The Martian

Andy Weir’s The Martian is a science fiction novel for readers who take the “science” in science fiction seriously.  Weir, according to his author blurb, is a software engineer well versed in “subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned space flight,” and he puts it all to good use in this, his debut novel.  That’s the good news.

But now for the bad news: readers preferring a lighter dose of the science in science fiction are likely to find that for them The Martian is a tediously slow read.  The bulk of the novel’s action takes place on Mars, where astronaut Mark Watney must outsmart every surprise the red planet has in store for him if he is going to live long enough to be rescued when the next manned mission arrives there.   And since there is no one on Mars for Watney to interact with, the action (what there is of it) comes largely from the depths of the astronaut’s mind and the detailed diary that he is writing for the record.  That diary is largely filled by the introduction of one problem after another, followed by all of the math and science needed to find the solutions that will allow Watney to live another day.  That is well and good for the reader with an engineering background – or even for wannabe mechanical engineers – but it becomes a bit repetitive for the rest of us.

At least back in Houston, where much of the real rescue plan is being designed, Weir does not burden the reader with much of the math or science involved in the process, so things move along noticeably quicker in those portions of the story.  Unfortunately, those sections total only about a third of the book (estimate only), so as I got farther into The Martin, I found myself yearning to get back to Houston every time my reading stalled in the middle of one of those long diary sections.

Author Andy Weir

All that said, The Martian is an entertaining and enlightening story about the hazards of interplanetary exploration, a cautionary tale of sorts, but one that celebrates the problem solving expertise of those in charge of the program.  Mark Watney is a character whose self-deprecating wit and personality make him instantly likable, and there is never a moment in the book that the reader will not be rooting whole-heartedly for his rescue.  One or two of the other characters are relatively stereotypical, and the female character in charge of PR for NASA in Houston is borderline ludicrous in both nature and in behavior – and, more seriously, unbelievable.

Bottom Line:  Despite a false note here and there, and the overdose of math lessons, there is a lot to like about The Martian.  It is an inspirational story about what America’s space program could be again one day…if, by then, we have not already allowed the Russians and the Chinese to take ownership of outer space.

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Book Trailer of the Week: "The Martian" (movie version)

I plan to post my review of Andy Weir's The Martian tomorrow but, because I just noticed this new clip from the movie version (to be released October 2), there will be two "Book Trailers of the Week" this week.  I've convinced myself that's OK since these are the first two "book trailers" I've posted in several weeks.

The movie is starting to look as if it will be much more character-driven than the novel itself - and that is probably a good thing...but more on the book tomorrow.  For now, take a look at the clip.  I will add that, even though I'm not a huge fan of the novel, the movie clips I've seen from The Martian have just about convinced me that it is one I would enjoy.  Good job, trailers.

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Book Trailer of the Week: Movie Version of "Room" to Be Released This Fall

It really doesn't seem like I read Emma Donoghue's Room more than four years ago, but I see that I reviewed it way back on June 20, 2011.  As I said at the time, reading a whole novel written in the voice of a sheltered, young child was a fascinating experience.  I hope that the movie version captures that whole sense of innocence and awe...from this trailer, it looks as if it just might pull it off.  (It does appear, though that the child's gender has been flipped for the movie.)

As I said in the review linked to above:

Unbeknownst to Jack, his mother has not seen the outside of Room for the seven years she has been Old Nick’s prisoner.   Without Jack, Ma would have no reason to go on living.  She has created an entire world for the boy inside this small space, a world in which she is the source of all knowledge, love, and support.  The outside world makes its way into Room only because Old Nick allows the pair a small television set, but Ma is the one who decides what Jack will watch and how what he sees will be interpreted for him.  Imagine a world in which Room is all that is real, and everything seen on television is make-believe.  That is the way Jack sees the world.

 I'm looking forward to this one...even knowing how it ends.  Heck, even the trailer gives that away.  Not sure how smart that was.

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The Hummingbird

The Hummingbird by Stephen Kiernan

In The Hummingbird, Stephen Kiernan combines three separate plot threads to tell his story so seamlessly that shifts between plots are hardly noticeable.   One side plot involves the problems that nurse Deborah Birch's husband is having in readjusting to civilian life after returning from his third deployment (a tour in which he served as a sniper) to Afghanistan.  Another recounts Deborah's day-to-day experiences as a hospice nurse dealing with a particularly irritable and demanding patient.  And the third side plot is a piece of World War II history called The Sword, written by Deborah’s irritable patient himself, a little book that she is reading aloud to him at his bedside. 

Author Stephen P. Kiernan

Taken together, the three threads tell a touchingly beautiful story that just might have happened exactly this way in a perfect world - a story with an ending that I was, of course, rooting for, but one that is, in reality, an unlikely one.  But that's a minor criticism because I found myself willing to suspend my skepticism for the duration of the novel and, at the end, I felt so good about the way things worked out for Deborah Birch that I was ready to stand up and cheer.  Stephen Kiernan had me all the way.

Michael Birch is filled with guilt and rage and he barely communicates with his wife these days, much less touches her or allows her to touch him.  Deborah knows that he is having nightmares and she fears what that combination of emotions might drive him to do.  She has heard all the stories about returning veterans who suddenly explode into violence (or suicide) and she worries that Michael is capable of both. 

Perhaps Deborah is lucky that her new hospice patient, Barclay Reed, is proving to be such a challenging man because dealing with the retired historian demands so much concentration and creativity on her part that she has no time to worry about Michael's situation during her work day.  And, as the days go by and Mr. Reed has not fired her as he did several other of his previous caretakers, she finds that both of them are enjoying all the verbal "jousting" that comprises their day together.  But it is when Reed asks that she read to him from the last book he was working on before his illness that the two really begin to understand and appreciate each other.

The Sword is Reed's recounting of a World War II incident that has largely been lost to time.  It seems that (and this is factual, by the way) a lone Japanese submarine reached the coast of Oregon, complete with a small aircraft its crew could quickly assemble.  Along for the ride was a specially trained pilot whose mission was to drop four firebombs in the Oregon forest in the hope that an uncontrollable forest fire would result - damaging American morale as much as it damaged the forest.  But the real story only happened after the war when the pilot was invited back to Oregon by some of the very people involved in putting out the small fire caused by his bombing mission - starting a relationship between the him and one little Oregon town that would last for decades.

So how does all of this come together?  You'll have to read The Hummingbird to find out - and you will, I think, be happy that you did.

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Two Books: One Dud and One Winner (Vonnegut vs. The O.K. Corral)

I decided to make a push this weekend to finish at least two of the three books that it seems like I've been reading forever.  And, as of an hour or so ago, I did it.  I finished Mary Doria Russell's Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral yesterday morning and Love as Always, Kurt (a sort of Kurt Vonnegut biography) this afternoon.  I was impressed by one of the books, but not so much by the other.

Epitaph is a detailed, character-driven novel that vividly portrays just how "accidental" the whole gunfight at (it is more accurate to say near the O.K. Corral) the O.K. Corral really was. For roughly two years preceding the gunfight, the novel vividly portrays Arizona politics and the handful of drifters, including the Earp families and Doc Holliday, that eventually got sucked into it.  Their combined stories and the way their paths crossed in a Tombstone back alley for a thirty-seccond gunfight is both complicated and fascinating, and Russell, who has a previous novel featuring Doc Holliday to her credit, tells it well.

Love as Always, Kurt, on the other hand, really disappointed me.  I realize that this is a memoir and that Loree Rackstraw focuses almost entirely on experiences she personally had with Kurt Vonnegut - and I can't say that I wasn't warned because the book's subtitle, after all, is Vonnegut as I Knew Him.  But that just doesn't work here, and I find myself with more questions than answers regarding Vonnegut's personal life.  I knew that the man's political views were those of the extreme left; we all know that just from reading his books.  But Rackstraw's take on Vonnegut's politics comes across as so simpleminded that I have to hope that the views expressed here or hers - and not Kurt's.  I can't believe a man as bright as Kurt Vonnegut would believe some of the things Rackstraw claims he believed in this memoir.

Anyway, more later.  I have to let both of these simmer for a day or two before I will be ready to finalize my thoughts.

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Thug Notes Reviews "Go Set a Watchman" in Its Own Unique Style

I stumbled upon the work of this guy this afternoon, and my immediate, knee-jerk reaction was to blow him off as a waste of time.  But when I really listened to his schtick, I got it.  He's aiming for an audience of young people who consider his delivery to be cool and beyond the comprehension of people like me...their generational elders.  And it works.  

In this sample video, the resident "thug" begins with his version of a plot summary of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman before finishing up with his critique of the book.  He presents some interesting thoughts before suggesting that it's ultimately up to each reader to form his own unique opinion of Watchman by allowing his conscious to be his guide and "watchman."  (And that plot summary is hilariously accurate.)

The "thug" is actually a stand-up comedian by the name of Greg Edwards who serves as a writer (among others) and front man for "Wisecrack," a media company out of California.  As you will see, "Wisecrack" uses humor to make its points - both verbally and via its offbeat illustrations.  And if videos like these get a few of those who consider themselves to be members of the hip crowd to actually pick up one of these books, keep them coming, guys.

If you like this sample video, go over to YouTube and subscribe to the series.  It's all free...and fun.

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