“I just tend to be skeptical about the basic sci-fi protagonist, who is perceptive, dedicated, fearless and hyper-competent, all the time. “

I just finished reading Hail Mary and I agree with Rob’s comment below: the story really was FULL of instances of human mistakes, shortcomings, failures. Like The Martian, it was a story about persistance and problem solving, while occassionally doing very stupid things. It was a story about a coward who becomes a hero, even when there was an easier path. And I always love good redemption stories.

Perhaps the communication between human and alien was too “easy”. And to me the Astrophage life form seemed too implausable. Nonetheless, it was science FICTION on an excellent level.

Well worth the read.

But I know what you mean. The protagonists are just too damn lucky, really. There is a scene in War of the Worlds (2005) where Tom Cruise is driving down a clogged highway yet somehow manages to find gaps in the traffic to escape. Just a mission impossible, if you ask me. There are so many more examples in movies and books to list here.

Your mention of Shackleton is apt; he and his crew were badass beyond belief. I’d add the crew and the support staff of Apollo 13. “Solve the problem!” Problem after problem. This is what “The Martian” played upon, both the novel and the movie. (I did like the reference to “a steely eyed missile man). I think that historic line was perfect.

We’ve all had to face a challenge that was a series of obstacles to overcome. Various adventures doing field work, or just touristy travel, health challenges, both ours and those we care about, coping with natural disasters in our neighborhoods.

The quote as moral at the end of The Martian:

“At some point, everything’s gonna go south and you’re going to say, this is it. This is how I end. Now, you can either accept that, or you can get to work. That’s all it is. You just begin. You do the math. You solve one problem and you solve the next one and then the next. And if you solve enough problems, you get to come home.”

EDIT: This also applies to me cleaning out the garage, Mrs. P. reminds me.

But the lead character “was” an admitted coward and was terrified when he learned he was chosen for the mission. He brings it up a few times in inner dialog during the trip. Overcoming shortcomings may not happen often real life, but it makes for good story telling.

The alien was the one of the most unique constructions of another life form I’ve come across. And one thing I’ve always enjoyed is the bridging of the language barrier with another species. It’s treated in “Nor Crystal Tears” and movies like “Enemy Mine” and “Robison Crusoe on Mars” (if I remember right.) It’s a battle where both sides are victorious in the end.

Be pessimistic if you like, you’ve earned it, but I have a hunch I’ll thoroughly enjoy the movie, warts and all.

Like way too much science fiction, the expertise, ingenuity and heroics of the lead characters are just not believable, he’s just too clever, and his alien counterpart too cutesy for my taste. Perhaps I’m prejudiced, but I’ve always suspected that the gulf between species would be insurmountable, no matter how much the two representatives were motivated to work together for their common good.

I didn’t read “The Martian”, but I did see the film, and I have pretty much the same criticisms (and admirations) for that work. Maybe I’m too much influenced by post-modern literary fashion and theory, but the situations encountered in science fiction too often rely on people (or ETs) who are way too clever and determined and entirely too noble compared to the sentient organisms I know, myself included. Maybe its the Heinlein legacy. Oh yes, I know humans are capable of enormous empathy and ingenuity and sometimes they are magnificent in crisis; but they often succeed in spite of their faults, not because of their virtues. And even the most superb efforts are often accompanied by multiple errors and mistakes and profound foolishness. Even the finest among us can be idiots, or lazy, or cowardly or selfish, particularly under pressure. The truly heroic accounts, like Shackleton and Bligh, are indeed inspiring, but I suspect they often leave out the real horror they had to overcome, and the toll it took on them. For every Apollo 13 there is a Custer’s Last Stand.

Maybe I’m just a hopeless cynic, and if you wish to castigate me for that I probably will deserve much of your criticism; people sometimes do act heroically and brilliantly. I just tend to be skeptical about the basic sci-fi protagonist, who is perceptive, dedicated, fearless and hyper-competent, all the time. I also recognize modern literary fashion tends to be pessimistic and too often focuses on our neuroses and not our triumphs. Still, I tend to subscribe to the old WWII infantryman’s observation; “A hero is just a coward who got cornered.”