Reddit reviews The Martian: A Novel
We found 47 Reddit comments about The Martian: A Novel. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Reddit reviews The Martian: A NovelWe found 47 Reddit comments about The Martian: A Novel. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Check out "The Martian" by Andy Weir! It's a phenomenal novel about what would happen if we had missions to Mars in the near future....... And what would happen if someone got left behind.
Read The Martian it is surprisingly accurate and super entertaining.
Might want an EVA suit. Also, good like starting a fire in near vacuum. :D
Also, if you're feeling the Mars vibe, read this book.
I spotted this image from NASA website when I searched "are there sandstorms on Mars" after reading The Martian by Andy Weir. That NASA article was written in 2015 and updated in 2017.
However I did a reverse search with that photo, and yes it seems to date back all the way to 2011.
Please read The Martian by Andy Weir.
This guy is faced with impossible odds and complete loneliness. The situation would have left me totally crushed. In the face of near certain death his attitude and work ethic are truly inspiring.
Literally the whole of Earth unites in an effort to save him. It's humorous, cathartic, inspiring, and a smooth read.
As soon as you've finished you'll think of someone you know that needs to read this book.
Edit: silly grammars.
For anyone who would like to know, the following books I've read are my favorite and I'd really recommend them to anyone: The Martian by Andy Weir, Gerald's Game by Stephen King, The Panther by Nelson DeMille, Unflinching by Jodi Mitic, American Sniper by Chris Kyle, and Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
EDIT: Oh, and Blackwater - The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill.
EDDIT 2: Oh, and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card which is so much better than the movie. The movie does not do this novel justice. And Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly.
The aspects of Clarke's style that you seem to enjoy really shine in the short story format. You said you've read everything, does that include his short fiction? There's a great anthology which collects them all.
Asimov was also great at writing short fiction, and I like this collection of his works.
Many of the stories curated in those anthologies were published 50 or so years ago in weekly/monthly science fiction magazines, you might see if any one has created 'best of science fiction weekly' collections.
Tor publishes short fiction for free on its website regularly. It's fairly hit or miss, but it's a good way to window shop authors.
A novel you might enjoy is Leviathan Wakes. It's a hard sci-fi novel in which humanity has colonized Mars and the Asteroid Belt. At this point all have their own unique cultures because it takes so long to travel between them. Not a lot of character development, which you don't seem to be into anyway, just fun ride in a cool setting. First in a series, but I haven't read the sequels yet so I can't comment on those.
You also might like The Martian, by Andy Weir. An astronaut is stranded by himself on Mars and has to survive. Weir wrote a short story called "The Egg" which gets posted to reddit on a regular basis.
If we start our experiment when Earth and Mars are at their most distant points (i.e. 180^o out of phase around the sun) from each other, very little will ever happen. Our rope will go slack and float in space for the rest of the planets' orbits, and will be pulled taught again whenever they're very far apart. You might get some cool wave motion along the length of the rope as it flops around in zero-g.
But that's pretty boring. If we instead start our mad experiment when Earth and Mars are not at their most distant points from each other, bad things are going to happen. In all likelihood, the rope would snap. But that's also pretty boring, and I'm guessing this isn't the answer you want.
Let's assume the rope is made of some magical material which can withstand any amount of tension without stretching or breaking, but somehow still behaves like a rope when not under tension. So it's completely immune to the effects of stress and strain, except when we need it to act like a rope. Wonder Woman's magical lasso might have us covered here.
Eventually, Mars and Earth are going to want to get farther apart than our rope wants to allow. Keeping them connected is going to require decellerating one planet and accelerating the other (in inverse proportion to their masses, since F=ma must be the same for both). Now we run into the issue that it takes a lot of force to accelerate a planet. The rope has to provide this force, and it's providing it over a relatively small area of each planet's surface. Planets don't like that^[citation ^needed] . Since we've required that our rope can't break, Earth and Mars soon will. The rope will begin cutting through both planets until it frees itself from one and remains embedded in the other. The pressure exerted on Mars' surface will be about twice as high as the pressure exerted on Earth's, and Mars is half as thick, so I'd wager Mars would be cut in half long before the rope reached Earth's core.
But that's only slightly less boring than the rope snapping. Yes, I just called "cutting Mars in half" boring. Let's make Earth and Mars infinitely durable like our rope. The various mining industries on Earth and the budding potato farming industry on Mars will likely be displeased by this, but we'll carry on without them.
Now's where I have to speculate a bit. Earth and Mars' orbits are now a coupled system. By necessity, they will now orbit at a common radius, and I think they'll likely end up like a pair of moons that co-orbit each other while orbiting the sun as a pair. Thanks to energy conservation, we can calculate the average radius of this new orbit. I got 1.035 AU, which is only 3.5% further from the sun than Earth already is. The combination of Earth being much more massive than mars and closer to the sun means that Earth is heavily favored in the gravitational binding energy equation. Earth's moon will remain gravitationally bound to this new system, but I'm pretty sure Deimos and Phobos will be left behind to co-orbit the sun and each other at pretty much the radius of Mars' original orbit (assuming neither of them slams into Mars while it travels inwards).
The three-body system of Mars, Earth, and the Moon, will almost certainly be unstable, so at least two of these bodies should expect a catastrophic impact in their near future. Fortunately, we already made Mars and Earth invincible to get here, so only the secret Nazi colony on the dark side of the Moon has to worry.
Not in any particular order.
The Martian is VERY mathematical, and awesome. Ive recommended it to 6 friends and they each read it in 48 hours. Seriously, check this out - http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA
If these are the type of things you think about, you will love The Martian by Andy Weir.
I think everyone wants to like the idea of what Gravity is - SurvivorMan in space.
If you want that, but in a more technical and hard sci-fi kinda way I have got to recommend you read the Martian by Andy Weir. Really very well done!
This is from 2014, but it's being made into a 2015 movie.
The Martian
>Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
>Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.
Andy Weir's The Martian largely follows a single character fighting against the Martian environment and I think provides proof that Man vs Nature can carry the bulk of the story.
You've provided your characters with a near-earth planet, so put yourself in the meanest mindset possible and set up the environment so that it lashes out at the colonists at every opportunity. Differently mirrored amino acids of the wildlife that makes eating it toxic. Diseases that spread through vectors never before encountered on Earth. Random geologic processes that release lethal gasses onto the surface.
Unforeseen environmental interactions would be good tools to create problems. Rhea's high altitude trees could actually be megacolonies of coral-like fungi that have adapted to consume the rock and reproduce by releasing spores during the storms. These spores could have a protective razor-tipped shell that is shaped to catch the wind such that they will either 1) Be driven into virgin rock to grow new megacolonies or 2) Rain down as razor storms on the land below.
In short: Rhea should be a harsh mistress.
Yeah. It was good, but triple crown good?
Popular sci-fi seems to have generally gone the way of social. Everything is all about the social implications of technology, rather than the technology itself.
Personally, I would have liked to see The Martian be nominated and win, but I'm a hard sci-fi kind of guy. (Does the fact that Andy Weir is/was self-published work against him?)
Lately I've been listening to the audiobook of "The Martian". It works great while flying, not so great while designing. It's difficult to make something spaceworthy in RSS while simultaneously concentrating on a book.
When designing in the VAB I prefer to have some game or series soundtrack running. Favorites include but are not limited to Xenosaga, Nagi no Asukara and Kara no Kyoukai.
The Martian by Andy Weir.
Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy chronicles the terraforming of Mars.
If you haven't read The Martian, you should. It's basically MacGyver meets Apollo 13 on Mars, and it's fantastic.
That's already a thing. A quite good thing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EMXBDMA?ie=UTF8&redirectFromSS=1&pc_redir=T1&noEncodingTag=1&fp=1
Just finished [The Martian] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA) by Andy Weir, it's a phenomenal book that is essentially space MacGyver. It puts the hilarious main character alone on mars for an extended period of time, and explores how one might survive if stranded on mars.
I've been embracing my non-student status and reading for pleasure once again for the past two years. Finally got caught up on the years of Michael Connelly I'd missed, and I just finished up The Martian.
I did just start Ghettoside, which is my first toe into non-fictional waters in quite some time.
Pretty soon I'll get to start studying for licensure . . .
I'm with you and to keep your mind off drinking I highly recommend this book. Simply awesome.
The audio version is available too and the narrator is great. I got in to talking books in early sobriety when my mind was racing and found it hard to concentrate.
Never been there, but I recently read a great book about living on Mars. Seriously, pick up a copy.
I actually bought this book off of Audible. I can't recommend it enough. For me, it's one of the best books ever written. In case anyone's interested, it's also coming out in hardcover tomorrow (October 15th).
I don't just go about randomly recommending books, but anyone that reads this comment, please, read this book.
It is one of the best things I have ever read. I finished it in one 10 hour sitting the first time. Also, the audiobook is very good.
I love listening to audiobooks while sanding and finishing projects.
I just read The Martian by Andy Weir. Follows the story of a stranded astronaut on Mars, from the point of view of his journal. Funny, intense, and smart.
Oh, well now I feel silly. I thought you were quoting The Martian but I guess they were quoting Apollo 13 too.
What's up?
Started reading/listening to The Martian. It's wicked funny and filled with enough F-Bombs to make a sailor nervous. Has anyone else read this?
It's a lot more realistic science fiction (similar to The Martian) than a lot of books that I've read and, like Heinlein, explores some social issues / what ifs. That's kind of vague... but it's so good I don't want to go into too much detail and ruin it
When I saw "Sol 585" I instantly thought about the Martian. Amazing book. http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA
Check out this book. It's great!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00EMXBDMA?pc_redir=1404990704&robot_redir=1
Non-mobile: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EMXBDMA?ie=UTF8&redirectFromSS=1&pc_redir=T1&noEncodingTag=1&fp=1
^That's ^why ^I'm ^here, ^I ^don't ^judge ^you. ^PM ^/u/xl0 ^if ^I'm ^causing ^any ^trouble. ^WUT?
I'm currently reading "The Martian" by Andy Weir:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA
Reminds me of hatchet in a way, which takes me back to being a kid.
Andy is a great writer, I really enjoys his work. I have already pre-ordered my hardback copy of The Martian. he did an AMA a little over a year ago.
also, as you can tell from the "other discussions" tab, this story gets submitted a lot (not that I am complaining, and excuse to re-read it is good enough for me).
What I did was I started looking at short story collections. A short story lets you see how an author writes without needing to read an entire book of theirs. I have two favorite short story collection "series".
Dark Beyond the Stars, which is a Sci-fi, space opera collection. There are other Beyond the Stars books as well if you liked the first.
And Samuel Peralta's The Future Chronicles. The Future chronicles typically does some sort of sci-fi, but there are others as well. The great part about The Future Chronicles, is that you get to pick your flavor. In the mood for alternate history? Pick Alt. History 101, in the mood for spaceships and star ships? Pick The Galaxy Chronicles. In the mood for time travel? Pick the Time Travel Chronicles, ect.
Also, The Martian is a fantastic book. As well as xkcd's What if? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions.
Try Ready Player One. It's about a world that's become obsessed with this virtual game, but there's a conspiracy and an interesting dynamic between online personas and real life. If you like audiobooks, Wil Wheaton narrates. (BONUS! The ebook is on sale for $2.80!) and if you have any passing interest in SF, definitely read The Martian. It has math in it AND I DIDN'T EVEN CARE IT WAS THAT GOOD. Basically, an astronaut gets left behind on a mission to Mars and must survive on his own...
[The Martian] (http://www.amazon.com/Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417752082&sr=1-1&keywords=the+martian)
This is currently the top seller on amazon. It sounds like it has an apollo 13, survival feel to it.
The Egg is such a great story. It's not by Stephen King, though - it's by Andy Weir, who also wrote the excellent, excellent book The Martian
Hi ID10TU53R,
You should have fun wit any of these:
Pines by Blake Crouch - A secret service agent finds himself in a strange mountain town. A mix of Twin Peaks, The Fugitive, and The Twilight Zone.
11/22/63 by Stephen King - A high school teacher finds a portal to the past and tries to prevent the JFK assassination.
The Girl With All The Gifts A teacher tries to tame infected children in the zombie apocalypse.
The Martian by Andy Weir - The story of an astronaut stranded on Mars. Feels a lot like Apollo 13 or Gravity.
The Dinosaur Four by Geoff Jones (me) - A b-movie time-travel thriller about ten people trapped in the Cretaceous.
Best,
Geoff Jones
Author of The Dinosaur Four
The Martian has been getting rave reviews and has me deeply intrigued!
From Amazon: "Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there."
The Kindle edition is $9.99
In case you don't have a kindle, [Into the Darkest Corner] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062239422/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2PIVS4L8SLPH9&coliid=I613ZEGVLIXOO) is another one that's been on my goodreads "to read" list for a while based on multiple recommendations.
For me, I would like to see The Martian made into a movie. It's an awesome story of a manned mission to Mars where some one gets left behind. The opening line is "Well, I'm fucked."
Haven't heard of it will do, good timing as I am just about to finish a book tonight [The Martian] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA) a really fun read.
I'm just gonna leave this here. One of the best books I've read this year.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Martian-Novel-Andy-Weir-ebook/dp/B00EMXBDMA
Great book. I actually picked it up back when the author made it available digitally for free. So psyched that he finally got it published this year AND it got optioned for a movie (fingers crossed). Brilliant, well-researched, and funny! I would encourage anyone to buy a copy.
Where do sheep go to get haircuts?
At the baa-baa shop.
I hear so many good things about this book.
Re: Mars
If you've not taken the time to read The Martian by Andy Weir, do it. Now. I mean right now.
It's fantastic, beginning to end. You can read the first chapter at the author's website, and it should hook you instantly.
The audio book version, read by R.C. Bray, is fantastic. There is a movie version coming in November staring Matt Damon, directed by Ridley Scott.
One of my favorite books I've read as of late. Accurate, fun, harrowing, interesting, and just technical enough to make it feel entirely real beginning to end.
Weir's talk at Google about the novel goes into depth about it; he actually researched and wrote programs to help him keep the book as accurate and realistic as possible.