5 ms·

This is on my list to read after being recommended to me directly twice. As a fellow writer of fiction (The Dread Space Pirate Richard, a sci-fi comedy adventu

This is on my list to read after being recommended to me directly twice. As a fellow writer of fiction (The Dread Space Pirate Richard, a sci-fi comedy adventure faerie tale for adults) I was also encouraged to learn that this was another case of an "overnight success" that was years in the making. In an interview with Weir he said that before he started posting his orig blog serialization of The Martian, he already had been writing publically for 10 years and had built up a fanbase of about 1500 subscribers or regular visitors to his blog. So, he had had a big channel of eyeballs ready to go on day one. Even then the serialization didn't explode over night, was a slow grow thing. But a good case can be made that he might never have reached the necessary critical mass of attention for The Martian if he didn't start with that built-in fan channel. Or, it probably would have taken much longer. Note to self: "I have N years to go. I have N years to go..."

Stratoscope 12y ago
It also must have helped putting the Kindle edition on sale for 99 cents around last April. I saw it recommended here on HN, went to look and yeah, 99 cents? No-brainer! And it lived up to all the recommendations too.
basicallydan 12y ago
I'd like to be the third person to recommend it to you. My second favourite book of 2014 :) Do it! Oh and hey good luck with your writing :)
- mkramlich 12y ago
  thanks!
- bawigga 12y ago
  What was your first favorite book of 2014?
  - basicallydan 12y ago
    Embassytown by China Mieville! :)
munificent 12y ago
Just to offer a counter-point: I got about halfway through the book and lost interest. I'm really happy for the author's success, and I don't at all think it's a bad book. But I found it to be basically pure "survival porn". I like MacGyver too, but I don't think I could watch a four hour episode of it, and that's what the book felt like to me. The characters and writing are solid, but the constant peril and clever solutions just got tedious after a while. If you "How is he going to get himself out of this?" is enough to keep you going for an entire book, you'll probably love it. But if you need a bit more than that, it may lose your interest.
- mkramlich 12y ago
  I had a similar reaction. Maybe because I've been reading for 35+ years and read stuff which is prob much better than The Martian. I see its attractions and his skill, no doubt, but felt lately there's a bit of a hype train going on where the actual material is nowhere near as good as the hype. Its not as bad as the hype-to-reality gap for Fifty Shades though: that's a book where I couldn't go more than a page or so, every time I've sampled it (partly out of curiousity, partly to study its secrets), without groaning or laughing aloud at how bad it is. The Martian is much much better than that, but his formula shows its bones quickly.
  - vl 12y ago
    Granted it's rather simplistic story, spoiled by the fact that you know that there is a happy end (otherwise book wouldn't have a point), but it's still solid and entertaining. It's like Gravity done well and right. Importantly, it's distinct from other kind of entertaining books - I still read Da Vinci Code, but while it was entertaining, it's both terrible writing and story. Martian is different - yes, you know what's going to happen, but journey is the point.
- zachrose 12y ago
  OTOH, if you're TOTALLY into a four-hour MacGyver movie, you may be interested in this book by Raymond Malewitz where he breaks down a recurring theme of "object misuse" in contemporary literature that he calls "Rugged Consumerism." The book looks at things like Apollo 13, MacGuyver, Fight Club, the Whole Earth Catalog, Sam Shepard, etc. http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=22814 http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=22814 Here's an article just about No Country for Old Men: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cli/summary/v050/50.4.malewitz.html http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cli/summary/v050/50.4.malewitz....

Stratoscope 12y ago

It also must have helped putting the Kindle edition on sale for 99 cents around last April. I saw it recommended here on HN, went to look and yeah, 99 cents? No-brainer! And it lived up to all the recommendations too.

basicallydan 12y ago

I'd like to be the third person to recommend it to you. My second favourite book of 2014 :) Do it! Oh and hey good luck with your writing :)

mkramlich 12y ago
thanks!
bawigga 12y ago
What was your first favorite book of 2014?
- basicallydan 12y ago
  Embassytown by China Mieville! :)

munificent 12y ago

Just to offer a counter-point: I got about halfway through the book and lost interest. I'm really happy for the author's success, and I don't at all think it's a bad book. But I found it to be basically pure "survival porn". I like MacGyver too, but I don't think I could watch a four hour episode of it, and that's what the book felt like to me. The characters and writing are solid, but the constant peril and clever solutions just got tedious after a while. If you "How is he going to get himself out of this?" is enough to keep you going for an entire book, you'll probably love it. But if you need a bit more than that, it may lose your interest.

mkramlich 12y ago
I had a similar reaction. Maybe because I've been reading for 35+ years and read stuff which is prob much better than The Martian. I see its attractions and his skill, no doubt, but felt lately there's a bit of a hype train going on where the actual material is nowhere near as good as the hype. Its not as bad as the hype-to-reality gap for Fifty Shades though: that's a book where I couldn't go more than a page or so, every time I've sampled it (partly out of curiousity, partly to study its secrets), without groaning or laughing aloud at how bad it is. The Martian is much much better than that, but his formula shows its bones quickly.
- vl 12y ago
  Granted it's rather simplistic story, spoiled by the fact that you know that there is a happy end (otherwise book wouldn't have a point), but it's still solid and entertaining. It's like Gravity done well and right. Importantly, it's distinct from other kind of entertaining books - I still read Da Vinci Code, but while it was entertaining, it's both terrible writing and story. Martian is different - yes, you know what's going to happen, but journey is the point.
zachrose 12y ago
OTOH, if you're TOTALLY into a four-hour MacGyver movie, you may be interested in this book by Raymond Malewitz where he breaks down a recurring theme of "object misuse" in contemporary literature that he calls "Rugged Consumerism." The book looks at things like Apollo 13, MacGuyver, Fight Club, the Whole Earth Catalog, Sam Shepard, etc. http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=22814 http://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=22814 Here's an article just about No Country for Old Men: http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cli/summary/v050/50.4.malewitz.html http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/cli/summary/v050/50.4.malewitz....