I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah. I'm screwed.
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I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Earth. I'm in a Habitat designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah. I'm screwed.
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Good. All pages and cover are intact. Possible slightly loose binding, minor highlighting and marginalia, cocked spine or torn dust jacket. Maybe an ex-library copy and not include the accompanying CDs, access codes or other supplemental materials.
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Seller's Description:
Good. All pages and cover are intact. Possible slightly loose binding, minor highlighting and marginalia, cocked spine or torn dust jacket. Maybe an ex-library copy and not include the accompanying CDs, access codes or other supplemental materials.
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Good. Pages are clean with normal wear. May have limited markings &/or highlighting within pages &/or cover. Includes dustjacket, if applicable. May have some wear & creases on the cover. The spine may also have minor wear. Does not come with CD/DVD, if applicable. Access code has been used, if applicable. Does not come with any supplementary materials. Fast Shipping-Safe and Secure Packaging!
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Good. A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are solid. the cover is intact, but may show scuffs or light creases, as well as a possible rolled corner. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting, The former owner may have written their name inside the front or back cover. Unless otherwise explicitly stated here, there are codes or disks included with this purchase.
You might think that reading about a person living in a rover for 550 days could get boring, but no, this book was absolutely gripping. Watney was very resourceful, and the book does a good job of explaining the scientific approach to his problems. In a sense the book is a bunch of puzzles: this went wrong and how can it be fixed? The sense of tension remains high throughout the book because something always goes wrong, and when it does I always found myself rooting for Mark to pull through. Over all it was a very entertaining book.
oddjohn
Nov 4, 2015
blast off
Interesting novel, kept me involved from the start, ending was good, overall an excellent novel. enjoyed it immensely. thanks
Jim
Oct 22, 2015
Exciting Novel, But Get a Dictionary!
The Martian
If a non-sci fi buff sees that title, they may imagine Martians arriving to Earth to create problems or even remember an echo of a film with a similar premise - Robinson Crusoe on Mars - but not so!
First Words:
The book is written in a diary format for the first 300 pages or so, with occasional flashbacks for the reader to catch up. Mark Watley was left for dead during a terrific sandstorm while he and his crew abandoned the site and headed back to Earth.
Mark got very lucky. He is irascible, has quite the potty mouth and has a hatred for disco. With all that, it's admirable his fight to survive, every decision a matter of life or death, on a planet with below zero temperatures and an atmosphere that is extremely unbreathable.
Really liked this story. The break-down of his day to day was hilarious. "Today I f*cked up. Sh*t" runs throughout the book. Through Mark we meet his commanding officer Lewis, and his other NASA astronauts.
The remaining part of the book involves NASA as they prepare Mark's funeral, Commander Lewis chewing up the scenery as she depressingly realizes she's abandoned Mark to the Mars desert. And the media and world at large caught up in the story.
I think the best part of the book is Mark's attempt at making food. NASA left a few potatoes so they would have real rather than reconstituted food. He then mixes Martian dirt with his own, uhm, fertilizer, and has a regular farm in the "Hab."
Technology:
I was taken aback by a lot of the technical words in this novel. The author is a science/math nerd and it shows. I did a search and found several blogs that define many of these words. I even found on Google Maps a map of Mars to follow Mark's travels!
NASA:
It's interesting, the author's take on the bureaucracy of the NASA people and how some of them really have an attitude problem. This part of the story was a bit tedious to read. At least no soap opera!
Conclusion:
The ending was quite abrupt. Some may like that, or maybe the author ran out of ideas. This is the guy's second novel he's ever written and already he gets movie rights! I want more. And I want NASA to make fiction a reality and get some guys up there!
Malcolm J
Jul 6, 2015
The Martian. Unputdownable.
Terrific read. Really enjoyed it. Rivetting. The wife read it after me, and couldn't put it down. What a book. Ace.