From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

The Martian
by
Start date
October 1, 2015
Finish date
October 2, 2015

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What Members Thought

Ryan
Jul 15, 2015 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: borrowed, 2015
Considering the mad amounts of chemistry and physics contained in this story, it's really an achievement that it can keep a scientific know-nothing like me engaged. A lot of credit for that has to go to the voice Weir gave to Watney, who is able to inject even the most intricate bit of scientific exposition with just the right amount of smartassery.

What's more, the amount of MacGyvering that goes into this story is inspiring to anyone who spends their time solving problems. Seems like we've reac
...more
Kim Marques
Aug 25, 2015 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
I could not put this book down. It was incredibly engaging and honestly, not at all what I expected. Loved it.
Jennifer
So, everyone in the world told me I had to read this book. And I knew that I did -- it was on my to-read list, I went out and bought a copy of it and everything. But then we passed my book => movie window. If a book has a movie coming out and I intend to see that movie in the theater and I don't get the book read at least six months before the movie drops, then I have to wait until after I see the movie. Or I will spend the entire movie silently swearing in my head at the director, scriptwriter, ...more
Shelley
Nov 24, 2015 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: sci-fi, 2015
Botanist Astronaut Mark Watney is thought dead and left behind on Mars, and he needs to science the shit out of things to survive. I'm so glad I read this after I saw the movie, because it is super sciencey and seeing it happen helped me understand it better. But holy crap, was this an awesome adventure. I loved it just as much as I did the movie - both are wonderful and well done. I really wish we'd gotten the bedroom line with Beck and Johanssen in the movie, since we got the helmet kiss and i ...more
Jessica
May 15, 2016 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: kindle
The Martian is a gripping story, one I didn't want to put down because I wanted to make sure Mark Watney made it home safely. With the recent movie and all the hype around this book, I think everyone knows the plot already: Astronaut Mark Watney gets stranded on Mars because his team had to leave the planet in a hurry and all signs indicated that he had died in the freak storm that was forcing them off the planet. He's badly injured and needs to figure out how to survive alone on a hostile plane ...more
ellen
Fun and engaging, but not exceptionally either. I liked the narrator's voice (and I've always been a fan of epistolary novels anyways) and was definitely invested in the story at the very end. Based on what I've heard a lot of other people say about it, I thought the book would be a series of infodumps strung together by jokes, but it really wasn't. I never felt overwhelmed by the scientific detail and the amount there was in the book seemed appropriate, if not minimal, considering he's a scient ...more
LT
May 29, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I absolutely loved this book! Admittedly, there were some concerns about the huge amount of "science stuff" throughout, but Andy Weir made it completely accessible and my eyes didn't cross too much with the technical stuff. The story was compelling and witty and I finished it pretty quickly for the small chunks of time I had available to read it. ...more
Sarah
Aug 31, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
It can get a liiiiiiiitle too sciencey, but honestly I wouldn't take it away from the book as it does add to the realism. Stayed up way too late finishing it, because it was quite exciting. Looking forward to the movie! ...more
Ina
Sep 27, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
I think I'm in love with the protagonist! I so wish Mark was real!

Although I wish I could enjoy the nerdy Science bits, overall, loved the book!
...more
Sarah
Nov 14, 2017 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Thoroughly enjoyed this. I read nearly all of it on a long plane journey and was very annoyed when we landed with about thirty pages left to go.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable mix of science, engineering, inspiration, and slightly flippant commentary.

Highly entertaining. Highly recommended.
Arty
Jun 25, 2018 rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: 2015-reads
akaellen
Jul 03, 2015 marked it as to-read  ·  review of another edition
Maureen
Aug 08, 2015 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Lauren
Aug 20, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shana Tritsch
Aug 25, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Meredith
Oct 03, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Dayna
Oct 09, 2015 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Lynne
Oct 09, 2015 marked it as to-read-scifi  ·  review of another edition
Carrie
Jan 15, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Joe
May 26, 2016 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Arianna
Mar 31, 2017 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Annie
Jun 21, 2017 rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Laura
Jan 15, 2018 rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: read-in-2017