable. I did not think I would like the format of "log entries" but it really worked for this. I liked Watney's humor and resourcefulness and once the rescue plans were in place I found myself at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened next....and at the end I was grip ...more

Like · see review

Aug 27, 2015 Liza rated it it was amazing

One of the best books I've read/listened to this year. Yes it contains lots of technical information, but it didn't take me out of the story. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie in October, and am more excited to see the movie now than I was before reading the book. I really enjoyed Andy Weir's voice and hope The Martian isn't his last book. ...more

Like · see review