The Martian: Book Review

THIS BOOK BLEW ME AWAY. At first, I didn't like the tone or the journal style of writing, but then I quickly became completely absorbed by this book. Seriously, I finished it in less than 2 days with a full-time job. 

This book has EVERYTHING. Well, almost everything. But it has everything I wanted. It had a survival story. It had a few nerdy references. It had humor. It had suspense. It had ingenuity. It was extremely well-written, and it captures you within a few chapters. Mark, the main character, is a very likable character, and the fact that he's extremely smart and resourceful doesn't hurt either. It's not that being a likable character should affect the story or my opinion about it, but you have to root for the character to survive. A fun survival story with an annoying character would not have had nearly the same effect. 

I am coming at this book with a Communications & Journalism degree, so the math could have been seriously wrong and I wouldn't have noticed. However, based on people's reviews, it seems like that math/science is correct (for the most part), so that's great. And there is A LOT of science in this book. The story is about an astronaut using science and math to stay alive on Mars with limited resources, so you have to expect some scientific explanations or quick math equations. 

 At first, there was a slight patronizing tone, for example: "The solar cell array was covered in sand, rendering it useless (hint: solar cells need sunlight to make electricity)." The fact that the book assumed I didn't know solar cells created energy made me angry, but it could've been a sarcastic comment. It was also one of the very few cases of it that I found. Other times, when he mentioned a previous detail, it was a complex and scientific aspect that I would have forgotten.

Did I mention the humor? This book was so funny! The snarky remarks, the silly comments, the self-deprecating humor... it made this book. Well, sort of. The suspense and storyline are also extremely well-done, but we'll get to that. I read a review on Goodreads that some people agreed with, and it was along the lines of how they found the comments dumb and not funny. They also made a reference to a comment Mark made, something about a rover getting a Scooby Snack. I kept my eyes peeled the entire book for that reference, and I though the reviewer was a liar until I found it with 50 pages left in the book. Sheesh. 
I didn't find that comment to be annoying or dumb. I found Mark's humor to be sarcastic and self-deprecating, two of my favorite types (besides puns or dry remarks). I have a sarcastic mechanical engineering friend whom I could see making these comments if he were in this situation, and reading those lines in his voice were hilarious. I don't think I can explain the humor, so I'll just leave a couple of the best here:
--"One thing I have in abundance here are bags. They're not much different from kitchen trash bags, though I'm sure they cost $50,000 because of NASA."
--"There are four different safety interlocks that prevent the regulator from letting the Hab's oxygen content get too low. But they're designed to work against technical faults, not deliberate sabotage (bwa ha ha!)"
--"'What must it be like?' he pondered. 'He's stuck out there. He thinks he's totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man's psychology?'
He turned back to Venkat. 'I wonder what he's thinking about right now.'
[next page] LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They're mammals! Makes no sense."
--"I used a sophisticated method to remove sections of plastic (hammer), then carefully removed the solid foam insulation (hammer again)."

I could continue, but I don't want to remove the surprise from ALL the jokes. Also, this is not a joke-a-minute book. There's a lot of other stuff in this book, but it has enough humor to lighten the tone, and endears you to this tenacious underdog. Without the humor, this book could become like The Road, a depressing slog about one's impending doom. Fear not, dear reader. This book is nothing like that. 

The suspense in this book was incredible. Andy Weir has his pacing down. It's not like Gravity, where one really bad event leads to a more life-threatening event at a constant pace until you feel like the universe has a deliberate vendetta against Sandra Bullock. It's more random and sparse than that- just when things start looking good for Mark Watney, Mars throws him another curve ball. But he adjusts, and either he or NASA figures out a solution. Then another problem will arise. However, it's not a constant barrage of bad luck, more like a series of unfortunate events (I had to) spaced out at random intervals, with varying levels of danger and possibilities for fixing. And the situations seem rather plausible. I mean, I've never been to space, but I think I can accurately judge the plausibility of Mars situations... 

Gravity and The Martian have nothing in common. Except for space. And NASA. And Astronauts. And...

My favorite book of 2014. I'm calling it. That is, unless I read some other spectacular, absorbing, fun and mind-blowing novel in the next 5 months.

A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Just Don't Panic

Thank God I have WiFi so I can update this blog post about sci-fi!

Was that too forced? Yeah, I thought so, too. But it is true, if it is corny. Speaking of sci-fi and humor, it’s time to review a book! This week: Douglas Adams’ A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy!

I realize that it has been around for a long time, what with being published in 1979 and all, but I only got around to reading it a month or so ago. And now that I have read it, I don’t know what took me so long to start reading it! It made me laugh out loud, and the plot and characters were interesting and compelling enough to keep me hooked. To get the humor, I would have to say you have to like slightly sarcastic, very silly, and at times dry British wit. As I mention later, if you like Doctor Who or Monty Python (or if you have good taste, you like them both), you would like this 5 book series.

I found I was pleasantly surprised by how the book moved along and didn't know much about it beforehand, so I would recommend just closing out of this web page, getting your hands on the nearest copy of this book and digging in. It’s not that long of a read, anyway! I really don’t want to ruin anything for you. Or you could just let me spoil the unadulterated joy of reading something unique and completely new fiction. It’s your choice.

Have you read it yet? Or do you need your interest piqued a bit more?

Ugh. FINE. I’LL LET YOU INTO SOME OF MY INSIGHTS. But don’t say I didn't warn you. Er, recommend to you. You know what  I mean.

Arthur Dent, a middle-aged British man is dragged on an interstellar adventure by his eccentric friend, Ford Prefect. They meet up with Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trisha Macmillian(the only other Earthling) and travel through a series of hilarious hi-jinks that lead to the ultimate question: What is the meaning of life?

If the names above don’t put you off (and you haven’t even read the names of other planets, races and alien characters), then strap in for a hilarious and ever twisting ride, because there isn't really any other way to describe it. It’s like Monty Python and Doctor Who in book form with a character resembling any other character played by Martin Freeman, who usually plays a slightly annoyed guy who gets dragged into adventures over and over in different genres, and for that reason is cast as Arthur Dent in the movie.

To be fair, he plays that role REALLY well. 

I could try to separate the plot and the humor, but they just go hand in hand so well together! For starters, the whole thing starts off with Arthur’s house being torn down to make way for a new highway. Then the Earth is destroyed to make way for an inter-galactic highway system; oh, the irony. That’s exactly the kind of thing Douglas Adams does in his book: he mercilessly pokes fun at anything and everything. It’s honestly some of the most brilliant stuff out there! A depressed robot? People being tortured by having to listen to some awful poetry? The answer to the meaning of life being 42? Totally brilliant! I mean, who thinks of this stuff? He is truly inspired.

I think my favorite part was when they have the Answer to the meaning of life, but now they have to find the Question to the Answer, and as it turns out, the Earth was the final computer to calculate the Question, and it was just moments away from discovering the Question before it was destroyed to make a hyperspace bypass. Amazing.

Don’t even get me started on the infinite improbability drive! Just bloody brilliant.

I have been reduced to fragments and incomplete clauses, that’s just how great this book is. I can’t even- I just can’t describe it to you. You’ll just have to take my word for it and read this hilarious and intriguing book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in bookstores since 1979.

Edit: I've just seen the movie, and maybe it was just me, but I wasn't very impressed. I think it’s just one of those things that your imagination can get perfectly, but there isn't yet a way to get that onto the screen just right. 

Space Cowboys

When someone tells me I need to watch or listen to something, I usually resist until I discover that thing on my own. For some odd reason, I don't immediately listen to people's suggestions, yet I get frustrated when I suggest things to people and they don't immediately take me up on it. I'm weird.

But this isn't about me (ha ha procrastination), it's about space cowboys. Hence the title.

"But there aren't any cows in space!" you might say, or even "Have you seen Cowboys and Aliens? Not a good movie." To the first sentence, I say... um... there isn't enough conclusive evidence. To the second, I would have to admit that I haven't, but I really wanted to, and even if you say it's not a great movie, I'm probably going to watch it sometime anyway without high expectations.

Look at all those attractive people representing 3 different ethnicities. 

I am referring to the magnificent show, Firefly. And before I get a backlash of people saying that show has been all over the internet and has been out since 2002 and what am I doing with my life, I would like to counter with- WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT????

[peeks out] Are they gone? Who's left? Only you? Excuse me while I heave a deep sigh and look exasperated. Alright, you'll have to do. As I was saying, I know the show has been out for a while, but to be fair, I wasn't properly introduced to the internet until 2010 or 2011! I know! Yeah, I had been one of those kids who watch Homestar Runner (if you haven't already seen any of this, I recommend you do if you like the internet in general, but then again, maybe you won't. I don't know you! It may also still be funny to me because I watched it when I was younger and have that nostalgic tie to it. You never know.) and watched Youtube occasionally, but my senior year of high school I was introduced to DeviantArt and then my freshman year of college, I was introduced to... the REST of the internet. Well, the go-able places. I have yet to visit the underbelly of the internet, like 4Chan, but that's something I plan to put off as LONG as possible. [shudder]


So excuse me while I rant and rave about Firefly because I watched the entire show (not difficult since there was only one season of 14 episodes, CURSE YOU JOSS WHEDON! It's ok, I still love you for the Avengers) and the follow up movie, Serenity.


Space. Cowboys. What a brilliant idea. I know the movie Cowboys vs. Aliens wasn't so good, but the concept is great! I'm all for mixing things to that respect; my mom can't stand anachronisms, so watching Moulin Rouge with her (modern songs sung in the 1900's really pushed her buttons), but I love that they can have the best (and worst) of the past and future. My father also loves Western movies, like the Magnificent 7, Tombstone, Silverado, any movie with John Wayne. Personally, I draw the line at John Wayne (I don't think he's THAT good of an actor), but I, too, like Westerns. I also like space and sci-fi, so this is the perfect marriage of space and the West.

ESPECIALLY the Wild Wild West. Go on Will Smith, get jiggy with it!

Now let's talk more specifically about the characters. Silly Wash, flippant/handsome/headstrong smuggler Malcolm Reynolds, the kickass take-no-crap-from-anyone Zoe, the sweet and loveable Kaylee, the crazy and unintelligent Jayne, the beautiful Inara, the wise Shephard Book, the handsome/unflappable/proper Simon and his crazy and slightly morbid sister, River. All these different characters means everyone can pick their favorite! I don't know who my favorite is; I love them all and the interactions between them, but I think a better representation of good writing is that I don't hate any of them; I enjoy them all for different reasons, and depending on the episode, I love some more than others. River kind of annoyed me at first because she couldn't keep it together, but she's grown on me.

I also love the writing; the jobs they pull, the subtle relationships between characters and thankfully, the lack of love triangles. If I see one more show with a love triangle as the main plot point, I will go to Hollywood just to strangle some writers. I think it's great that they sometimes mumble in Chinese; a lot of people may not know about the very large Asian community that settled in the West. And the one-liners, how those lines fill me with joy. There's even an entire video dedicated to the best Firefly quotes!

I should also put in that I am not a big "drama fan", and not in the sense of those annoying girls who complain that they just HATE drama, but then they start talking behind their friend's back the next possible opportunity. I mean I hate drama in the sense that I actually hate drama. I hate it when my friends are mad at each other, I don't like when people blow things out of proportion, I really don't like conflict and I despise shows that thrive on drama, such as soap operas, the last few seasons of Alias, Gossip Girl, CBS dramas etc. That being said, it's a good guess that I'm a bigger fan of adventure and comedy, for instance, light hearted shows about people who have adventures and get into shenanigans while they crack jokes and each episode usually ends happily. Hence the reason I love Doctor Who and another guilty pleasure was the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Not the movie. I've never seen the movie, nor do I plan to.

So that's me, being the Slowpoke meme. I'll let this picture say 1,000 late words for me.