From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Martian

Andy Weir

Start date: November 21, 2014

Finish date: December 20, 2014

Discussion: Book Discussions

Discussion leader: Natacha

Why we're reading this: Group discussion November 21, 2014
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What Members Thought

Feb 10, 2014 Komal marked it as on-hold

Shelves: science-fiction

I loathe dropping a read. I despise it even more when I have to put it on hold. It fills me with a sense of indecisiveness--something I am unfamiliar with and hate. It also tends to occur only with things that are, in great amounts, good, and also, in great amounts, equally bad.

For example, The Martian.

I am completely torn between the adhesive story-line with the very factually-packed suspenseful action and the absolutely intelligent twat it centers around. Mark Watney is a pain to read about. ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Nov 13, 2014 Traci Loudin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: indie, own-ebook, 2016-read, male-author

A good book is one where even knowing the ending in advance doesn't spoil the story. I haven't watched the movie yet, because I wanted to read the book first, but obviously, you can't help but hear a few spoilers along the way anytime a big movie like this comes out.

At first, I really got into the story. Even though it's told through journal entries, it starts off mid-action, which was awesome. But after that... the first 20% of the book was a little tough for me to get into. That's because you A good book is one where even knowing the ending in advance doesn't spoil the story. I haven't watched the movie yet, because I wanted to read the book first, but obviously, you can't help but hear a few spoilers along the way anytime a big movie like this comes out.

At first, I really got into the story. Even though it's told through journal entries, it starts off mid-action, which was awesome. But after that... the first 20% of the book was a little tough for me to get into. That's because you never really find out much about the main character or his life up til now. It's almost like he didn't have a life before the story started. Of course he does mention what he was trained in and specialized in, but that's about it. No idea if he has a family back home on Earth or who will miss him if he dies. Except Mom. And eventually you find out there's Dad, too.

So at first this is a heavily plot-driven book. It's only after watching him try, try again for a while that I started to build up sympathy and really start to get into the character's head. From around 20% onward, then, I couldn't wait to read what would happen next.

There are a few times where the catastrophic events he's dealing with seem a little anticlimactic, but that's due to two things: 1) We only find out about it afterward, in the journal entries and 2) He's a slightly unreliable narrator in the fact that he's talking to himself, and in order to stay sane and deal with the problems at hand, he has to talk himself up. So instead of despairing, he'll say, "I'll think about this more later." Like, no big deal, a solution will come to me.

I loved his sense of humor and his snarky thought processes. Like how he's first at everything (almost) on Mars. Until the end, when (view spoiler)

Sometimes the sheer number of numbers gets tiring, but overall the hard science fiction nature of this doesn't detract from the story unfolding in the way that hard scifi often does. I enjoyed it from start to finish and would recommend it mainly to experienced science fiction readers. ...more

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Aug 27, 2014 Ash rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, library, science-fiction, suspense-thriller, 2014-read, epistolary, space-aliens, hard-sf

“Apollo 13 meets Cast away” – This line itself made me pick up the book. I did not have to read the synopsis further before deciding to pick up this book. The book is written in the form of logs, left by an astronaut (Mark Watney) stranded in Mars, alone.

One reason for liking the book is that the author has done an extensive research on this subject. I am sure it must have taken him years together to write this novel. I could not find a single flaw in the story or plot or in the science. Though “Apollo 13 meets Cast away” – This line itself made me pick up the book. I did not have to read the synopsis further before deciding to pick up this book. The book is written in the form of logs, left by an astronaut (Mark Watney) stranded in Mars, alone.

One reason for liking the book is that the author has done an extensive research on this subject. I am sure it must have taken him years together to write this novel. I could not find a single flaw in the story or plot or in the science. Though I am not sure about the science part, since I have no idea about the technology that NASA uses in its missions. But this book made me want to look up for all those earlier Mars missions by NASA.

The story is pretty realistic and believable, which is what made it such a good thriller. Not even for a minute did I feel this was a fiction. There are so many twists and turns in this book that nothing goes as expected or planned. Every time Mark overcomes a problem, he faces a new problem. Even in the last few pages of the book, you have no idea how the book is going to end. It is a thriller at its best, nail biting adventure that does not get boring for even a minute. I think it is one of the best thrillers I have read in the recent times.

Like Mark says in one of the scenes from the book, none of his plans work out easily -

Presuming nothing goes wrong, that is. But hey, everything else has gone smoothly this mission, right? (That was sarcasm).

But Mark is determined to overcome every single challenge that Mars seems to throw at him.

I learnt a lot from this book. Not only is this a good story but teaches you a lot of science even without you realizing that you are learning while enjoying. As an example, I did learn some interesting facts like how we can get oxygen in a Martian atmosphere which is full of CO2? or how we can produce water on Mars?

I also loved Mark’s character. He is a witty, funny, brilliant engineer who doesn’t lose hope even for a minute. Mark’s struggle for survival was interesting and gripping. I was so anxious to know what would happen to him, that it was impossible to put down the book for even a minute. Using the limited resources that he has, he tries to get out of many deadly situations.

It has to be one of the best science fiction novels I have ever read. I loved Andy Weir’s writing style too and fell in love with all the characters from the book. Venkat Kapoor’s character was also well etched out. NASA, JPL, Ares 3 crew part of the story was equally interesting. The extent to which they went trying to rescue Mark was amazing.

The one question that has been lingering on my mind ever since I started reading the book was – where did the author get all the information and how did he make sure that the information about Mars, rovers etc is accurate? I read in many websites that all the information presented in the book is accurate.

I hope this author comes up with more brilliant novels like “The Martian”.

A film version directed by Ridley Scott (who has directed some amazing movies like the Alien series and Gladiator) and starring Matt Damon will be releasing next year. I also heard that Sean Bean will be acting in this movie. I am eagerly waiting for the movie now! ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Mar 11, 2015 Andrew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, reviewed, kindle

I'm one of those crazy engineers who spends an inordinate amount of time thinking (or daydreaming?) about cool things like human spaceflight and exploring the solar system. So, it was only natural that I absolutely loved this book. It's an astronaut fighting for survival by himself on Mars! How awesome is that?

This book exceeded my expectations, and I had read a bunch of hype about how awesome this was before I started reading it. After I finished this book, the most negative thing I could think ...more

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Aug 06, 2014 Aleix Dorca rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Martian is a hard book to review. I read it end to end on a hot summer Sunday. I simply could not put it down and I'm sure this amounts to something.

I give it 5 stars because it is fun, (super) easy to read and, in some ways, very interesting. It has all what you'd expect from a great sci-fi novel. Andy Wier knows how to create all these impossible situations and at the same time engineer witty solutions to solve them. Plus, all the stuff Mark Watney (the protagonist) has at his disposal doe The Martian is a hard book to review. I read it end to end on a hot summer Sunday. I simply could not put it down and I'm sure this amounts to something.

I give it 5 stars because it is fun, (super) easy to read and, in some ways, very interesting. It has all what you'd expect from a great sci-fi novel. Andy Wier knows how to create all these impossible situations and at the same time engineer witty solutions to solve them. Plus, all the stuff Mark Watney (the protagonist) has at his disposal does not require suspension of disbelief at all (or not too much) because the author has an explanation for each and every one of the items of the Mars expedition and, also, a believable one. In the end everything fits (more than less). Well done Mr. Wier, well done.

BUT, there are things I thought were too simple. Some things I did not quite enjoy or believe. The writing is (just) okay, the characters (even Watney) have little development or depth, the math (so readers would not run away) is too simple and, in perspective, all problems are solved out easily (there's only *real* danger during the first one hundred pages). Also, you've read/seen most of it somewhere else (I guess there's nothing new under the Red Planet) and i'd say it follows a *by the numbers* structure. All these seems terrible, I know, but it is not enough to undermine the rest of the book. It is just a feeling I got just after finishing it.

To me, the weakest part is towards the end, or mostly the second half. I think that it could have been a worked on a bit more. You see, there's this menace of some heavy shit coming towards Watney, and suddenly it all resolves to... well, nothing at all. I'm talking about the dust storm during the final journey. Disappointed.

The ending is really intense and quite satisfying even though there's this whole part, the voyage back to Earth, that makes me wonder why it was left out. Maybe it is not really part of The Martian story per se but I'm sure that it was not a path of roses, mainly because the Hermes ship was already kind of overused, don't you think? I don't know. I was expecting a little bit more.

Anyway, I'm sure this book will translate perfectly into a movie. I can't wait for it!

If I were to be fair this book would get four stars but I now that years from now I'll remember the good parts and the fun I had reading it.

Enjoy it! I sure did! ...more

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Oct 06, 2014 Tyrone rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, audiobook, sci-fi, seen-the-film, favourites

Really, really enjoyed this. I opted for the Audiobook because the author had some very good things to say about it and i have to agree. R.C. Bray does an excellent job of narrating this.

I decided to read it after i heard the author being interviewed on a podcast (Treks in Sci-Fi). I was fascinated by the story behind how this little self published novel came to be a great word of mouth hit which was eventually picked up by a publisher and i noted with some interest was being sold on the shelves Really, really enjoyed this. I opted for the Audiobook because the author had some very good things to say about it and i have to agree. R.C. Bray does an excellent job of narrating this.

I decided to read it after i heard the author being interviewed on a podcast (Treks in Sci-Fi). I was fascinated by the story behind how this little self published novel came to be a great word of mouth hit which was eventually picked up by a publisher and i noted with some interest was being sold on the shelves in my local supermarket today and is a planned 2015 movie to be directed by Ridley Scott.

I think i loved this for 2 very different reasons.

Firstly it is by far at its best when we are 1:1 with the main character, Mark Watney. Much of the book is in his voice as he narrates his daily log and as such how much you like this book is going to be contingent on how much you like the main character because like Tom Hanks in Castaway (which is an obvious influence) you get to spend an awful lot of time with him, sharing his triumphs and disasters but more importantly his sense of humour.

Secondly the elements where others are brought into the narrative, sometimes in parallel to Mark's trials and tribulation and in other times in flashback are a little less successful but still work well enough to keep the narrative moving. I did initially find it a little jarring when we moved from the format of Mark directly recording his daily log to other characters having real time conversations with each other but this soon wore off. I soon began to enjoy this for its obvious Apollo 13'ishness plus it was also reminiscent of the Sci-Fi disaster/action fiction of Harry Harrison who is one of my favourite authors.

I also think it is a testament to the skill of the author that a book so packed with technical and scientific detail, (1) didn't leave me cold or (2) didn't have me banging my fist on the table annoyed because something or other just didn't make sense. I was so swept away by the narrative that i just didn't worry about any of that.

Read this novel because this first time author is a great discovery and it's always great when someone decides to have a go, with no real expectation and it gets noticed. Read it because it's going to be made into a massive Sci-Fi film. But mainly read it because it is bloody good! ...more

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Nov 11, 2014 Bob Fischer rated it really liked it

Picked this up at a news stand at McCarron Airport on the way back from Vegas.
Needed something for the long plane ride.
So glad that I did, this book is absolutely fantastic.
Great spin on the cast away survivor tale.
Also, if you like that sort of thing, and I do, the science is treated seriously and is central to the plot.

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Nov 03, 2014 JJ rated it it was amazing

Intelligent, witty, suspenseful, I can go on and on. This book had it all and kept me up till the early hours thinking, 'Just one more chapter'. That plus not many books will have you laughing out loud at 2 am. I even had pen, paper and calculator out checking the math and thinking ahead about what Mark may have missed.

I don't write many reviews. In fact this might be my first but this one inspired me. Highly recommended.
...more

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