Samyann
Audiobook. Really liked the fundamental premise of this story: An astronaut stranded, alone, on mars. There is an absolute abundance of jargon regarding the equipment, what it is for, how it can be useful, altered, scavenged, etc., in a ‘castaway on mars’ situation. Frankly, I stopped backing up the file in my effort to understand, and allowed my eyes to glaze occasionally. The story is just loaded with this how-to information – I’m sure some engineering geeks will really enjoy, some will yawn. I kept going, however, because of the baby boomer fascination with the space program. It’s in the psyche, somewhere deep in the bones of anyone who lived through the sixties and seventies glued to grainy black and white television images of launches, failures to launch, and amazing success.
Personally, would rather the story had been more character rather than technology driven. However, there are a few characters that go beyond two-dimentional, most don’t. You’ll find the lead, Mark Watney, sense of humor a hoot, even through the many life and death situations the red planet throws his way. If you can get past or enjoy a boat load of description, it’s a good story.
