The Martian by Andy Weir

[Dodgey]

Well you can see wires in the second photo so I'm guessing it isn't final.

[KerbMav]

Well you can see wires in the second photo so I'm guessing it isn't final.

Oh, there is more than one?!

This is one of these websites that are designed in a way I do not like, to much left and right and moving about.

[Dodgey]

Yeah they are below the main photo. Couple of cool retro ones in there as well.

[sp1989]

How many people read the Martian because of Tested and how many people are now reading Seveneves for the same reason?

[Oscilllator]

...how many people are now reading Seveneves for the same reason?

Annnnnnd I've found my next book. Thanks

[Dartguy]

How many people read the Martian because of Tested and how many people are now reading Seveneves for the same reason?

I actually found Tested because of the book, and I have enjoyed it ever since.

[RainDreamer]

I found Tested before the book, since I was researching space food and they had an episode on that.

[sp1989]

Annnnnnd I've found my next book. Thanks

Yes seveneves is on par with The Martian. I find it better only because it is so satisfyingly long. When I was done I was hugely satisfied and that almost everything I wanted to be covered was. However the world the Stephenson created can easily be expanded in multiple entries and become an incredible Sci Fi series of books. If he could do that HBO could and undoubtedly should make a series out of it. Not a bad idea considering GOT only has about 2 or 3 seasons left. Honestly the first book alone is capable of being three or even four seasons. But that is just me.

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I found Tested before the book, since I was researching space food and they had an episode on that.

I have been following tested even before Adam had joined. When they recommended the Martian I instantly knew I should read it.

[Woksaus]

I read the book this weekend, I had a really hard time put it down! I'm looking forward to the movie

[Whackjob]

I saw this thread yesterday, so I sat down and read the book. It's a good book. It'll be a good movie. If they stick to the book... I for one am tired of the "inspired by the book" movies, where the artistic input of the director completely steamrolls the author's work.

I don't think that'll happen here, thankfully. I'll watch it.

[Woksaus]

Isn't this poll a bit early? Considering the movie hasn't come out yet, how can you really judge whether Matt Damon is a good choice?

[J.Random]

New trailer:

[sp1989]

Isn't this poll a bit early? Considering the movie hasn't come out yet, how can you really judge whether Matt Damon is a good choice?

Nope. It was a question of casting choice. After or during reading the book who you pictured in the roll of Watney. For example I think Matt Damon is the obvious choice. I think he is the safe choice because he will do a great job. However they had an opportunity choose someone out of the box like RDJ for Iron Man or Heath Ledger as the Joker. That being choosing Matt Damon almost all but guarantees that book readers and not will be satisfied.

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New trailer:

You beat me to it!!!

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I saw this thread yesterday, so I sat down and read the book. It's a good book. It'll be a good movie. If they stick to the book... I for one am tired of the "inspired by the book" movies, where the artistic input of the director completely steamrolls the author's work.

I don't think that'll happen here, thankfully. I'll watch it.

Actually, even though he might be biased or even contractually obliged to promote the movie. Andy Weir said that they have kept a surprisingly large amount from the book in the movie and that it's very loyal to the plot of the book. So I trust Andy Weir, and based on the trailers we have seen it seems that it will be loyal to the book. Even though it looks like the Hermes crew will know Watney is alive from the beginning I still think they will stay true to the plot of not telling them as well. My theory is that they wouldn't cast Donald Glover as Rich Purnell and Sean Bean as Mitch. Why cast a great actor like Sean Bean as Mitch and why even bother having Rich Purnell if their isn't going to be the Mission Control mutiny? I know that theory is thin however I also feel it's too compelling of a plot. Also I am an video editor by trade and the trailer is heavily edited to make it look like watneys transmission is linear to mission control seeing it in conjunction with the Hermes. It's just good story telling in the trailer and they want to show the shock of everyone, in the trailer. What are they gonna just show mission control and the Hermes crew figuring out burns and maneuvers in the trailer?

Edited August 19, 2015 by sp1989

[Javster]

This book is so good that I finished it yesterday. It also arrived yesterday...

To check I did get it all in my head, I opened to a few random pages and I could remember what main event was happening.

Probably the book I've read the fastest ever.

EDIT: I watched the trailer and I'm stupidly excited even though it looks a bit cheesy

Edited August 20, 2015 by Javster

[StarStreak2109]

Gulped down the trailer a few weeks ago, bought the book, gulped that down and now waiting anxiously for the movie!!!

[KerbMav]

I read the book this weekend

I saw this thread yesterday, so I sat down and read the book

This book is so good that I finished it yesterday. It also arrived yesterday...

You are all so fast readers ... even the audiobook took me weeks ... looks like I am not allotting much time to literature in any form anymore ...

Nope. It was a question of casting choice. After or during reading the book who you pictured in the roll of Watney. For example I think Matt Damon is the obvious choice.

Even though it looks like the Hermes crew will know Watney is alive from the beginning I still think they will stay true to the plot of not telling them as well. My theory is that they wouldn't cast Donald Glover as Rich Purnell and Sean Bean as Mitch. Why cast a great actor like Sean Bean as Mitch and why even bother having Rich Purnell if their isn't going to be the Mission Control mutiny? I know that theory is thin however I also feel it's too compelling of a plot. Also I am an video editor by trade and the trailer is heavily edited to make it look like watneys transmission is linear to mission control seeing it in conjunction with the Hermes. It's just good story telling in the trailer and they want to show the shock of everyone, in the trailer. What are they gonna just show mission control and the Hermes crew figuring out burns and maneuvers in the trailer?

I will miss R. C. Bray's voice from the audiobook, but Matt is a good choice I think.

And I also think that the trailer is just cut in a way that implies the Hermes crew knows it right away.

How I see it,

they dumbed down the digital magic trick from hiding a message in a picture to something more visually appealing for the big screen and the photo snippets they rearrange in the trailer is said hidden message.

Whoow, we will se Sean Bean breathing until the closing credits!

[RainDreamer]

Huh, I just saw that new trailer, and I gotta ask...is Watney married in the book? I don't remember him mentioning anything of the sort, but I might have missed that. I assumed when he meant family it was his parents and relatives instead of a wife and a child, from the way he is so flippant about the whole thing. I guess the movie want to take that emotional angle instead.

[sp1989]

Huh, I just saw that new trailer, and I gotta ask...is Watney married in the book? I don't remember him mentioning anything of the sort, but I might have missed that. I assumed when he meant family it was his parents and relatives instead of a wife and a child, from the way he is so flippant about the whole thing. I guess the movie want to take that emotional angle instead.

No he isn't married. I don't think he is gonna be married. I mean it would heighten the drama but I think it would be unnecessary. The people in the trailer could be his parents or his sister which I think I vaguely remember him mentioning.

[FishInferno]

No he isn't married. I don't think he is gonna be married. I mean it would heighten the drama but I think it would be unnecessary. The people in the trailer could be his parents or his sister which I think I vaguely remember him mentioning.

I'm not sure; the way they portrayed it made it seem like it was his wife and kid. No, it wasn't in the book, but it does heighten the drama, which the moviemakers want.

[sp1989]

I'm not sure; the way they portrayed it made it seem like it was his wife and kid. No, it wasn't in the book, but it does heighten the drama, which the moviemakers want.

No its Martinez's family. The wife and kid are Spanish. I am not saying that Watney couldn't have a spanish wife and son Its just that I remember the plot line now of Martinez. When they decide to do the earth gravity assist Martinez needs to tell his family that he isn't going to see them as soon as he they thought. So the clip is most likely from Martinez talking to his family. Just another case of them editing it so it looks like something else. If that isn't clear proof about how they edit it make it seem more compelling then I don't know what will.

[TheSaint]

I'm still a little wary of the movie. Although the second trailer seems a little lighter, it still feels like they stripped a lot of the humor out. For me the humor was what made the book really surprising and unique. And I still feel like the casting is all wrong. I'll go see it in the theater, but I won't be surprised at all if they screw it up.

How many people read the Martian because of Tested and how many people are now reading Seveneves for the same reason?

I've read both, and I never even heard of Tested until just now. I've actually been reading Stephenson since I picked up Snow Crash in 2000, and I'll say this: If you haven't read everything Neal Stephenson has ever written, you are doing yourself a disservice. He is a phenomenal author. Seveneves is a very good novel, but it is nowhere near his best. I just happen to be rereading The Diamond Age right now, which I haven't read in twelve years, and I have to say that it is completely different reading it again as a parent. (Yeah, I just said that about a science fiction novel.)

Yes seveneves is on par with The Martian. I find it better only because it is so satisfyingly long. When I was done I was hugely satisfied and that almost everything I wanted to be covered was. However the world the Stephenson created can easily be expanded in multiple entries and become an incredible Sci Fi series of books. If he could do that HBO could and undoubtedly should make a series out of it. Not a bad idea considering GOT only has about 2 or 3 seasons left. Honestly the first book alone is capable of being three or even four seasons. But that is just me.

Seveneves is actually a relatively short book by Stephenson standards. Most of his books are over a thousand pages. The Baroque Cycle is almost 3,000 pages, if you take all three books as one, which is the way he intended it to be read.

I agree that the Seveneves continuity would be ripe for more writing, and Stephenson has done that in the past, sort of. The Diamond Age is written in the same continuity as Snow Crash, but it isn't really a sequel since it is set about a hundred years later and doesn't share any characters or plotlines. In the same way The Baroque Cycle is a sort of prequel to Cryptonomicon: It shares a lot of the same themes, and many of the characters are related to each other, but the plots are disconnected. (Which is understandable, since the books are separated by roughly three hundred years.) So it isn't without precedent that he would write more in Seveneves, but I wouldn't count on it being a true sequel, or even anything that could provide a continuing storyline in the style of GoT. (If you want some insight into his view of that style of storytelling, read Reamde.) Besides, from what I hear he has been working on another huge historical fiction series and took a break from it to write Seveneves. So I wouldn't be expecting more science fiction from him anytime soon.

[Brethern]

No its Martinez's family. The wife and kid are Spanish. I am not saying that Watney couldn't have a spanish wife and son Its just that I remember the plot line now of Martinez. When they decide to do the earth gravity assist Martinez needs to tell his family that he isn't going to see them as soon as he they thought. So the clip is most likely from Martinez talking to his family. Just another case of them editing it so it looks like something else. If that isn't clear proof about how they edit it make it seem more compelling then I don't know what will.

I think it's less them lying and more them realizing they have thirty seconds to a minute to get people interested in the movie.

[sp1989]

I think it's less them lying and more them realizing they have thirty seconds to a minute to get people interested in the movie.

That's precisely my point! I have been addressing since the first trailer about people saying how much they changed the plot.

[Brethern]

That's precisely my point! I have been addressing since the first trailer about people saying how much they changed the plot.

I have yet to see how you can tell the plot of a movie from a trailer.

Well except for revenge of the sith, but what was going to happen was fairly well known.

[TheSaint]

I have yet to see how you can tell the plot of a movie from a trailer.

Well except for revenge of the sith, but what was going to happen was fairly well known.

I see quite a few trailers that tell you the whole plot of the film. But, in general, those films don't have much plot to tell.