Book #2 of 2018: The Martian, 2018 book: Hope for a Buffalo

[thistlechaser]

The Martian by Andy Weir
Traditional or self-published: Traditional
Rating: Liked (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



Set in the near future, manned trips to Mars happen every four years or so, stays on the planet being about 30 days long. During one of those missions a storm hit, and a crewman seemed to be killed. The remaining crew had to make the hard choice to leave his body behind. Turns out he wasn't dead.

The story followed him through surviving on the planet. The next arrival wasn't scheduled for four years, and he had supplies for an intended 30 day mission.

The story was really interesting. Loved the science, loved the character. But, as the story continued on, the science and math seemed to take over the book. Page after page (sometimes 4-5 pages), of the math of him calculating things. zzzzz

All in all I enjoyed it though, and I'd recommend it, even if (like me) you might end up skimming a few pages now and then.

Funny thing: Once I finished the book, I checked out the movie trailer. The voice I heard in my head for the main character EXACTLY matched the actor playing him. Had I heard the trailer before and somehow remembered it without realizing it? Or did they just do that good of a job matching him to it?


Hope for a Buffalo by Charlie Richards
Traditional or self-published: Traditional (shockingly)
Rating: Hated (Hated-Disliked-Okay-Liked-Loved)



This was such a bad book. It's part of a series of books, one of which I had reviewed some years back. I have no idea why there was still one on my Kindle.

In the story, the world has a bunch of secret "shifters" (were-animals). Almost all of them are big buff gay men. The story's world does that "if you meet someone's eyes, you know instantly if they're your soulmate" thing, which I hate so much. Feels so cheap and easy and UGH.

The writing was so so so bad (how was this not self-published?). Ugh, the whole thing was just so awful.
I stopped reading at 12%.

Partial book credits:
Point reached in this book: 12%
Previous abandoned book total: 88%
New total: 100%

Currently reading: The Boy at the End of the World. Oddly Amazon says it's for readers 10-14 years old. I wouldn't have guessed that. The story is good, writing is great, worldbuilding is really nice.

Comments

[twissie.livejournal.com]

I haven't read The Martian, but I saw the film and enjoyed it a whole lot. Everyone who's read the book seems to complain about all the math in it.... I think for me this is one of the cars where the film might be better than the book.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I want to see the movie now. Based on the trailer, it looks a little different, but still really enjoyable. And like you said, perhaps better!

[twissie.livejournal.com]

"the cars", that's what I get for typing on my phone while on the train. Haha

Yeah, please see the film. It would be fun to see your comparison of book and film.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I understood. :) I'll post again once I do get to see it! Just have to hunt a copy down...

[resonant.livejournal.com]

And engineers wish that there was MORE math in it!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I can believe that!

[twissie.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, that figures!

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

I am glad you liked the Martian! I can't follow all the math either(illustration major, ahaha), but really enjoyed the story anyway. I guess a lot of the science is outdated already since they did find water on Mars.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh huh! I hadn't thought about it becoming outdated, but that makes complete sense.

[xxmadsenxx.livejournal.com]

Hey, I read The Martian last year! It was interesting.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Agreed, it really was!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

'The Martian' is one of those rare cases where I think the movie actually works a bit better than the book. I am a big fan of Michael Crichton and it felt like that kind of story to me - the mix of science fact and science fiction together in a perfect blend. But the movie is a lot of fun, lots of scenes are word for word, but seeing the science makes it easier to understand and stay engaged, at least for me.

Wish that Artemis had been as good. :|

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, agreed. I liked the Jurassic Park book, but I LOVED the movie.

I need to hunt down the movie and make time to watch it. I caught up with a grand total of two half-hour eps this weekend... out of many shows I follow.

[jeane nevarez (from livejournal.com)]

Now I want to read The Martian more than ever.
The other book, I'd never even pick that up going by the cover.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeeep, I can strongly recommend staying away from the buffalo one. Hope you enjoy The Martian though! :)