{"id":2185,"date":"2015-07-09T21:52:48","date_gmt":"2015-07-10T02:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/?p=2185"},"modified":"2015-07-09T22:11:38","modified_gmt":"2015-07-10T03:11:38","slug":"kurts-review-of-the-martian-by-andy-weir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/kurts-review-of-the-martian-by-andy-weir\/","title":{"rendered":"Kurt’s review of “The Martian” by Andy Weir"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oh. My. Gosh.<\/h3>\n

I love, love, love this book!<\/p>\n

Okay, so I’m a nerdy NASA engineer. Of course I loved it.\u00a0 But I know all you non-nerdy folks will also love this book.\u00a0 And here’s why:<\/p>\n

It’s interesting & engaging<\/h3>\n

It’s a survival story set in one of the harshest locations imaginable.\u00a0 So many things can go wrong … and so many of them do go wrong.\u00a0 Every step of the way.\u00a0 It’s nearly constant edge of your seat entertainment.\u00a0 Add in some NASA politics and a few personality conflicts and you’ve got yourself a real pager turner.<\/p>\n

It’s funny.\u00a0 No, it’s hilarious<\/h3>\n

The narrator … the astronaut who gets stranded on Mars … has a terrific sense of humor throughout the entire book.\u00a0 He’s quite a character and his personality stays upbeat despite his less than ideal circumstances.\u00a0 Much of the narration is of him logging his daily activities into a computer system in which he has no idea whether anyone will ever read or not.\u00a0 He’s basically talking to himself for much of the book and it’s quite humorous.<\/p>\n

It’s technical, but not in a bad way<\/h3>\n

There’s a constant stream of problem solving throughout the book.\u00a0 But I don’t think it will make your eyes roll back in your head.\u00a0 Most of the time the details are given in a way that the layperson can understand.\u00a0 Sometimes the narrator even “dumbs” down the technical details for the reader.<\/p>\n

It’s real<\/h3>\n

Well, mostly real.\u00a0 This is science fiction, but it is not your typical far-fetched or far-futuristic science fiction.\u00a0 Much of this story could occur today using technology that we actually use today or technology that we are developing and testing today for use on future Mars missions.\u00a0 Most of the engineering solutions are also real and possible today using current technology.\u00a0 There is very little hand-waving here.\u00a0 And it is very satisfying.<\/p>\n

Note: This book is not for kids.\u00a0 The narrator … the astronaut who gets stranded on Mars … curses like a sailor throughout the entire book.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I highly recommend this book.\u00a0 It’s a very interesting and engaging read that is difficult to put down.\u00a0 It’s entertaining for engineers and non-engineers alike.<\/p>\n

Click below to order the book for yourself.\u00a0 You can buy it in paper or digital formats from Amazon, the most popular online store in the world!<\/p>\n