I bought an ebook of The Martian by Andy Weir because I own it on bluray but I wanted to read the book first before I saw the movie, which is what I always do. Man, I loved the movie adaptation. I love how it stayed true to the book, I never say this often so yay The Martian! Matt Damon did a fantastic job as Mark Watney.
This book is about Mark Watney, a botanist who was accidentally left on Mars by his team because all 5 of them thought he was dead. Mark was forced to live in a planet where his supplies are limited, and where pretty much everything could kill him, including the atmosphere’s gas. It isn’t until later than the people from NASA finds out that he’s alive, and much later they establish contact with him. NASA didn’t hesitate in making plans on saving him, but it wasn’t easy. Complications arose, plans were changed, lives were put to risk but through it all, Mark strived. Mark grew potatoes on a planet where nothing grows, Mark made water on a planet without a drop of it. Mark persevered, and he did not lose hope – okay maybe he did once or twice but only briefly.
I finished reading the book a couple of hours ago and I immediately watched the movie for the first time after. I liked that the movie stayed true to the book. It was a great adaptation I reckon, and that’s not something I say often.
I enjoyed reading this book – I enjoyed the thrill, the suspense, the adventure and most of all, the humanity expressed. Billions of people around the world rooted for Mark to survive, for Mark to return home. Why? ‘Cause that’s what we do.
“The cost for my survival must have been hundreds of millions of dollars. All to save one dorky botanist. Why bother?
Well, okay. I know the answer to that. Part of it might be what I represent: progress, science, and the interplanetary future we’ve dreamed of for centuries. But really, they did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out. It might not seem that way sometimes but it’s true.
If a hiker gets lost in the mountains, people will coordinate a search. If a train crashes, people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people from all over the world will send emergency supplies. This is so fundamentally human that it’s found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don’t care but they are massively outnumbered by the people who do.”
TheBookishCentral 