Really enjoyed "The Martian" by Andy Weir

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Actually I felt shocked when I saw the F word at the beginning while reading the sample. I am OK with books that use the F word sometimes when necessary, but I am uncomfortable when I see it in the first sentence. Does this book use a lot of F word?

Not in my opinion.

[EDIT: But it's an ebook - why give you my opinion when I can give you facts?

Four times in Chapter 1.
Three times in Chapter 4.
Five times in Chapter 6
Three times in Chapter 7
Twice in Chapter 8
Once in Chapter 9
Twice in Chapter 10
Three times in Chapter 11
Twice in Chapter 12
Three times in Chapter 13
Nine times in Chapter 14
Once in Chapter 15
Twice in Chapter 16
Twice in Chapter 17
Once in Chapter 18
Twice in Chapter 20
Twice in Chapter 21
Twice in Chapter 22
Twice in Chapter 23
Once in Chapter 24
Four times in Chapter 25
Four times in Chapter 26


60 times in all, I think, out of approximately 106,000 words. So 0.057% of the words are a variant of 'the F word']

[DiapDealer]

I'd've never f'in guessed it was that much!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

60 times in all, I think, out of approximately 106,000 words. So 0.057% of the words are a variant of 'the F word']

And handily beating "Four Wedding and a Funeral" which apparently includes only 42. Although many of them are in the first minute!

[HomeInMyShoes]

It is how you use words that is more important.

Hey you f... kids, get off my lawn!

I'm pretty sure the Death of Artemio Cruz which I read last year had a single chapter with more than 60 instances of f variants.

[JohnRR]

Thanks. I think I will try to finish the sample and decide whether I will buy it or not.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Thanks. I think I will try to finish the sample and decide whether I will buy it or not.

Don't let the F word bother you. It's a great story and if you were stranded on Mars alone, you'd be using the F word among other words.

[Lin2412]

You will also develop a strong liking (as opposed to Mark Watney's intense dislike) of disco. By the way, I'm so exited for the movie and the soundtrack! I can already imagine it... Hahaha

[drofgnal]

Originally Posted by JohnRR

Actually I felt shocked when I saw the F word at the beginning while reading the sample. I am OK with books that use the F word sometimes when necessary, but I am uncomfortable when I see it in the first sentence. Does this book use a lot of F word?

If your crew just blasted off from the surface of Mars and left you behind for dead what would be the first word out of your mouth? Probably F@#$%!!

[drofgnal]

I just finished this. It was excellent. I really enjoyed it. Much of his science in the book is dead on with things that have been studied. Such as using hydrogen and the atmospheric CO2 to make methane and oxygen for the MAV. Inflateable habitats have also been studied as a weight saving method for space travel.

But beyond the science, this was just an excellent read. Humorous. Reading through the thread it appears Matt Damon gets the role of Whatney. Not sure about that one. I would hope the movie maintains some of the humorous aspects of the book and I don't see Damon playing the humorous role. Not sure who I'd like instead though.

[Apache]

I was hoping Matthew McConaughey would get the part.
Apache

[HoopyFrood]

I feel McConaughey is too old, he would have been great for it 10-15 years ago.

[Lin2412]

I shared the casting with my sister and she doesn't like Matt Damon (he's ok for me though I can imagine him being more like a more serious Mark Watney... not sure how I'd feel about that)

If it's for humor and just from a personal preference, I can still picture Chris Pratt as Watney. Ha ha.

[mewmartigan]

matt damon can do comedy pretty well. have you seen any of the bits with his "ongoing fued" with jimmy kimmel?

[varlog]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I just cannot see how a sequel would work without feeling forced.

Actually I think the "The Martian - Resurrection" should be written.
"The Martian" is technology and DIY state of art book. It tells a story about what we (as mankind) can almost do at the moment. As such it should be duty lecture by NASA (I think unofficially it is! It is awesome, Andy Weir!) and it will be somehow timeless.
But there is almost no Mars there in the book, is there?.
Let us see.

Spoiler:

There was the sandstorm which was the reason for it all. Then the fight against elements, which is always there (temperature, pressure, air). Then an "stunning panorama" from rim of the Marth Crater, as he recognized that he is getting into this other storm. Then the geology of Schiaparelli Crater Entrance as he did his somersault. And .. that's all folks, isnt't it?.

Correct me if I've missed something.
In the meantime we had Curiosity. We had unxpeced methane levels and a lot of pictures. Time to write Mars state of art book? It won't be as timeless as "The Martian" for sure... but who knows?

[Lin2412]

Originally Posted by mewmartigan

matt damon can do comedy pretty well. have you seen any of the bits with his "ongoing fued" with jimmy kimmel?

I haven't, mewmartigan. I only saw him through the Bourne movies and through the paparazzi lens and stories with his best friend Ben Affleck. haha

@Varlog: I for one will give ANY book by Andy Weir a worthy specimen to read.