Ballantine The Martian Paperback – Big Book, 28 October 2014

Interesante, emocionante y de fino humor e ironía

FEEL FREE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BOOK!I would like to start this review with a note that is both a positive and a negative. I do not read any book, this is because I am never captivated and cant really empathize with the character and I never feel like I am there. But on to the review."About this version of the product*The book came to me in pristine condition it was truly breath-taking how beautiful the cover is. The book is well sized and honestly this is one of if not the most beautiful and durable books I've bought. There is also a map in the beginning which is awesome since I was cross referencing it so much which made me feel very immersed.*About the book SPOILER FREE PART*The Martian is the most well written, funny, serious, and emotional book I have ever read. This is in part because of the amazing writing. Mark Watney is a charismatic, smart, and resourceful man. In the face of adversity he always manages to crack a witty joke that always made me chuckle or just burst out laughing (No im not psychotic, i don't think). The writing makes you really feel like you know mark which is one reason why you empathize and really feel for him.The Atmosphere is great really selling the barren expanse and devastating loneliness of the Martian lands.*Note: I found that using some noise cancelling headphones and playing some white noise, like the wind, really helped to sell the effect of being on mars*. After only a few pages I had a very clear picture of how it looked at the HAB and I only wish I could take a picture of my thoughts.The story jumps between the perspectives of Mark Watney on mars, Nasa and JPL on earth, and the crew on Hermes the space station the went to and from mars on.*General Consensus*I should have added some photos, including my favourite quotes.This is the best book I've read. I'm so sad its over yet so happy I've experienced it. Andy Weir is my new favourite author and i will be purchasing more of his novels no doubt. Please do yourself a favour and read this book. I cannot recommend it enough. 1000000 / 10*LIGHT SPOILERS, what happens at the beginning*The book is about the main character Mark Watney's journey surviving mars after being abandoned there by his crew. What happened Watney and his crew consisting of, Lewis the commander, Vogel, Beck, Martinez, and Johanssen were six days into a 52 day mission on mars where they would gather science and conduct experiments when suddenly a large storm hit. The storm was so bad they had to evacuate but on their way to the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) mark is struck by debris and is lost. The crew cannot find him and assuming he is dead abort without him. Mark wakes up and makes it back to the HAB, where he will live for the next (wont spoil how long) number of sols. He has a lot of problems along the way but manages to fix them in amazingly creative ways, I mean I cannot stress enough how glued my eyes were to the pages intrigued and worried about what would happen next.I wont spoil any more of the end because it would ruin how heart-breaking and heart-making (if that's a saying) a lot of the moments were.

Andy Weir’s easy language and understanding have made the read very easy and clear which helps beginners. Reading feels very realistic and scientific. It is also very grippy. I completed reading it in 5 days. You won’t take a break while reading it. The story is also great. I prefer that you should read this novel before watching the film as the novel is quite more detailed than the film and some problems faced by Mark Watney are beautifully expressed in the novel by Andy than in the film. The only issue I felt while reading was that the novel sometimes feels way more scientific than it should be and feels like reading a science book rather than a novel. But you can ignore it as the theme & story are very well explained. Students will also enjoy this novel too.

Su consiglio di un amico, ho deciso di leggere questo libro in lingua originale, e devo dire che ne è valsa la pena.Se si è già in possesso di un lessico tecnico base di ingegneria aerospaziale in inglese, il libro si legge abbastanza facilmente, anche per un non madrelingua come me. Se conoscenze personali e gusti sono in linea con quanto sopra, consiglio assolutamente la lettura in lingua originale.La storia in sé non è particolarmente innovativa nei temi, ma ha il pregio di rimanere abbastanza coerente e plausibile per tutto il suo sviluppo.Non mancano i passaggi leggeri e divertenti, anche se a volte i cambi di punto di vista fra le due storyline parallele tendono a dare un po' fastidio.Seppur inevitabilmente impregnato di american-eroismo, le vicissitudini del protagonista mantengono un fondo di realismo, descrivendo sia pur in condizioni estreme le sfide a cui sono sottoposti quotidianamente gli astronauti attualmente (ovviamente non su Marte) e cosa può voler dire sopravvivere in condizioni aliene su un pianeta che seppur inabitato e apparentemente immoto può rivelarsi un nemico più costante e spietato dell'antagonista intelligente (vivente o artificiale) tipico di molta letteratura fantascientifica. Per chi ha visto il film omonimo, la narrazione è fedele a quella del libro per la prima metà, divergendo poi per motivi cinematografici verso il finale. Io personalmente ho trovato più convincente lo sviluppo che avviene nel libro, non per ostinazione a preferire il libro alla sua trasposizione cinematografica, bensì per gusti personali.I recenti sviluppi della SpaceX di Elon Musk nel campo dei propulsori per esplorazione spaziale anche umana, nonché i piani dallo stesso esposti con l'obiettivo di colonizzare effettivamente il pianeta rosso nel corso dei prossimi anni, potrebbero fornirci un metro di paragone rispetto alla veridicità di quanto immaginato dall'autore, augurando comunque ai futuri esploratori e/o coloni di non trovarsi ad affrontare le stesse avventure del "marziano" protagonista di questo libro.

Very well told story ... I'm surprised that I also like the movie adaptation.