The Book Thread

[Ionathus]

I enjoyed The Martian as well. I read Hatchet a dozen times growing up, and was always into "survival with the following tools" books, plus I love space and irreverent narration, so it hit all my weak points. That said, the writing was fairly one-note throughout the book, and I was much less invested in any of the drama or humor than I was in the fun survivalist MacGyvering. The book was at its best when it was leaning fully into the "Hatchet IN SPAAAAAACE" vibes. Yes I'm aware Castaway is a better comparison but have never seen it

I think it's one of the few books that doesn't just suit a movie adaptation -- it's improved by it. The film version cut out a ton of extra fluff that wasn't needed (looking at you "shorting out Pathfinder to cut him off from Earth again for cheap drama" and "oooh no there's a dust storm he doesn't know about, wait nevermind he caught on and now he's fine"), preserved the most exciting and clever science hacks, and gave us some great acting to sell the dialogue and narration. Matt Damon in particular did a killer job matching and even elevating the book's tone.

Plus, I still find it very fun indeed that The Martian is one of the few popular sci-fi books

Spoiler: The Martian

Show

where everybody lives.

Fun fact to your "believable" point: I think Weir has said that pretty much everything except the initial dust storm that kick starts the plot is actually grounded in modern (or near-future) science. It really is a feasible story from a science standpoint, which is wild. And the only discrepancy with the dust storm is that Mars's atmosphere is too thin to generate significant force, so it wouldn't have been able to tip the MAV or pick up the equipment that impales Watney.