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The Martian
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE
A mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).
“Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal
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
A mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).
“Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal
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
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Community Reviews
Listened to the audiobook on a recent road trip and was completely enthralled. This is a book about human ingenuity, perseverance and a whole lot of science. The main character, Watney, is accidentally abandoned on Mars (his crew thought he died) and must apply his problem-solving skills to survive. This could have been a difficult read with the technical jargon, lack of dialogue, and predictable plot structure, but Watney's character is so hilarious and lovable that I could not stop listening. I'm glad the author kept the scope of the novel on Watney and his survival on Mars, rather than adding scenes about the exploration of Mars or finding evidence of life. I gave this four instead of five stars because the ending felt rather abrupt; I usually find a desire of wanting more after finishing a book as a good sign but this felt like someone cleared the table before I was done eating. I hope there is a sequel!
I'm just not the audience I think. It's an intense read, how could it not be with the subject matter...solidarity for 18 months on a desert planet without atmosphere. What this came down to for me was: it was just way too technical, and frankly that dulled it tremendously. I found myself skimming - especially toward the end - and I hate that.
Edge-of-your-seat story for all kinds of readers
This space novel has a lot of science and math, two things this girl typically detests, but the story is so good I was able to trust the author with the numbers and just enjoy the action. A spectacular debut novel, the story of how this book came to be is almost as exciting as the tale itself. Bravo, Andy Weir!
This space novel has a lot of science and math, two things this girl typically detests, but the story is so good I was able to trust the author with the numbers and just enjoy the action. A spectacular debut novel, the story of how this book came to be is almost as exciting as the tale itself. Bravo, Andy Weir!
This is one of the best books I've read. The subject is fascinating, the characters are engaging - particularly Mark Watney. I had to regularly remind myself that this was not a retelling of actual events and that these people are fictional.
I won't lie, I did tend to zone out a touch during some of the longer scientific passages but they only made the story feel more real. I can only imagine the insane amount of research that went into this book.
In addition to the fantastic writing, the extremely engaging story, and the great character portrayals, the narrator did a stellar job of bringing it all together.
I won't lie, I did tend to zone out a touch during some of the longer scientific passages but they only made the story feel more real. I can only imagine the insane amount of research that went into this book.
In addition to the fantastic writing, the extremely engaging story, and the great character portrayals, the narrator did a stellar job of bringing it all together.
Having known the premise and high rating of this book before going into it, I had expected emotional storytelling and psychological accuracy. After all, this man is stranded on Mars alone for two years with multiple near death experiences. That is INCREDIBLY traumatizing. Not only does this book fail to address this fact, it takes a toxic positivity approach to every issue thrown in the main character's direction. Mark has a relentless optimism despite repeatedly facing dire situations which felt so unrealistic that the stakes stopped feeling high. There were too many instances of "yay!" in this novel for me to buy into the narrative. In my opinion, this book should have read more as a thriller, but instead it attempted to be funny and lighthearted.
The only time Mark's psychology is seriously considered is when a NASA scientist asks:
For it to then jump cut to Mark's perspective:
The only time Mark's psychology is seriously considered is when a NASA scientist asks:
"What must it be like? He's stuck out there. He thinks he's totally alone and that we all gave up on him. What kind of effect does that have on a man's psychology? I wonder what he's thinking right now."
For it to then jump cut to Mark's perspective:
"How come Aquaman can control whales? They're mammals! Makes no sense."
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