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Andy Weir, Author of the Martian, Shares Details About His Next Novel
- julianpye 11y agoIf you enjoyed 'The Martian', you should read his famous story 'The Egg', if you haven't already: http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html
- jjaredsimpson 11y agoI like to think that short story was inspired by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-electron_universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-electron_universe
- rosser 11y agoI make a point of re-reading this story every several months to a year-ish. It reminds me to look at and engage with the world in a more compassionate way, and I like that.
- Raphmedia 11y agoOh wow, I didn't realize that he also did "The Egg". I also recommend reading this!
- readams 11y agoI find it kind of sad that he has to take crap just because his lead is a female character. How is this in any way remarkable? If he announced he's writing a feminist novel or something that specifically addresses gender issues that might have been an interesting line of questioning.
- talmand 11y agoWhere do you see that he's getting crap for a female lead?
- jacalata 11y agoThey might mean just getting the question "why write a female lead".
- talmand 11y agoWhy is that "getting crap" though? It's a legitimate question to ask with many possible interesting answers. His answer was actually quite good, no real reason other than it felt right for the character.
- BEEdwards 11y agoThe flip side is though if he was writing about a man no on would ask the question, which is the issue. Choosing a male protagonist is default, choosing to write about a women though is strange and needs to be questioned.
- talmand 11y agoOn the flip side of that, would anybody get upset if an author was asked "why a male character"? What if the author was female? The whole thinking behind that kind of complaint within the context of the question with no reason is stupid. I don't see the interviewer "questioning" the author of the choice of a female lead. People are just making too much out of innocent questions that may have interesting answers.
- munificent 11y ago> Choosing a male protagonist is default Choosing a protagonist whose gender (and race, etc.) is the same as the author's is the default. I don't think anyone asks Margaret Atwood why she chooses a female protagonist.
- dazmax 11y agoBut they also don't ask why she chose a male protagonist.
- danpalmer 11y agoGlad to hear that he's doing another "scientifically accurate". For a while, he was saying that the next book would be a 'typical' space-opera style novel without that aspect, and while I do enjoy that genre, I didn't feel like the writing quality of The Martian would be good enough to carry a space opera. He's found a niche, something that he is good at, and I'm really glad to see him sticking to this rather than trying to do something that I doubt his ability to pull off.
- Grishnakh 11y agoThe Martian isn't scientifically accurate, though it's closer than a lot of other stuff. The entire plot device of the storm at the beginning, needed to give a reason for Watney to be abandoned on Mars, was total hogwash: Mars doesn't have an atmosphere thick enough for that. Some other things were questionable too, like the rescue at the end. Personally, I'd like to see some more movies that really are scientifically accurate, about things in space near the Earth, perhaps one set on the Moon showing a colony there used for asteroid mining and ore refining.
- ethbro 11y agoAm I the only one who thought the writing wasn't particularly good? Disclaimer: I still haven't seen the movie. It kind of felt like a throwback to 1950s science fiction where characterization was more of an afterthought than a fully-fleshed out endeavor. I.e. the "I am an idea / political position / plot device wearing a human-suit" school of character design. Except with more pop culture and cool added in this case. Which isn't to say it wasn't an entertaining book and I didn't heartily appreciate the story!
- freehunter 11y agoI think it's pretty well acknowledged that he's not a terribly good writer. But he's a darn good storyteller, as it is entertaining and gripping from start to finish.
- defuzzified 11y agoYeah, I felt the same way but the plot and the problems were so well done I didn't mind too much. He was a programmer before becoming a writer and so his style seemed like he was just iteratively solving cool problems to me. The movie does a great job with the characters though. One of the best films I've seen in a while!
- jandrese 11y agoI thought the framing device did a good job of covering for the thin characterization. We were getting his broadcasts to historians on the chance that he didn't survive. There were several places in the book where it cuts out for a few hours or days after a major setback, presumably while he goes through the cycles of grief before deciding to press forward. The movie was pretty good, the only thing I really missed from it was the infamous drill scene. That was a real emotional kick in the book, but I understand why they killed it for the movie (trying to keep the NASA folks from becoming a total sideshow in the third act).
- bobwaycott 11y agoYeah, I really missed the drill bit, too. I begrudgingly accepted it made some sense.