Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Martian by Andy Weir

5 Stars
 
Hmmmmmmm . . . how to best describe what The Martian is about . . .



Naaaaaah, not really. The best way I can think to explain it is if



and

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had a delightful little mutant baby – you might end up with something along the lines of this novel.

(Sidenote: It was surprisingly difficult to find a RocketMan gif. Apparently the interwebs are full of people who prefer making mini-clips of Harland Williams dressed as a chick or smoking the Mary Jane rather than farting in a space suit. Go figure.)

(Additional sidenote: On the other hand, it was remarkably EASY to find this little rendition of Rocket Man via Google:


Nerds – you complete me).

This is the story of astronaut Mark Watney who, when believed by his fellow crewmates to be dead, was left alone on Mars. Now it appears it will take a village miracle to bring him home alive. Follow mission control as they concoct plan (after plan) to save Mark from the Red Planet.



Follow Mark and his never-say-die attitude as he overcomes one life-threatening obstacle after another. Laugh out loud at his log entries and at the high quality “entertainment” he has at his disposal. Things like disco music



and 1970s television shows – both comedies



and action programs


(Okay, okay – I know this is from the 2005 movie remake and not the original "Dukes of Hazzard" television series, but I believe any excuse to use Burt Reynolds in a review is a valid one.)

I realize with my gif-filled reviews and profanity laced status updates, you probably all believed me to be a Mensa member. I hate to burst the bubble, but sadly that is not the case. I don’t spend my free time brushing up on my ASCII skills. Nope, when I’m not reading I generally choose to vegetate with the “Real Househoes of [Enter City of Choice]” or “Cougartown” re-runs. That being said, I really should have been in over my head upon opening up The Martian. I mean, it’s by a guy who became a programmer for a national laboratory when he was 15 YEARS OLD and chooses things like relativistic physics and orbital mechanics as his hobbies. We are clearly not cut from the same cloth. Yet somehow Weir was able to write a book that maintained just the right level of supergeekery, told by my favorite main character so far this year.

To borrow the immortal words of Jim Lovell (Apollo 13) – “[Mr. Watney] it’s been a privilege flying with you.”

Recommended to: Nerds of all shapes, sizes, color and creed!

One final request before I sign off. Should I ever become trapped in outer space, please do me one solid . . .


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