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The Martian
#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
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
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Community Reviews
This is a fairly easy way to get into sci-fi reading. I had seen the movie before reading the book so that probably skewed my perception of it. But a BIGGER plug for Andy Weir as an author...a MUST READ is Project Hail Mary.
Definitely appealed to my geeky science side. A good ole Robinson Crusoe adventure with lots and lots of science and data. I really liked it.
Took a bit to get into the rhythm of this book, but then the story line took over. Now I want to watch the movie.
Not Fast
This is NOT a book you are going to finish quickly. If you are expecting a fast, fun read or perhaps are thinking it is super action-packed like the movie, you are very wrong. This is a book filled with lots of science, lots of math, and tons of actual thinking going on. Personally, as a scientist, I loved it! It probably took me WAY longer than it should have because I couldnât just read and enjoy, I was actually trying to do all the math calculations and figure out the science along with Watney. But Iâm a geek. 😉
REALISM!! YAS!!!
Okay. Anyone who reads my reviews knows just how much I care about stories being realistic. This means having plausible complications for the plans and legitimate consequences for their actions. THIS story had all of it. Every time you think things are going well, you knew something bad was about to screw it up because nothing (in science) EVER goes this smoothly. It was so legitimate and I loved it!
Personality
Mark Watney has so much gosh darn personality it hurts! Some times I couldnât remember that he was a full-grown man with specialties in two different fields because he just acted so human and so childish. I loved this because itâs true to reality. We are all human. We all break and do stupid things and make selfish choices. Whats more is that Mark Watneyâs coping mechansim was fantastic. He was definitely the best character to have along for the ride in this story.
TO MARS!
Alright. This is just me being a TOTAL geek, but this story actually made me want to go to Mars. (which goes against EVERY survival instinct I have that says space is the most dangerous thing I could ever do besides ocean diving.) And yet this story was fun. I actually loved hearing about Mars and what it would be like. More importantly, I would love to be so smart and so resourceful that I could get picked to join a 6 person Mars team. Do you know the cred you would have?! (especially in my field! Hahahaha!) Wonderful.
Burn Out
Iâll admit. Towards the end of 369 pages, I did get a bit burnt out on the science and the math. Itâs tons of fun in the beginning. Itâs like getting to know all the legitimate world building going into a fictional world (except Mars is real). But after a while, it did get a little tedious and I just could not keep up with all the math and chemistry and physics. I am a biologist, after all. However, at that point, I just needed to know if the ending was more plausible than the movie ending. So, naturally I had to finish. 🙂
This is NOT a book you are going to finish quickly. If you are expecting a fast, fun read or perhaps are thinking it is super action-packed like the movie, you are very wrong. This is a book filled with lots of science, lots of math, and tons of actual thinking going on. Personally, as a scientist, I loved it! It probably took me WAY longer than it should have because I couldnât just read and enjoy, I was actually trying to do all the math calculations and figure out the science along with Watney. But Iâm a geek. 😉
REALISM!! YAS!!!
Okay. Anyone who reads my reviews knows just how much I care about stories being realistic. This means having plausible complications for the plans and legitimate consequences for their actions. THIS story had all of it. Every time you think things are going well, you knew something bad was about to screw it up because nothing (in science) EVER goes this smoothly. It was so legitimate and I loved it!
Personality
Mark Watney has so much gosh darn personality it hurts! Some times I couldnât remember that he was a full-grown man with specialties in two different fields because he just acted so human and so childish. I loved this because itâs true to reality. We are all human. We all break and do stupid things and make selfish choices. Whats more is that Mark Watneyâs coping mechansim was fantastic. He was definitely the best character to have along for the ride in this story.
TO MARS!
Alright. This is just me being a TOTAL geek, but this story actually made me want to go to Mars. (which goes against EVERY survival instinct I have that says space is the most dangerous thing I could ever do besides ocean diving.) And yet this story was fun. I actually loved hearing about Mars and what it would be like. More importantly, I would love to be so smart and so resourceful that I could get picked to join a 6 person Mars team. Do you know the cred you would have?! (especially in my field! Hahahaha!) Wonderful.
Burn Out
Iâll admit. Towards the end of 369 pages, I did get a bit burnt out on the science and the math. Itâs tons of fun in the beginning. Itâs like getting to know all the legitimate world building going into a fictional world (except Mars is real). But after a while, it did get a little tedious and I just could not keep up with all the math and chemistry and physics. I am a biologist, after all. However, at that point, I just needed to know if the ending was more plausible than the movie ending. So, naturally I had to finish. 🙂
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