From the Bookshelf of Puzzles Presents: Ultimate Reading Challenge 2015…

The Martian

Andy Weir

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Mar 10, 2015 Christina rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Update July 10th, 2025 - Brown Bag Book Club July 2024. Still excellent! I listened to the updated Wil Wheaton audiobook (only a small part of my soul died purchasing an audible exclusive) and it was awesome.

Wow. Alrighty, full disclosure: there's a lot of math and science in this book. But it pays off, trust me, I'll explain.

1 star - This audio narrator was awesome. I can see why it won an award. At first, I wasn't digging him, but pretty shortly after his narration really brought Mark to li Update July 10th, 2025 - Brown Bag Book Club July 2024. Still excellent! I listened to the updated Wil Wheaton audiobook (only a small part of my soul died purchasing an audible exclusive) and it was awesome.

Wow. Alrighty, full disclosure: there's a lot of math and science in this book. But it pays off, trust me, I'll explain.

1 star - This audio narrator was awesome. I can see why it won an award. At first, I wasn't digging him, but pretty shortly after his narration really brought Mark to life as well as many other diverse characters. (Also aided by the author's writing of course).

2 stars - This is pure SciFi. It felt very real and original, and at every point I was thoroughly invested in what was happening on Mars and Earth. That's important for SciFi, when things feel really we, as readers, become immersed- and that's a great feeling.

3 stars - I'm a sucker for journal entries. I think its such a personal way to tell a story, but it can be done right (just as it can be done wrong). In this case, it was done really right. It was not only a way to make things personal, to make us attached to Mark, but it was also a tool to get us into the mindset of Life on Mars (hehehe, Bowie was in my head the whole time! About as much as the BeeGees- come to think of it...seriously, that's the soundtrack to pair this read with.) And the cool part was that mark's personality rea;;y came through in the journal logs.

4 & 5 stars - Originally, I was thinking of giving this a 4 star review, not because anything was bad, but this book contains some tough SciFi elements. As I mentioned above, there's a lot of math and science to this text. I'm talking mathematical engineering figures, botany lessons (which were nifty), and some other factors. On the one hand, the science can bog the reader down. Or, in my case, cause them to tune out occasionally because there are so many figures to listen to. However, Andy Weir did something interesting- he fused his story with a lot of humour. Mark is conscious of what he's writing and sometimes jokes that he's doing too much thinking or needs to sleep before he can ~~grow a couple hundred potatoes~~ . And that really helps, to be able to balance science with being human (which comes with laughs, frustrations, rantings, etc.) is pretty important. ...more

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Jan 02, 2015 Ben rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015-bookshelf

100% recommend this book for readers who like thrillers, science, astronomy, humor... It's a truly astonishing and exciting novel. This is quite possibly my favorite read of the year! ...more

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Nov 19, 2014 Katherine rated it it was amazing

Shelves: adult-fiction

Aug 18, 2019 Becky Vance rated it really liked it

Jun 09, 2015 Tracy rated it really liked it

Oct 04, 2015 Christine rated it it was amazing

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