The Martian by Andy Weir Book Review
I grew up very in a very science loving home and watched a lot of science fiction shows that are in space like Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Doctor Who, Stargate Universe among many others. Even though my study and understanding is limited to what I've watched, read and a semester of Astronomy in college, I really enjoy reading good science fiction books. I came across The Martian to be honest through the movie trailer. I wish I had known it earlier but I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it first before the movie comes out later this year. With the recent announcement that NASA astronauts were able to grow space lettuce and eat it as part of NASA's long term plan for a deep sea mission to Mars in 2030, there's no better book to read right now than The Martian.
"I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. I’m in a Habitat designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah. I’m screwed."
The Martian is the story of astronaut Martk Watney, a botanist on a NASA Ares Space Mission who was tasked with finding a way to grow food in Mars. Six days in, there was a really terrible storm and during evacuation Watney got hit by flying debris, his crew mates thought he died from impact and the Commander made the decision to evacuate without his body before things worsened. Watney decided he wasn't going down without a fight. He logged every equipment + supplies and calculated the number days he can survive not knowing whether or not the whole Ares mission was scraped because of his accident, or even if he will be able to make contact with earth. Being the best (and only) botanist on Mars, he figured out a way to grow a vegetable in Mars. Yes, a vegetable and it's none other than the humble potato.
The book is made up of Watney's Log Entry that are marked from the day he became stranded on Mars and parallel stories of his crew mates and NASA folks back on Earth. The first few chapters for me personally was a little rough, there were a lot of concepts/terms and I felt like I was back in Chemistry/Physics class. Once we got to the earth stories things became a lot more interesting. A lot of the "behind the scene" players at NASA were introduced. There were a lot of political issues that this book brings up such as NASA funding the space race to colonize Mars.
I have been on a fiction rut. Recently, I've had a row of really good non-fiction reads and just not-so-great, average and some really bad fiction books. The Martian was the first book in a long time that made me smile (and laugh out loud)and put me on a plain ol' emotional roller coaster ride that was out of this world (pun intended). The story of Mark Watney's determination to survive is honest, comedic, thrilling, emotional, captivating and there's a lot more words I can use to describe this book, but I'll stop at that and just highly encourage all of you to read it. Watney's logs which makes up the bulk of the book is golden.
Weir has truly created a breathtaking masterpiece with this story of one man's journey to survive in a lonely red planet some 140 million miles away with the help of a lot of potatoes.
As always, thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Disclaimer: I received this book via BloggingforBooks to consider for free in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was received. Most products on my blog have been purchased by me (unless stated like this one) and I will be honest about my reviews and will only work with brands who truly have great products. Please check out my full disclaimer page if you have any questions. Following guidelines provided under FTC 16 CFR, Part 225.
"I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. I’m in a Habitat designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah. I’m screwed."
The Martian is the story of astronaut Martk Watney, a botanist on a NASA Ares Space Mission who was tasked with finding a way to grow food in Mars. Six days in, there was a really terrible storm and during evacuation Watney got hit by flying debris, his crew mates thought he died from impact and the Commander made the decision to evacuate without his body before things worsened. Watney decided he wasn't going down without a fight. He logged every equipment + supplies and calculated the number days he can survive not knowing whether or not the whole Ares mission was scraped because of his accident, or even if he will be able to make contact with earth. Being the best (and only) botanist on Mars, he figured out a way to grow a vegetable in Mars. Yes, a vegetable and it's none other than the humble potato.
The book is made up of Watney's Log Entry that are marked from the day he became stranded on Mars and parallel stories of his crew mates and NASA folks back on Earth. The first few chapters for me personally was a little rough, there were a lot of concepts/terms and I felt like I was back in Chemistry/Physics class. Once we got to the earth stories things became a lot more interesting. A lot of the "behind the scene" players at NASA were introduced. There were a lot of political issues that this book brings up such as NASA funding the space race to colonize Mars.
I have been on a fiction rut. Recently, I've had a row of really good non-fiction reads and just not-so-great, average and some really bad fiction books. The Martian was the first book in a long time that made me smile (and laugh out loud)and put me on a plain ol' emotional roller coaster ride that was out of this world (pun intended). The story of Mark Watney's determination to survive is honest, comedic, thrilling, emotional, captivating and there's a lot more words I can use to describe this book, but I'll stop at that and just highly encourage all of you to read it. Watney's logs which makes up the bulk of the book is golden.
Weir has truly created a breathtaking masterpiece with this story of one man's journey to survive in a lonely red planet some 140 million miles away with the help of a lot of potatoes.
As always, thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Disclaimer: I received this book via BloggingforBooks to consider for free in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was received. Most products on my blog have been purchased by me (unless stated like this one) and I will be honest about my reviews and will only work with brands who truly have great products. Please check out my full disclaimer page if you have any questions. Following guidelines provided under FTC 16 CFR, Part 225.
