Book Review: The Martian

Hello Enthusiasts,

There are few things that I love as much as when you expect a book to be okay and get completely blown away with how good it is. This has happened to me a handful of times, and some of those instances have been reviews that I have posted on this very blog. Today, I get to add another one to that list as I review the Andy Weir novel The Martian. Now if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, I give you full warning that there will be some Spoilers Below.

The book follows astronaut Mark Watney, who is stranded by his crew on Mars as they are evacuating the planet. The crew leaves him there due to some very compelling evidence that he is killed during a sandstorm. However, Mark lived through the ordeal and made it back to the crew's base on Mars. Now he has to figure out how to survive until the next mission in four years, or communicate with Earth. It will take every skill he has to live in a world that constantly seems to be fighting against him.

So a lot of this story is told from the perspective of Mark's journal on Mars. He writes what's happening here in part as a way to keep his sanity, though he says that it's because he wants there to be something to find if he dies. There are a few areas that break from this format, mostly when the audience is brought back to NASA to read about the people on Earth working on a solution to bring Mark hime. The journal style of telling the story is great in terms of the exposition, because it makes sense that Mark has to explain all of the science around what he's doing. Trust me when I say you'll likely need the explanations for some of this, as there is a lot of science in this book. Mark was both the repairman and the botanist for the mission, so he has to use this knowledge and resources at his disposal in order to survive.

There is a lot to love about this book. While the story takes place a bit in the future, none of the science is unbelievable. The author takes the time to go into detail about why this technology works, why it's included on the missions, what the backup systems are, everything that could really cause a plothole. Because so much is explained so thoroughly, I was able to give a pass to the jumps in technology and the idea that NASA would have a large enough budget to allow so much innovation in space travel. Mark is also a very likable character; he's very smart about a few subjects, but he's not flawless. He makes mistakes despite his best intentions and plans. Mark is also incredibly relatable; he likes to make jokes, he loses his temper, he panics, he gets cocky, etc. Really, all of the characters are well-developed and none of them are written as an antagonist or anything. Even the characters at NASA that don't agree with the plan that is chosen to save Mark have good, legitimate reasons for what they do. Nobody is a villain, it's very much a "man vs. nature" story.

There isn't too much to complain about with this book. One of my only issues with this book was that so much of the story was told in from the perspective of journal entries. Even though it was still an awesome read and I like this form of story telling, it did make the story a little less suspenseful, as I knew he Mark was obviously okay since he was writing another entry. The book does try to work around that a little, since the journal is being recorded with the idea that it's there in case Mark doesn't survive. The only other thing I wanted from this book would have been an epilogue, as the story just ends once the problems are all resolved. I think this is the only thing that the movie did better than the book.

This is overall a great book for anyone looking a for hard-science fiction. Everything seems believable and, despite all of the science, it's an easy book to knock out over the course of a couple of days. It may not be for everyone, especially those who are looking for a story with a villain or those who just aren't fans of science fiction. With that being said, if you're not opposed to the very idea of this book, it's a solid recommend for me.

I give The Martian a 9 out of 10.

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast

5 Podcasts to Listen to

Hello Enthusiasts,

I spend a whole lot of time driving for my job, and the radio can't always be trusted to have anything good. It was with this mindset that I dove into the world of podcasts to find some that I may enjoy. I have found some that do not suit me at all, and others that become a highlight within the week for me. With that being said, I wanted to share my findings with you all, so below you will find my 5 podcast recommendations. These aren't necessarily the top 5 podcasts out there, just ones that I enjoy most out of what I've listened to thus far.

1. Myths and Legends

This is a podcast that tells some unknown stories of lore, and some well known ones that time forgot some of the details to. The stories are narrated by Jason Weiser, who has a relatable manner of speaking and isn't just reading the text. Instead, he has the characters of the tales speak as people today would in order to add some humor to the story and to reduce any confusion the listener may have. He does a great job of explaining back story and sometimes will go into what had been happening in the real world during the timeframe the story is set in. Now, admittedly, I am still fairly new to this series, so I haven't listened to the majority of it yet. However, everything I have heard is a  great listen, and I always love to learn more about these myths and legends.

2. Do Go On

Three Australian comedians, Dave Warneke, Jess Perkins, and Matt Stewart, present a different topic each week to each other and the listeners. They take turns in presenting these topics each week, and  the other two are unaware of what the topic is before the start of the show. Previous topics have included The Simpsons, the Challenger explosion, The History of Pantera, and the Mad Gasser of Mattoon. Their reports will often get off topic as the other two chime in, but it always gets brought back to the topic at some point so they can finish the report they put together. This is, hands down, my favorite podcast every week. I find myself laughing at every episode during the sidetracks, but I always come away with some new knowledge on the topic of the week. Some of the topics are things I am already familiar with, others are completely new to me when I start listening. The crew will also bring in guest reporters from time to time, which is always fun to listen to since these guests usually report on a topic that they are already passionate about. I cannot recommend this podcast enough, especially to those who enjoy taking a little longer to get through the story.

3. SinCast

Brought to you by the folks over at Cinemasins and Music Video Sins, this podcast involves these folks discussing movies in their own ways. This involves praise, nitpicking, ranting, and joking about both well-known and lesser known flicks. They will sometimes bring on special guests to discuss movies as well, and they are currently doing a "road trip" series, which involves choosing a state within the U.S. and discussing a bunch of movies set mostly or wholly in that state. I am really enjoying the road trip episodes, because it allows them to go over a ton of films in a short period of time. Some of them I'm familiar with, others I'm not, but it's always fun to hear what they have to say. I may not always agree with them, but that's entertainment, nothing is made for everyone. Still though, I recommend it for a listen, especially if you're already a fan of their Youtube channels.

4. The Weekly Planet

Are you looking for some red-hot comic book movie news shooting up your butthole? Well, the boys at the Weekly Planet will do their best to fill that need. James Clement (A.K.A Mr. Sunday Movies) and Nick Mason (A.K.A the #1 party boy) discuss movies and comics and T.V shows every week. They review the latest news in these worlds before moving onto a topic for the week. This might be a discussion on a new movie in the theater, a discussion about the history of a franchise, a list of different ultimatums that they can decide on, etc. They also take some time each episode for a segment on what they're reading/watching/playing called "What are we reading, what are we gonna read?", as well as a segment where they respond to some correspondence from their listeners called "Letters". The whole show is a great time every week, as these two Aussie boys are hilarious in their observations and story telling. Mason will often have recurring characters that he will act out for a moment or two, and James will have a segment every once in a while called "H8 mail but the hate has an 8 in it", which involves him reading incredibly negative comments that they have received. This podcast is a strong recommend from me, it was the first podcast that I really latched onto and it remains one of my favorites.

5. Wolverine: The Long Night

This podcast is a serial style story about a series of strange deaths in the small town of Burns, Alaska. Two special agents, Sally Pirece and Tod Marshall, are sent out to find out what's happening to these people. Along the way they discover a cult that is obsessed with the long night, and who partake in some questionable practices. All of this would be cool enough, but this story also features everyone's favorite loner-Canadian-mutant, Wolverine. Now I have currently only listened to the first three episodes of this story, none of which feature Wolverine heavily, though he is mentioned a several times and is a par t of the investigation. Still, the story is interesting and well executed, and this is the first scripted podcast from the folks at Marvel, so I am definitely going to keep listening.

So those are my recommends for podcasts. Do you have some of your own? Leave me a comment below!

Sincerely,

The Bored Enthusiast