#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
An astronaut fights for his life as the rest of the world watches in this phenomenal science fiction novel.
Meet Mark Watney. He was accidentally left behind on Mars. Mark is a fantastic character full of humor and drive. He’s a practical solutions person which I admire so much. I felt like I learned a lot about handling challenging situations just by listening to his methodical and logical critical thinking skills. This nerdy mechanical engineering botanist is sure to capture your heart as well as your mind.
After the first couple of chapters, the view point expands beyond Mark. You get to see the behind the scenes action at NASA, JPL, and on a man-led space craft. The secondary characters are as richly drawn as Mark, bringing their own unique charm to the story. I loved his crew members, although I would have liked some more scenes of them together prior to the failed mission. Common acts of bravery, observation, and just plain hard work pull the various other characters together to build this layered, complex world.
I cannot rave enough about the audiobook. I listened to it in a record six weeks, loving it so much I demanded my husband listen to it. If you haven’t read this novel before (or even if you have read it), I highly recommend you listen to the audiobook. The narrator is fantastic at creating distinguishable characters and keeping the science interesting.
tl;dr A phenomenally well-written science fiction novel with a lovable main character, fascinating science, and plenty of tension.
