Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now h’es sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars’ surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive. Doesn’t that […]
Still time to read it before the movie comes out
I can’t believe it has taken me a month to get to writing this review. I was telling everyone about it when I finished it, but just didn’t get it written down. I had managed not to hear much about this book beforehand. I can’t even remember where it was recommended so that I put it on my library hold list…and then waited months for it to come up since it was so popular. I will start with what a lot of other people say […]
The Martian: better than disco.
I’m not much of a space nerd, but I do enjoy a good suspense action thriller. I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about Andy Weir’s The Martian, so I decided to check it out. Oh. My. Wow. Is it possible to give a five-star book six stars? Mark Watney is a botanist/engineer on a six-man crew doing a short mission on Mars. Midway through, a dust storm hits, and Watney is stabbed. Presuming him dead (and rightfully so, because his vitals have gone blank on […]
In space, no one can hear you scream like a little girl
While standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, waiting as patiently as I could while a previous customer argued over coupon redemption and dug around for and counted out exact change, this book caught my eye. I don’t have a lot of experience with the sci fi genre but it was either that or some tabloid with one Kardashian or other on the cover. I picked it up, glanced at the cover, perused the enthusiastic blurbs and read the first few pages, suddenly […]
You Think YOU’RE Alone?
“Tears. I’m not going to say whether they are tears of joy or sadness, but just know. Tears.” I said that to my husband about five minutes ago, when I finished this fucking fantastic novel. I loved it. I started it last night around 7:30. I finished it five minutes ago. During that time I slept, worked a nine-hour day, and read this book. I don’t really read science fiction. And I don’t even know if that’s how I’d categorize this book. Yes, it is […]
A wonderful start to 2015
I had the most wonderful surprise waiting for me when I got back from two weeks in the UK. Well, we had random patches of cat vomit spread around the flat as a loving Christmas gift from our two cats, who we callously abandoned to be fed and looked after by various friends and family members, but I also had a package waiting for me on the living room table. So after feeding the demanding furry dictators we pretend are our pets and cleaning up […]