I found the book to be unexpectedly full of all the emotions of humanity (and rocks) at their best. It was the first time in a long time I was crying while reading. Goddard tapped into something universal in his book. Knowing you found the film to be so wonderful has me so excited. I hope it is a hit, but mostly because we (especially Americans) need so much reminding of our ingenuity, resilience, and the VALUE of other, even alien, perspectives, processes, and cultures.
Going to be the one naysayer here. After the super-smart book The Martian, I found this book to be stupid and almost impossible to suspend disbelief. I hated it. I was so disappointed because as a scientist and lifelong hard sci-fi reader, I adored The Martian and have read it several times. All that said, it sounds like I will enjoy the movie so thanks for this.
It was unbelievable and silly. One of the core ideas behind sci fi is that you have to convince your reader to suspend disbelief and see the events in the story as possible. This whole premise is so implausible and plain silly. The Martian definitely took some liberties with the science but did it in a way that was believable and rational. Hail Mary did not; it starts out silly and just adds more crazy stuff on top. Now, I adore the Avatar series, which you could make a similar argument about, but that starts out with a certain amount of mysticism with some hard sci-fi mixed in. Besides, the visuals are incredible and I never had a chance to get pissy about how they deviated from a book. :) I tried to read Hail Mary as a satire and IMO that sort of works. All that grumpiness aside, I am looking forward to the movie; I usually like the ones that Sonny likes.
I agree with you on both of the books. I got part way through this one and quit. It’s pretty well written but I just didn’t click with it. Maybe, I’ll try again. The Martian was much better, perhaps because it was more linear? The jumping around through time was meant to accomplish something but it just left me disengaged from the narrative.
So, I have not read either Weir book; I’ll say that I think this movie leans a little less into hard sci fi than, e.g., The Martian did. But I also don’t mind that, I’m generally okay with a little movie magic being deployed.
Bruce had Armageddon, Hanks Apollo 13, George Gravity, Brad Ad Astra, Matthew Interstellar. Glad to hear Ryan's 2nd chance at a space epic is successful (could not stand First Man).
Not reading because I don't want to ruin the experience, so I'm going to run with your summation, "The most perfectly crowd-pleasing movie I've ever seen."
Considering you're a fan of The Chair Company, I feel like I can trust your analysis.
The book is terrific. It's a complex scientific story about saving our Sun - and Earth - with an alien that looks like a rocky spider. And it all works. Rocky turns out to be a completely lovable character, I mean I was truly concerned about his well being during a critical passage. Sounds ludicrous, but it all works. And Gosling has the chops. The dude can act. Can't wait to see this in IMAX.
I loved the book, both print and audio. (Yes, I read it after I finished the audiobook—it was that good.) I was more than a bit worried that the movie wouldn’t do it justice. Glad to hear that’s not the case.
I have the audio book as well and did something I rarely do, listened to the whole thing in less than a day. If the movie is anything like the book, Sonny's review will prove to be spot on. It wasn't just engrossing, it was captivating.
I really enjoyed the book and love Ridley Scott's The Martian. I want to take my nine year old daughters but I'm not sure whether PG-13 would be a bit much for them. Based on the book I think it could be OK, but I'm eager to get your thoughts. Is it scarier or with more peril than, say, Titanic?
I think you’re probably fine, tbh; a few bad words, and they’ll probably tear up at certain points, but nothing I wouldn’t take my ten year old daughter to.
I found the book to be unexpectedly full of all the emotions of humanity (and rocks) at their best. It was the first time in a long time I was crying while reading. Goddard tapped into something universal in his book. Knowing you found the film to be so wonderful has me so excited. I hope it is a hit, but mostly because we (especially Americans) need so much reminding of our ingenuity, resilience, and the VALUE of other, even alien, perspectives, processes, and cultures.
Finally, some great news in this time of worry and war.
Going to be the one naysayer here. After the super-smart book The Martian, I found this book to be stupid and almost impossible to suspend disbelief. I hated it. I was so disappointed because as a scientist and lifelong hard sci-fi reader, I adored The Martian and have read it several times. All that said, it sounds like I will enjoy the movie so thanks for this.
I'm curious, do you have more specific critiques of the book?
As a science and sci-fi fan myself, I found it perfectly enjoyable, although not particularly groundbreaking.
It was unbelievable and silly. One of the core ideas behind sci fi is that you have to convince your reader to suspend disbelief and see the events in the story as possible. This whole premise is so implausible and plain silly. The Martian definitely took some liberties with the science but did it in a way that was believable and rational. Hail Mary did not; it starts out silly and just adds more crazy stuff on top. Now, I adore the Avatar series, which you could make a similar argument about, but that starts out with a certain amount of mysticism with some hard sci-fi mixed in. Besides, the visuals are incredible and I never had a chance to get pissy about how they deviated from a book. :) I tried to read Hail Mary as a satire and IMO that sort of works. All that grumpiness aside, I am looking forward to the movie; I usually like the ones that Sonny likes.
I agree with you on both of the books. I got part way through this one and quit. It’s pretty well written but I just didn’t click with it. Maybe, I’ll try again. The Martian was much better, perhaps because it was more linear? The jumping around through time was meant to accomplish something but it just left me disengaged from the narrative.
So, I have not read either Weir book; I’ll say that I think this movie leans a little less into hard sci fi than, e.g., The Martian did. But I also don’t mind that, I’m generally okay with a little movie magic being deployed.
Bruce had Armageddon, Hanks Apollo 13, George Gravity, Brad Ad Astra, Matthew Interstellar. Glad to hear Ryan's 2nd chance at a space epic is successful (could not stand First Man).
Loved the ebook and audiobook. Looking forward to the movie now that I’ve read your review, Sonny. Thanks!
Not reading because I don't want to ruin the experience, so I'm going to run with your summation, "The most perfectly crowd-pleasing movie I've ever seen."
Considering you're a fan of The Chair Company, I feel like I can trust your analysis.
I loved this book and can’t wait to see the movie. My son hasn’t read the book and I’ve been sitting on the big twist. I can wait until he sees it!
The book is terrific. It's a complex scientific story about saving our Sun - and Earth - with an alien that looks like a rocky spider. And it all works. Rocky turns out to be a completely lovable character, I mean I was truly concerned about his well being during a critical passage. Sounds ludicrous, but it all works. And Gosling has the chops. The dude can act. Can't wait to see this in IMAX.
I loved the book, both print and audio. (Yes, I read it after I finished the audiobook—it was that good.) I was more than a bit worried that the movie wouldn’t do it justice. Glad to hear that’s not the case.
I have the audio book as well and did something I rarely do, listened to the whole thing in less than a day. If the movie is anything like the book, Sonny's review will prove to be spot on. It wasn't just engrossing, it was captivating.
Thanks for the encouraging review!
I really enjoyed the book and love Ridley Scott's The Martian. I want to take my nine year old daughters but I'm not sure whether PG-13 would be a bit much for them. Based on the book I think it could be OK, but I'm eager to get your thoughts. Is it scarier or with more peril than, say, Titanic?
I think you’re probably fine, tbh; a few bad words, and they’ll probably tear up at certain points, but nothing I wouldn’t take my ten year old daughter to.