by Andy Weir
At 369 pages, Andy Weir wrote an action packed, mentally involving and emotionally encompassing novel about survival on the planet Mars by the fictional NASA astronaut Mark Watney. First copyrighted in 2011 the story's fabric is woven with pertinent, present day science. The situation fabric comes across as real, wrapping the reader directly in harms way designs.
Technically, the narrative is loaded with numbers, calculations, circuitous constructions, and many a manner of complex thoughts the lead character must work through if he is to survive. Stuck all alone a few hundred million miles from earth, this astronaut, with very limited supplies of water, food, fuel, and breathable air, must use his botanical, mathematical, mechanical, and electrical knowledge - to say nothing of his life experiences - to survive the very harsh conditions imposed by an alien environment. Communications with his comrades at NASA provides productive possibilities by tapping their collective knowledge and experience to find a way to rescue him before time thwarts their efforts. His inherent 'human error' factor, whether the sun is out or not, also shadows him all the way.
Explaining in laymen's terms diverse solutions to various problems such as how to grow potatoes in a hostile land, how to communicate with earth by combining equipment, and how to traverse long distances over hostile terrain, makes it a very interesting intellectual treatise; writing excellent dialog through a myriad of mind boggling enigmas gives it suspense. What makes the glue that is the entertainment factor is the gallows humor shown by his lead character.
A software engineer by trade, Mr. Weir, whose hobbies include "...relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight", certainly combined his talents to write an excellent 'science fact' novel. And being "a lifelong space nerd" did not work against him. This, his first novel, gets an 'E' for effort, an 'A' for a grade, and a hardy recommendation.
No comments:
Post a Comment