“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”
― Andy Weir, The Martian
One of the things I miss about not working at the library is being one of the first to get the “New Book.” So for those of you who have already read The Martian ages ago, please share your impressions in the comment area. The book, written by Andy Weir, pulls you in from the beginning.
Before I go any further I should add that I listened to this book which was narrated by R.C. Bray. My local librarian said she started listening and then switched to the book because she could read faster than listening. I wanted to hear the narrator’s voice before I made my decision. His voice was perfect. To me, he was Mark Watney, the astronaut main character of the book. His voice perfectly portrayed the moods and emotions of Watney.
“Problem is (follow me closely here, the science is pretty complicated), if I cut a hole in the Hab, the air won’t stay inside anymore.”
― Andy Weir, The Martian
If you should read reviews you will quickly discover that Mr. Weir writes with a sound knowledge of the technicalities of space travel. He has done his research. There isn’t smoke and mirrors or magic. This is a plausible and possible event. Some might think all the technical jargon would be ho hum boring, but somehow it isn’t. Instead of putting me to sleep, I was avidly following every word. Did I understand all of it? No, but I understood that these people are brilliant and are unbelievably qualified to be on a space mission. One of over 2,000 reasons I read the books and don’t fly off into space.
“I need to ask myself, ‘What would an Apollo astronaut do?’ He’d drink three whiskey sours, drive his Corvette to the launchpad, then fly to the moon in a command module smaller than my Rover. Man those guys were cool.”
― Andy Weir, The Martian
The movie version of this book is coming out late fall. I definitely would recommend reading the book before seeing the movie. The book is well written and should not be passed up. I can live with being disappointed with the movie because it didn’t live up to the book. I don’t think that will be the case, I think the movie will depict a story similar to the book with a slightly different voice. Read the book, Andy’s voice is powerful and worth the effort.
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