Movie and Book comments: The Martian

Book link
Movie link

I decided to read The Martian by Andy Weir after seeing a trailer for the movie.  I am a hard science fiction fan and the story looked to fit the bill.  Although it wasn't scientifically perfect, I think that it got enough correct.  I enjoyed the detail, which was written so that both tech and non-tech people can enjoy.  Additionally, the character depth was sufficient to generate emotional connections to what I was reading.

I also enjoyed the movie very much.  Although I think that a little too much was different from the book, I also don't have the conflict  which I sometimes have when I have read the book on which a movie is based.  A test of a movie is how I feel when I read the book and watch the movie back to back.  I actually feel that the movie enhances my experience of the book.  I do wish that the movie would have been daring enough to ditch the sounds in space.

The book and movie show how you can have a good science fiction story without violence and villains.

Story introduction:
After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?