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What Members Thought
This has been the most surprising book of the year for me. Nothing about this book even hinted at me liking it. Not the concept, not the synopsis, not the movie trailer... nothing. And the possibility of me reading it was made even less likely when I realized my library did not have the audiobook so I would have to actually use one of my coveted audible credits for it. Trust me, I don't just use those willy nilly. So I said thanks but no thanks and moved on with my life. But then this book kept
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Has Hell frozen over? Am I giving a sci-fi book five stars? Yes, because it is THAT enjoyable. Andy Weir manages to pack the book with science while also making it completely unnecessary to the story. That sounds contradictory, but he marries hard science with this wonderful pared-down simplification so anyone can understand the problem and the way it's going to be solved. It's the best of both worlds, and everyone goes home happy.
So many things are done well here! The pacing is great, the tone ...more
So many things are done well here! The pacing is great, the tone ...more
Mark Watney, technical specialist in botany and engineering for the Ares 3 mission on Mars. Separated by a large dust storm and presumed dead, the remainder of the crew scrubs the mission and escapes Mars before they suffer the same fate. However, Mark does live and now must use his technical knowledge to survive until rescued, which is a lengthy proposition.
When this book was first published and I read the blurb, I was not interested in reading it. I thought it would be a morbid literary work ...more
When this book was first published and I read the blurb, I was not interested in reading it. I thought it would be a morbid literary work ...more
Amazing!
After finishing this, I realized I was a little bit harsh with my earlier assessment because it does have a pretty exciting denouement. However, the last paragraph is some of the corniest shit I've read in some time.
In addition to my previous assessment about this being just one calamity after another (which is just super weak storytelling), my other problems with this were the snoozefest that resulted from the endless calculations (they were seriously some of the most boring descriptions I've e ...more
In addition to my previous assessment about this being just one calamity after another (which is just super weak storytelling), my other problems with this were the snoozefest that resulted from the endless calculations (they were seriously some of the most boring descriptions I've e ...more
One of the 5 best action books I have read. "Gravity" on steroids! And with real science!
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Totally loved this book. Intriguing, emotional and entertaining. It was like McGuyver in a space opera. Particularly good on audiobook.
May 17, 2014
Deyara
marked it as to-read
Dec 16, 2014
AmyMK Kuhlman
marked it as to-read
Feb 01, 2015
Carrie
marked it as to-read
Feb 03, 2015
Melissa Seng
marked it as to-read
Jun 19, 2015
Michele
marked it as to-read
Aug 12, 2015
Julie
added it
Oct 19, 2015
Crystal
marked it as to-read
