Have you read...can you recommend...

[Impenitent]

Amen to that!

I buy for kindle unless I absolutely have to have it on my shelf, and a great deal of willpower is required because we simply can't p u t up any more shelves; out of wall space.

So what is this The Martian of which you speak?

[Primula Baggins]

It's an example of a Kindle-published breakout hit. The writer is an engineer, not a writer (and it shows in the prose). But he had a compelling idea, did a lot of research, and ended up with a really gripping story that is being made into a movie now. He put it up on Kindle for, like, 99 cents, self-published, and it turned into a phenomenon. There ended up being a bidding war from major publishers, and it was a NYT bestseller once it got "real" publication.

Here's the Amazon blurb (no spoilers):

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?

It isn't great literature (though it's not badly told, either; just a bit clunky). But it's a great story.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

And a major motion picture starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott (which from the trailer I saw looks like it might be pretty good).

[Primula Baggins]

I haven't seen a trailer yet, but it certainly could be good!

[yovargas]

Ugh. Really liked that premise so I went and watched the trailer and it's one of those trailers that feels like it's practically telling you the whole damn story.

[Primula Baggins]

This is one of those stories where the story is the story, if that makes any sense. I mean, experiencing the story along with the main character is the whole point, as in a story about someone trying to climb a mountain. You marvel at his determination, groan at every setback, etc., etc., but it's still just a guy walking a long way. Yet it held me; it was the first time in a long time I read a novel almost without stopping (we were at the beach).

[Impenitent]

Interesting. Am surprised I hadnt heard of it. Will dash off to Amazon.

[Inanna]

That is interesting, and I hadn't heard of it either.

Although I am not dashing off to Amazon.


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Please bear with my typos & grammar mistakes. Sent from my iPhone - Palantirs make mistakes too.

[Jude]

Has anyone read the Robert Galbraith books? (for those who don't know, this is the pseudonym of J. K. Rowling that she uses for the Cormoran Strike mysteries)

I'm in the middle of the second one ("The Silkworm"). It's the kind of book that you always want to read just one more chapter, and when you're at work you're looking forward to the next break so that you can squeeze in another couple of chapters.

Yes, it really is that good.

[Impenitent]

I hadn't followed her ongoing path, so I didn't know she has been writing under s pseudonym. Obviously, I have not read the books.

[Inanna]

I will try and get hold of them!

[Jude]

Has anyone read James Oswald? Apparently he writes detective stories set in Edinburgh.

[Impenitent]

I'm afraid not. Don't know him all.

[Frelga]

Given that this thread started with Patrick Rothfuss, it seems like a good place to mention that he signed a deal with Liongate for a movie, TV and game package based on his books. He says that he was not expecting to really have a movie deal, because his work does not fit the structure of a fantasy movie, but that in combination with a TV show, it would be a perfect way to explore his world.

http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2015/10/hollywood-news/

[Impenitent]

Hm. I feel cynical, re TV series especially.

[Frelga]

About what, Impish? That it will happen or that it will be any good?

[Impenitent]

That it will be any good. That the subtlety of him being a failed and flawed hero will be lost.

[Frelga]

That seems possible, although Rothfuss is saying that he is pleased with the amount of creative control they are willing to give him. Besides, flawed heroes are all the rage now, it's getting an actual good person on screen that seems impossible. Winter Soldier is the only exception I can think of.

The failed part, that could be harder to get across.

[Inanna]

So is he going to write book 3 to get this?

[Maria]

Isn't book 3 already written, and just being revised? I read that somewhere, that he wrote the whole tale as one gigantic book and then had to split it into three parts in order to get published and the division into three wasn't easy and the final revision of book three is taking a while.

But both a TV series and a movie?? That's the right way to do this story, for sure.