This was a fun and exciting page turner. There is something about this novel that does feel different to recent novels I’ve read. Part of it was the focus on space and the excitement from the extreme plot of being stranded on Mars.

The book has urgency and suspense. It pulls the reader in even though after disaster and bad news #4566, it gets a little tiresome watching everyone be able to make it through. There is no way this book could be popular without a happy ending. There were too many catastrophes along the way for that to happen. It had to have somewhat of a good ending.

Mark is likeable though sometimes a little too snarky to be true. I liked almost all the characters, but few of them got thorough development. There were many notable characters. I liked the dialogue in the book. I wish we more on the characters. It does feel more like a plot book rather than a character book which is alright in some ways.

Read August 29-30, 2016.

The Martian (2015)

When reading the book, I found it hard to really picture Matt Damon as Mark Watney. There is a certain boyish to Watney that Damon hasn’t really had since Good Will Hunting and even then, Damon is a little too hard. Damon was fine. I did not feel as connected to Mark as I did in the book. I liked the rest of the cast. I think Kristen Wig, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor were particularly good with their roles.

I really enjoyed the soundtrack, both the 1970s songs and the original score they used. The ending was more satisfying than the book, but they did not need to change it. Oh well. While the positives aside, I have to admit the movie was too long for me. It lacked the book’s urgency. It was an alright film, but not one I would want to see ago due its slow pace.

Watched August 30, 2016.