https://legoraft.com/books/ My personal site, where I write about whatever and just have fun. Zola en Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 contact@legoraft.com (Legoraft) https://legoraft.com/books/the-martian/ https://legoraft.com/books/the-martian/ <p>The Martian is one of my all-time favorite books. The story follows an astronaut, Mark Watney, who gets stranded on Mars after an unlucky accident. Andy Weir's writing is awesome and all the small scientific details make the whole story very intriguing. Survival on Mars isn't as straightforward as surviving in the wilderness on Earth and the ingenuity Mark Watney shows during the <a rel="noopener external" target="_blank" href="https://www.aip.org/inside-science/inside-the-spaceflight-of-the-martian">543 sols</a> (or 559 days) on Mars is quite remarkable.</p> <p>The thing that makes this book one of my favorites is Mark Watney being a wonderfully charming guy. The book starts with "I’m pretty much fucked." as an opener, which mostly explains the feeling anyone would have when stranded on Mars. As a reader you follow everything through Watney's logs, which creates somewhat of a connection between the reader and him. Finally, the suspense gets way bigger by adding things we as a reader know are bound to happen (for example, an airlock exploding), but Watney doesn't.</p> <p>Because I was so enthusiastic about the book, I also decided to watch the movie that adapted it. It is a good movie and hits the important beats, but in my opinion it doesn't take you for the ride as much as the book does. Also, the end scene in the movie is basically what in the book is described as the movie ending. If you've watched the movie and aren't really that into it, I'd recommend you read the book. It is an amazing story and makes space so damn interesting, while keeping the fiction alive.</p>