Review: The Martian

Title:  The Martian
Author:  Andy Weir
Rating:  6/5

Summary:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. 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?

Review:

I cannot express how much I truly loved this book.  I would say it was my favorite this year, but considering it's only February, that is setting myself up for a year of shitty reading that couldn't compare.  Oddly enough I was given this book as a present on a first date (awesome, right?), and I started reading it that night.  It started off for me as a book I heard was highly recommended and I wanted to read it before I saw the movie (which now I'm not sure I want to see).  It ended up being amazing though!

Yes, sure, there was a lot of technical science talk, but the humor amidst it more than made up for parts I didn't understand.  I think I would have actually been satisfied if the only point of view the entire book was from Mark, but I did enjoy seeing NASA scramble in the aftermath.

So basically I'm recommending this book to absolutely anyone I can think of who reads and hasn't read it yet.  I've already converted a few people.  Even if you don't normally like science fiction (like me) you should read this!

Comic books [Part 1]

Usually I avoid talking about my love of comic books (and manga in the past) because people are like Nerd Alert!  But I'm breaking my silence!  I am a comic book lover, I go to comic-cons, I watch the movies.  And I have a need, a mighty need, to share my love.

I'm going to break this post up into a series of four posts.  Because if I didn't this post would be so long I would loose you all pretty quickly with my nerd ramblings.  Also, disregarding manga for the sake of this post series and focusing on American comic books (mostly Marvel).  If anyone wants a post about manga, let me know!

Now, I'll map out the posts:

[1] My descent into the world

[2] Comic books I read

[3] The Marvel movies

[4] Characters and actors

I know it's a book blog, but I can't do this series without the movies and the actors.

My Descent:

How I got into The Marvel Universe:  my good friend (bad financial influence) Lita.  She convinced me to watch Thor, then The Avengers, and I've been hooked ever since.  The funny thing is that my descent into the world only took a month before I was going to my first comic-con.  For the con she made an amazing Lady Loki costume while I made a half-assed Captain America one.  It was an epic day.

It began with a basic love for the movies, but I leaped into the con with vigor and bought a handful of old comics which I quickly fell in love with.  I quickly realized how far the avengers/marvel universe reached and realized that The Walking Dead was also involved in comics and cosplay.  I have been a fan of The Walking Dead since season 2-ish.

Anyway, it was a quick descent, like I said.  I went from not watching action movies that weren't horror or cop related to re-watching Iron Man 6 times and The Avengers about 15 times in two months.  Since then I have collected about 20 comics and I'm planning my costume for my next con in April.

So my current favorite comic:

Black Widow

(I'm also going to try to cosplay her in the next con)

Review: Below

Title:  Below
Author:  Meg McKinlay
Rating: 3/5

Summary:

Secrets have a way of floating to the surface. . . . Mystery, compelling characters, and an abandoned town beneath a lake make for a must-read adventure.

On the day Cassie was born, they drowned her town. The mayor flipped a lever and everyone cheered as Old Lower Grange was submerged beneath five thousand swimming pools’ worth of water. Now, twelve years later, Cassie feels drawn to the manmade lake and the mysteries it hides — and she’s not the only one. Her classmate Liam, who wears oversized swim trunks to cover the scars on his legs, joins Cassie in her daily swims across the off-limits side of the lake. As the summer heats up, the water drops lower and lower, offering them glimpses of the ghostly town and uncovering secrets one prominent town figure seems anxious to keep submerged. But like a swimmer who ventures too far from shore, Cassie realizes she can’t turn back. Can she bring their suspicions to light before it’s too late — and does she dare?

Review:

This really wasn't that bad for a slightly futuristic juvenile book.  It took a while to really understand what was happening though.  I'm not sure if that was the author's intention, to not give us any straight answers about how/why they sunk the old town/city.  I also didn't realize the setting was in Australia until at least halfway in.  That certainly changed the picture in my head (considering I was picturing some mid-west small town in the U.S.).

But despite the confusion in my picturing of the situation, I liked the concept, and I liked the characters.  It took a good 200 pages to hit the climax of the story, but that seems to be getting more normal these days, we don't get the cool down after the climax in books, we get the climax right before the end and that's it.

Being inside Cassie's head for the entire story was probably perfect.  She thinks so differently than the rest of her town (except perhaps Liam), and she also isn't afraid to question everything and do something about it, which makes the story infinitely more interesting.

Overall, 3 out of 5 stars, because the setting wasn't well developed and I thought that was essential to the story, but the rest of it was good.

Recommended to those willing to question their existence a bit (and children over the age of 8 or 10 I think).

Review: Insurgent

Title:  Insurgent
Author:  Veronica Roth
Series:  Divergent [2]
Rating:  5/5


Summary:

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Review:

I loved this book, but not as much as the first one.  It moved really fast, and I enjoyed that we traveled through the other factions with Tris, but there was so much turmoil between her and Tobias.

The only part I really got stuck on was the last 50 pages or so (which was where the biggest action was).  It took me a week to read just those pages, but I think it was due to my own lack of interest in reading in general, not so much a gap in the storyline or interest.

One thing that was bad about visiting all the factions was all the names thrown at us readers.  I love getting more characters, but there's a limit, especially when there will be mass dying.  Personally I had real trouble keeping Johanna seperate from Jeanine and who Evelyn was in general.  Then with Lynn and her sister, and Marlene... I just got really confused and stopped trying to keep some of them straight after a while.

I LOVE and HATE how this book ends though!  That has to be the biggest cliff hanger I have read in a young adult book in a long time.  I won't say what it is here, but I will say that I am desperately waiting for the final book to come out (which isn't until October of this year).

Recommended to those with dystopian love!

Review: Knifepoint by Alex Van Tol

Summary

Jill is enduring a brutal summer job on a mountain ranch, guiding wannabe-cowboys on trail rides. On a solo ride with a handsome stranger she ends up in a fight for her life with no one to help her.

Review

One of many in the "Orca Soundings" Series.  It's not so much of a series as it is a collection of books by various authors that are quick, interesting, and interesting reads.  Out of the few I've read so far this has been my favorite.  While it was less than 150 pages, it had such a fast-moving pace and great description that I felt it was even shorter than that.  It was amazing.

You follow Jill through her last day at a summer job as it goes from bad to worse.  By the end of it you are as out of breath as she is.

5.0/5.0