Every Tuesday, fellow blogger Bibliophile By the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where bloggers share the first paragraph of the book they are currently reading or thinking about reading soon.
I finished all my Nonfiction November books, so have moved on to “operation plough through all the 2014 books people loved, but I haven’t gotten to yet”. The first on my list is The Martian and I’m really enjoying it so far. I kind of want to grab a beer with Mark Watney and, ever since we started getting the perspective of Mark’s predicament from people on Earth, the science Mark is dealing with us been much more manageable.
Plot Summary from Amazon
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
Here’s the first paragraph:
LOG ENTRY: SOL 6
I’m pretty much fucked. That’s my considered opinion. Fucked. Six days into what should be one of the greatest two months of my life, and it’s turned into a nightmare. I don’t even know who’ll read this. I guess someone will find it eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now. For the record…I didn’t die on Sol 6. Certainly the rest of the crew thought I did, and I can’t blame them. Maybe there’ll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say, “Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars.”
What do you think? Would you keep reading? Stay tuned for my full review…
Definitely curious for more –enjoy Sarah.
i just added this to my list of books I want to read in 2015! It sounds really interesting!
Thanks for stopping by!
Not my usual read, but I do want to know what happens! Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.
Oh yes! I would love to see what happens to him up there.
That’s a great opening! I haven’t read much sci-fi, but if the story is well written, I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read (The Andromeda Strain, Stranger in a Strange Land, and other oldies.) This sounds like a good one.
My Tuesday post features THE LEGACY LETTERS.
Neither have I – I think this actually might be my first one! I think this is definitely a cross-over Sci-fi…
Thanks for stopping by!
Yeah, that’s interesting! I don’t read much sci-fi, and and I already read one this fall (The Book of Strange New Things- sort of a sci-fi/lit fic blend), so I might be already over my limit. 🙂 But the synopsis and first paragraph does make me want to know if he survives!
Intriguing excerpt–I definitely want to know what happens to Mark.
My Tuesday post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/11/first-chapter-first-paragraph-82-and.html
I don’t usually read this kind of book, but I do like the intro and am interested in what happens next. I’d have to keep reading! Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
I don’t either – this is totally not my kind of thing, but the author has generated real emotion for this guy!
Thanks for stopping by!
I’m so intrigued. You had me at ‘fucked’.
I’ve got this on my stacks, but have heard it is fantastic on audio.
I’m sorry Sarah, but it just didn’t grab me. I applaud you for trying something new. I’ll keep an eye out for your review.
sounds like an interesting adventure that’s out of this world *hehe* Have a nice week. kelley—the road goes ever ever on
I have heard nothing but good things about this book. I haven’t decided yet if I will read it, but the opening makes it sound like it will be good.