The Martian by Andy Weir
The ads for the movie look really good, so when I saw this on the shelf I decided to give it a try. After I got it home, I was a little reluctant. After all, it could ruin everything too.
So if you haven't figured it out from the trailer, a Mars mission gets aborted due to a huge dust storm. As the astronauts are trying to make their way back to the ship that will get them back to Earth, some debris is blown into one of them and he goes spinning off into the distance. The crew search for him for a bit, but they have to leave or risk death themselves. Assuming their crewmate is dead, they very sadly return to space and journey back home.
But astronaut Mark Watney is one resourceful dude. He manages to stay alive and keep himself from dying. He manages to reconnect with Earth. He is calm, cool and collected; the sort of guy you want to have around when all hell breaks loose. And I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. This is a never-give-up kind of guy, although he has a strategy for that too if it comes down to it. Being an English major, if faced with a life-or-death situation, all I could really do is quote Shakespeare at it or correct its grammar. Failing that (and also being a drama major), I could stagger downstage left and fall elegantly into a pile in the spotlight, most likely with my hand pressed to my fevered brow. This is why they don't send English majors on space voyages.
I really enjoyed this book though, and I can't wait to see it on the big screen. I think it's going to be like that Denzel Washington movie Flight though. The science was way above my pay grade, so I'm not sure what half the stuff I read actually was. But there are people out there that will. How many of them will ruin the movie by complaining that such-and-such couldn't really have happened like that. I hope we can all just sit back and enjoy a book/movie that shows a guy attempting to beat all the odds, realistic or not, and not backing down when it appears all the cards are stacked against him. It's a lesson in determination we could all learn from.
So if you haven't figured it out from the trailer, a Mars mission gets aborted due to a huge dust storm. As the astronauts are trying to make their way back to the ship that will get them back to Earth, some debris is blown into one of them and he goes spinning off into the distance. The crew search for him for a bit, but they have to leave or risk death themselves. Assuming their crewmate is dead, they very sadly return to space and journey back home.
But astronaut Mark Watney is one resourceful dude. He manages to stay alive and keep himself from dying. He manages to reconnect with Earth. He is calm, cool and collected; the sort of guy you want to have around when all hell breaks loose. And I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. This is a never-give-up kind of guy, although he has a strategy for that too if it comes down to it. Being an English major, if faced with a life-or-death situation, all I could really do is quote Shakespeare at it or correct its grammar. Failing that (and also being a drama major), I could stagger downstage left and fall elegantly into a pile in the spotlight, most likely with my hand pressed to my fevered brow. This is why they don't send English majors on space voyages.
I really enjoyed this book though, and I can't wait to see it on the big screen. I think it's going to be like that Denzel Washington movie Flight though. The science was way above my pay grade, so I'm not sure what half the stuff I read actually was. But there are people out there that will. How many of them will ruin the movie by complaining that such-and-such couldn't really have happened like that. I hope we can all just sit back and enjoy a book/movie that shows a guy attempting to beat all the odds, realistic or not, and not backing down when it appears all the cards are stacked against him. It's a lesson in determination we could all learn from.
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