#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal The inspiration for the major motion picture
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? NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE
“A hugely entertaining novel [that] reads like a rocket ship afire . . . Weir has fashioned in Mark Watney one of the most appealing, funny, and resourceful characters in recent fiction.”—Chicago Tribune “As gripping as they come . . . You’ll be rooting for Watney the whole way, groaning at every setback and laughing at his pitchblack humor. Utterly nail-biting and memorable.”—Financial Times
I received a copy of this book for free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. Also posted on my blog, Rinn Reads.
Rating increased to 4 stars after re-read.
This was chosen as Sci-Fi Book of the Month for my Goodreads book group, Dragons & Jetpacks, back in August. I went into it expecting great things – so many positive reviews from friends, such high praise – and I’m sad to say that I was pretty disappointed.
The premise is terrifying. Mark Watney is now the only person on Mars, after a freak storm that led his crewmates to believe he was dead. The Martian is Watney’s account of survival in the bleak landscape of the Red Planet, told through a series of mission logs, interspersed with third person perspective chapters from NASA. Whilst his self-deprecating sense of humour and dry wit was brilliant, especially in the face of such peril, there were so many chapters where it just felt like lists and lists of what he was doing. Understandably, there’s not actually much to do on Mars, but still…
Whilst I was gripped by the story and rooting for Mark, who was a really likable guy, at times I felt a little bored. I felt that the pace and my enjoyment of the book picked up a lot more towards the end, however, and Andy Weir managed to conjure up many moments where things could go very, very wrong, and I was on the edge of my seat hoping that Mark would be okay.
I can see why the book has such high praise. It’s a unique account and Mark is amazingly brave, considering that he is pretty much staring death right in the face at all times. But I’m sad to say that overall, it just didn’t work for me.
