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

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387 pages

Average rating: 8.35

520 RATINGS

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35 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

MrsReadsAlot
Dec 19, 2024
10/10 stars
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.
Mrs. Awake Taco
Nov 13, 2024
10/10 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mark Watney as a narrator brings a beautiful sense of humor to a book that, without it, would be probably awful to read, hopeless and humorless. I don't know what else I could say about this book that no one else has said, other than it was a moving, entertaining read that made me feel a little more connected and inspired when it was finished.
DaileyBean
Aug 14, 2024
10/10 stars
Excellent story and I'm no astronaut, but plenty realistic for me! Love his sense of humor! Mark Watney had me cracking up!
The Nerdy Narrative
Jul 19, 2024
10/10 stars
What an absolute delight this book was! I cannot believe this was Andy Weir's debut novel. He writes as though he has been doing this for years. I love that he was able to unfold a story on Mars with an astronaut main character and write it in such a way that I was able to understand and follow along with ease.

I did post a non-spoiler review on my channel if you would like to copy and paste this link to watch: https://youtu.be/jiWumMCtVHs
Lindsey B
Jun 24, 2024
Re-read with Martian Messages

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