Books

The Martian

Guy gets left behind on Mars and MacGyvers his way to safety. 

This was the most fun I’ve had reading sci fi in years. 

It’s set in a near future based on plausible advances in science and technology, and the characters feel like normal people. It doesn’t ask for any outsized mental stretching. It feels like hanging out with Dave who worked as a shop foreman for my parents. I loved Dave. And I loved this book. 

Mark Watney’s goofiness can be a bit over the top sometimes, but better that than being stuck alone on Mars for a year with some dour grump. And he’s high agency, so it’s easy enough to forgive. 

The book has some flavor of Endurance and Robinson Crusoe, but it’s also kind of like a @smartereveryday series about getting stuck on Mars. It’s a great survival narrative. It’s got just enough science and technology to give it an authentic and immediate feeling without ever getting bogged down. 

Highly recommended by my 6yo and me. Feels like canonical sci fi.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Wrongly imprisoned Edmond escapes and spends the next fifteen years meticulously crafting revenge. 

About 25% is exquisite. The remainder is exhausting. I’ve never read an abridged version of a book, but knowing what I know now, I’d have read an abridged version of this. 

The structure of the story and the characters are all top tier. But Dumas gets completely lost in developing the deep backstories and wandering off on tangents. It also has moral pretensions that are either outdated or were never that good. 

It’s at its best when it’s leaning into its picaresque and sadistic qualities. Just fuck em up, Edmond, stop trying to convince me that you’re doing god’s work. 

I can’t recommend it in good conscience. Casuals will almost certainly stall out, and hardcore readers don’t need the rec one way or the other.

I'd agree with this, Reviewed it a while back, and I love the beginning, but thought the middle was slow, and would have preferred a full descent into villainhood. I think the story suffers because of its serial release format.