The Martian

This was a pick for Sword & Laser last year and I didn't read it, because I don't like SF all that much. And then it got picked up as a movie. And then someone else loved it. And then here we are.

I really enjoyed this book, and I don't know if I would have liked it more if I understood and/or cared about the science involved. Watney was fun and funny, and it was great to be on his journey to try and not only survive, but escape Mars. RC Bray's narration on the Audible version was fantastic for Watney, but the secondary men (and they were mostly men) felt all a bit generic - the Indian and the Mexican stood out as difficult to distinguish when they were talking in the same scene.

The only part I found entirely unbelievable (yes, I don't care about the science so we're ignoring any flaws there), is that the news media would run a feature on Watney every day for eighteen months. I can believe they would initially be excited, and then if something happened they would get on board again, but certainly not every damn day. I also think maybe the PR manager should maybe know a little more about the science of their organisation, but again, it served the purpose of dumbing-down the explanations for readers.

Overall I heartily recommend this book, and look forward to seeing the movie.