Hello Everyone!
This and Vicious by V.E. Schwab are going to be the last reviews in my Summer 2015 series. I go back to school this Tuesday but I am sure it won't pick back up until Thursday. I have successfully fulfilled my goals for this year by reading 35 books that aren't for school and more than I read last year. I have read exactly 46 books so far, which was my total for last year. Achievement Unlocked! Anywho, here is the review you were looking for.
Overview (Non-Spoilery Section)
I had heard about this book for a while and when I went to Jurassic World, the trailer for the movie played. I was hooked from then on. This book didn’t let me down. I am really into science, it fascinates me, but I don’t think that the science is too much in this novel. Most of the negative reviews I have seen have been saying that the science element is too detailed for them to get through. It is up to you to figure out how much you can stand. I thought that the science worked wonderfully with the humor in this novel, which I wasn’t expecting at all! I was really in a mood for a humorous read that also had depth, and this was exactly that. One of the other several positives of the novel is that you get to see both sides of what is occurring, a point of view from NASA and from Mark Watney. As a narrator, Mark Watney is amazing. He gets serious when it is necessary, doesn’t sugar coat anything and is brutally honest in many instances. However, he also uses humor as a way to get him through his long stay on Mars. In the end, this book is one of my new favorites and I can’t wait for the movie.
*****Spoilery Section*****
I freaking loved this book! I thoroughly enjoyed the diversity seen within the NASA of this book and within the Aries 3. The community of people from every culture and race and religion that were working effectively toward a common goal that they were passionate about. Their differences were the subtext to a story where their passion was the protagonist. I also adored that other countries were involved. The sense of humanity when one of our own is in critical danger is something that we need to evaluate in times of peace. I loved the sense that you were the computer that was Watney’s only companion for a significant period of his journey on Mars. You understood how much it was necessary that this book existed. Yes, truly necessary. The marking down of ideas and thoughts during the agonizing span of souls that Watney spent on Mars would have been published. There would have been someone within NASA that was writing conversation after tense conversation down. These are those items, compacted into a book form. I just thought that was so cool, to have the feeling that a writer not only had a great idea for a book and wrote it down but that the characters would have done the same thing had they been real. Even from the day to day log entries, Weir was still able to intrigue the reader and keep them on the edge of their seat. I never once felt that it would be too far in left field for Weir to kill Watney off and see how people reacted if the mission failed, but Weir never resorted to that.
As for my hopes for the film, I hope they keep Watney very much the same character. I think censorship would take some of the personality and rawness away from his character. I believe that the casting was on point for the film to be a success and I can’t wait to see it in theatres.
Overall
98% out of 100%
5 out of 5 stars
-Jaime