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elzbethmrgn's Reviews (667)
This was a short, easy read that didn't really leave an impact on me. I agree with many of the reviews I've seen that discuss Station Eleven as literary fiction with a SF veneer, and I can see how that view has been reached: the SF is pretty thin on the ground here, the science is less science and more fiction. That's cool, I suspended disbelief and ran with it.
On the literary hand, however, I find it harder to get along. The two major hammers-over-the-head of Station Eleven, the comic within the book, and the Shakespeare, were as subtle as a brick. There was no nuance, no subtlety, no depth to any of the characters.
I do, however, like the world, as unbelievable as it might be (twenty years and no one's rigged up any kind of tech?) . I loved the vignette of Jeevan and his brother, and to a lesser extent Clark at the airport and Air Gradia 452 and that's probably the only thing I'll take away from Station Eleven - the stories of people in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic.
On the literary hand, however, I find it harder to get along. The two major hammers-over-the-head of Station Eleven, the comic within the book, and the Shakespeare, were as subtle as a brick. There was no nuance, no subtlety, no depth to any of the characters.
I do, however, like the world, as unbelievable as it might be
My 2019 review: Regretting picking this one up. I was enjoying the show (season 3) so much I thought I'd build on my canon, but the show is vastly superior to this. Pick one or the other imo.
My 2021 review: do not listen to past me. This is just fine.
My 2021 review: do not listen to past me. This is just fine.
I don't know if this is a four-star rating because I enjoyed the book, or because the TV adaptation is the best new TV I have seen in a decade, or because Amos. Either way, I'll grab the next one.
This was a pick for Sword & Laser last year and I didn't read it, because I don't like SF all that much. And then it got picked up as a movie. And then someone else loved it. And then here we are.
I really enjoyed this book, and I don't know if I would have liked it more if I understood and/or cared about the science involved. Watney was fun and funny, and it was great to be on his journey to try and not only survive, but escape Mars. RC Bray's narration on the Audible version was fantastic for Watney, but the secondary men (and they were mostly men) felt all a bit generic - the Indian and the Mexican stood out as difficult to distinguish when they were talking in the same scene.
The only part I found entirely unbelievable (yes, I don't care about the science so we're ignoring any flaws there), is that the news media would run a feature on Watney every day for eighteen months. I can believe they would initially be excited, and then if something happened they would get on board again, but certainly not every damn day. I also think maybe the PR manager should maybe know a little more about the science of their organisation, but again, it served the purpose of dumbing-down the explanations for readers.
Overall I heartily recommend this book, and look forward to seeing the movie.
I really enjoyed this book, and I don't know if I would have liked it more if I understood and/or cared about the science involved. Watney was fun and funny, and it was great to be on his journey to try and not only survive, but escape Mars. RC Bray's narration on the Audible version was fantastic for Watney, but the secondary men (and they were mostly men) felt all a bit generic - the Indian and the Mexican stood out as difficult to distinguish when they were talking in the same scene.
The only part I found entirely unbelievable (yes, I don't care about the science so we're ignoring any flaws there), is that the news media would run a feature on Watney every day for eighteen months. I can believe they would initially be excited, and then if something happened they would get on board again, but certainly not every damn day. I also think maybe the PR manager should maybe know a little more about the science of their organisation, but again, it served the purpose of dumbing-down the explanations for readers.
Overall I heartily recommend this book, and look forward to seeing the movie.
