I am not the biggest sci-fi person. Although I do like it a bit more than fantasy. But the difference.... is science. Which I'm not the best at understanding. With fantasy, there are not as many mathematical/chemistry elements that I will look at and read 4 times over and blink with my empty eyes at. So reading some of this book was a little hard for me. Especially since I have the attention span of a puppy. My mom adores Star Trek and even has the emblem tattooed on her ankle, so it's not a completely foreign subject (and with the campy-ness of the original series my brain doesn't process much of the science aspect at all).
The Martian is about a team from NASA traveling to mars and encounter a a strong sandstorm that knocks unconscious one of their members that they assume is now dead and try to leave the planet as fast as they can, while they leave the body of their friend behind. The man wakes up alone on Mars and then has to cultivate potatoes using his own poop to survive until NASA comes to rescue him.
The suspense in this book is palpable. It has a way of keeping me on my toes that I've never experienced from the genre since Close Encounters. I really felt bad for Watney, although he seemed to figure out everything pretty naturally. I reckon that's probably what their training (aka gibberish to me) is for. He's relatively calm to the situations happening, which if he were otherwise he probably wouldn't have ended up back on Earth. I also have a lot of respect for this character due to the way he quickly reacted to everything that was thrown at him. The story is pretty dramatic, though, which is most likely why it is considered an Opera. If only he broke out into song regularly, it would've nailed the genre on the head. All jokes asides, this was a very compelling read. I couldn't imagine having to go through the betrayal of your own crew, saving your own poop for growing potatoes, repairing lost rovers, losing all your air, and still somehow ending up home could do to your brain. That's a ton of stress. The poor lady who felt guilty for leaving him behind has to deal with that too, now. I think she did what she had to do in order to save the rest of her crew, I don't think she's fully to blame. Overall, the Martian was very interesting. I will probably go watch the movie now, I heard it was really good.
Yeah go watch the movie! I read this book and seeing the adaption is interesting. If I would have watched the movie without reading the book it probably wouldn't be as interested. It's not exact, (and there actually is some singing) It's great hearing all the awful music Watney is forced to listen to. Also Matt Damon. Good analysis on the suspense. I do think the author really wanted to write a "read in one sitting" book.
ReplyDelete1. I didn't know your mom had a star trek tattoo! 2. I saw the movie and then read the book and it's kinda crazy how contrasting they are!
ReplyDeleteSad to say...I like the disco music Watney has to listen to....some people just have no appreciation for the classics, what can I say...but let me clarify that The Martian is true science fiction and not Space Opera...I will talk about that in our Zoom-in this week.
ReplyDeleteI've seen the movie and I thought it was great; the sense of danger felt real, and seeing the visuals added to that realism. Definitely a recommend
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite thing about The Martian was the combination of the very complicated science and math elements and the character's cheeky sense of humor while explaining everything. In a way, it's like he knows that the people following his story are rookies in the subject of space travel and botany, which makes the read a bit more compelling, as well as making us care about Watney's survival more and more as we read.
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