Comfort re-read #2.

Another comfort re-read. I’m beginning to sense a pattern here. I read the hardcover this time, but weirdly, I still heard the audiobook narrator’s voice in my head the whole time. I listened to that back in 2014, so I guess he was just a super memorable narrator. Thankfully, I did NOT have Matt Damon in my head in any form. Though, weirdly, all the other actors from the movie were there. Except for the main character (and Venkat Kapoor, whose race they just changed entirely, but Chiwitel Ejiofor, so I forgive them), I think the casting in that movie was spot on.

Things that make me enjoy this book enough to re-read it:

1. Mark Watney. His fundamentally good natured personality, his refusal to give up against staggering odds, his vulnerability, his smartassness. I love it all.

2. There is something weirdly soothing, especially in audiobook form, about Mark telling you exactly what science he is doing and why. I also love the extremely practical nature of the book. There is no handwaving or technological deus ex machinas to be found.

3. I love all the NASA geeks. I love the way they bust their asses to save Mark, and how professional and good at their jobs they are. I also love how Mark teases them constantly.

4. It still amazes me how Weir managed to sustain interest and tension throughout a book where, for the most part, it’s just one guy stranded on a planet by himself.

Not much else to say here because I wasn’t reading it for thinking purposes, but for a little pick-me-up. It’s nice to imagine a world where everyone truly cares so much about saving the life of one guy on a planet far away.