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The Martian

(The Martian #1)

Andy Weir (Goodreads Author)

4.40 · Rating details · 953,197 ratings · 78,960 reviews

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 supplie ...more

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Hardcover, First Edition, 384 pages

Published February 11th 2014 by Crown (first published September 27th 2011)

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Andy Weir - author

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Jan 01, 2015 Will Byrnes rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science, travel, books-of-the-year-2014, science-fiction, fiction

I’m pretty much fucked.

Ok, show of hands. How many of you have uttered these exact words? (or words to that effect). Not everyone? I see we have some liars out there. How many have said them at least twice? Three times? Four? Those with hands still up, you probably need to make some adjustments to your approach, find a safer line of work, hobbies that do not entail long drops, stop trying the weekly specials at McBlowfish, or seek out people to date who are into less extreme…um…sports. These ...more

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Jan 26, 2014 Davy-Gravy rated it it was ok

Unpopular opinion time: I don't like how this book is written. Watney's journals read like a nerdy blog rather than a dramatic survivor's diary. It's hard to find something harrowing and traumatic when the protagonist is saying "yay!" a lot and making incessant corny puns. "3.6 pirate-ninjas!" "Yay oxygen!" "Lol gay probe lol!!!!!1!" "Bad rover, no Scooby snack!!!111!" "LOL craaaaaaap!!1!" For me, those aren't funny, they're almost embarrassing.

No matter what horrible thing is happening to Watne Unpopular opinion time: I don't like how this book is written. Watney's journals read like a nerdy blog rather than a dramatic survivor's diary. It's hard to find something harrowing and traumatic when the protagonist is saying "yay!" a lot and making incessant corny puns. "3.6 pirate-ninjas!" "Yay oxygen!" "Lol gay probe lol!!!!!1!" "Bad rover, no Scooby snack!!!111!" "LOL craaaaaaap!!1!" For me, those aren't funny, they're almost embarrassing.

No matter what horrible thing is happening to Watney, he's sure to pull though, but not before laying a smug, cutesy zinger on us. It sucks all the tension out of any situation, which is the complete opposite of what I want in a book that's supposed to be a thriller.

Now, don't get me wrong, Andy Weir is a great technical writer. When Watney isn't being a wacky douche, he's going on and on about some technical or mechanical or biological process that, with me not being a scientist, usually goes over my head. And that's fine, I have no fault with a book that's factually complicated like that. In fact, it's really admirable and cool that Weir is able to pool all of his expertise into a book about survival on Mars.

That being said, other aspects of the book suffer. According to the author's bio on the back of the book, Andy Weir "was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight." If I can stereotype here, it shows. My guess is that he doesn't really know how people behave or interact in the real world. The dialog is stilted and awkward. The characters are all one-dimensional and flat. They almost seem like an afterthought. The emotional and psychological trauma rendered by all these near-death experiences and complete and utter isolation? What trauma? There's no mention of that anywhere. Watney is apparently that cool and awesome of a guy, as evidenced by all his canned laugh track one-liners and grating sarcasm.

But hey, maybe that doesn't bother some people (obviously, considering that people actually watch The Big Bang Theory), and they're in for a technologically-driven, "funny" space-thriller. Because I have to admit, it's a terrifyingly cool premise. It just wasn't what I was expecting. I was hoping for an emotionally-taxing, horrifying, survival drama, but instead got a cutesily witty astrophysics manual. Just because something is nerdy doesn't automatically mean that it's good. ...more

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Dec 02, 2014 Emily May rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, 2015

First off, welcome to 2015!

Let's kick this year off with a review of a book about a guy who deserves to survive more than anyone I've ever known. This book has been lurking around in my Goodreads feed, gaining hype, and all the positive reviews from my friends eventually got too much for me - so I had to check this out for myself. I'm glad I gave in.

The Martian has so many good things going for it. First and foremost, it is a classic tale of survival against very huge odds. In this book, Mark Wa ...more

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Sep 20, 2014 Althea Ann rated it it was ok

'Crap! My astronaut crewmates accidentally left me behind on Mars! I'm fucked! I'm going to die! Oh wait! I just thought of something highly logically unlikely and technically complicated, that I am sure to pull off without a hitch, because did I mention that I am Plucky and Ingenious? It sure is a good thing that I am super-talented! Yay! That worked! I'm not dead! [Next chapter] But wait! Disaster has struck! Shit happens, when you're stuck alone on Mars. Whatever shall I do? OMG, I just had a ...more

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Jul 24, 2015 Rick Riordan rated it it was amazing

Adult science thriller.

Love it, love it! A meticulously researched, briskly paced and surprisingly funny story about an astronaut left behind on Mars, presumed dead, who must now figure out how to survive and let the folks back on Earth know he is alive and needs rescue. This is hard-science science fiction. Parts of it read like really complicated (but amusing) word problems, juggling mass and time and weight, etc. But all of that adds to the realism. You can tell Andy Weir loves his space exp ...more

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Jul 23, 2015 Wil Wheaton rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi

I have never wanted so badly for the characters in a book to be real. I want to meet them all the way I want to meet the president, or Taylor Swift.

This story is perfectly told. It is perfectly paced, it is brilliantly written, it is beautifully crafted.

Andy Weir does this incredible thing where he make the reader feel the isolation that Mark Wagner feels, and he does it so subtly, we don't even realize that he's doing it until it's done.

The Martian completely captivated me. I couldn't wait to f ...more

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Jul 20, 2015 Jesse (JesseTheReader) rated it really liked it

I'm so happy that I randomly decided to pick this book up! I did find that the story dragged a bit towards the end and some of things went over my head a little bit, but for the most part this was a fantastic read! ...more

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May 02, 2015 Sasha Alsberg rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I go so emotional at the end, so good!

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Mar 17, 2014 Nataliya rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2020-reads, 2021-reads, favorites, 2014-reads, i-also-saw-the-film

2014: Sometimes I'm lucky enough to come across a book that makes me go all Whee-heeee! with the sincerest glee rivaling that of over-sugared-up kids about to open Christmas gifts.

“I can't wait till I have grandchildren. “When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!”

A book that makes me willingly turn my chronically sleep-deprived state into the acutely sleep-deprived one as I battle somnolence at 4 a.m. so that 2014: Sometimes I'm lucky enough to come across a book that makes me go all Whee-heeee! with the sincerest glee rivaling that of over-sugared-up kids about to open Christmas gifts.

“I can't wait till I have grandchildren. “When I was younger, I had to walk to the rim of a crater. Uphill! In an EVA suit! On Mars, ya little shit! Ya hear me? Mars!”

A book that makes me willingly turn my chronically sleep-deprived state into the acutely sleep-deprived one as I battle somnolence at 4 a.m. so that I can read just *one more* chapter (we all know how that one chapter somehow turns into a dozen as the sunrise starts lurking outside the window).

A book with the sense of humor that is a perfect match for my own (the one that occasionally causes some serious eyebrow-raising from my colleagues).

Meet The Martian by Andy Weir. The book I want to marry and have dorky wisecracking grandchildren with.

“So that’s the situation. I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last 31 days.
If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.
So yeah. I’m fucked.”

Mark Watney is an astronaut who is an engineer AND a botanist. He was the 17th human to set foot on Mars, and the first human to be abandoned there after being mistaken for dead. There's no way in hell he has enough supplies to last until a dubious chance of rescue (if NASA even figures out that he in fact is very much not dead). In a situation like this, I'd crap my pants and become breathing-challenged.

“Mars keeps trying to kill me.
Well... Mars didn't electrocute Pathfinder. So I'll amend that:
Mars and my stupidity keep trying to kill me.”

Mark, however, embarks on the determined survivalist adventure unrivaled since the time of Robinson Crusoe (and lacking the blatant and now painful colonialism of Defoe's protagonist). Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, sure - but it may be just the kind of place to raise a few potatoes and fix up a few Mars rovers.

“I told NASA what I did. Our (paraphrased) conversation was:
Me: “I took it apart, found the problem, and fixed it.”
NASA: “Dick.”

Faced with a disaster after disaster, he beats all the odds and finds ways to survive in a true MacGyver way, using his brains (stuffed with all kinds of science, of course) and a few cosmic supplies. And duct tape. Can't forget the duct tape.

“Also, I have duct tape. Ordinary duct tape, like you buy at a hardware store. Turns out even NASA can’t improve on duct tape.”

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”

MacGyverism is great, yeah. But what makes this book my literary soulmate and more addicting for me than a bag of crack laced with meth and sprinkled with chocolate (or whatever the drugs of choice may be now) is Mark Watney's near constant wisecracking that is EXACTLY the humor I *get* and I (sadly, perhaps) inflict on others.

[NASA guy on Earth]: “What must it be like?” He pondered. “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?”
He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”

[MARK'S JOURNAL ON MARS]: LOG ENTRY: SOL 61

How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.”

Ah, the sheer awesomeness of dorky humor peppered with bits of science that probably would work if used by someone who, unlike me, was a bit more experimentally-engineering inclined. Ah, the silly lowbrow puns that never fail to make me chuckle. Ah, the deadpan humor that never gets old. Ah, the beauty of never taking yourself too seriously. Mark Watney, you are my literary soulmate.

”I tested the brackets by hitting them with rocks. This kind of sophistication is what we interplanetary scientists are known for.”

“Ruining the only religious icon I have leaves me vulnerable to Mars Vampires. I’ll have to risk it.”

“They say no plan survives first contact with implementation. I’d have to agree.”

No wonder Mark Watney can call himself the King of Mars. And even better:

“Here's the cool part: I will eventually go to Schiaparelli crater and commandeer the Ares 4 lander. Nobody explicitly gave me permission to do this, and they can't until I'm aboard Ares 4 and operating the comm system. After I board Ares 4, before talking to NASA, I will take control of a craft in international waters without permission.
That makes me a pirate!
A Space Pirate!”

So yeah, this book struck a perfect chord with me. It seemed to have somehow been written just for me, since of course I'm clearly the most important thing since sliced bread, or however that saying goes. All I know is that a book I read twice in three days is perfect for me.

5 stars.

“Yeah. This all sounds like a great idea with no chance of catastrophic failure.
That was sarcasm, by the way.”

—————
2021: I still love every page of it.
...more

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Sep 02, 2021 Yun rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

A celebration of scientific ingenuity and man's unfailing spirit to survive, The Martian left me astounded and exhilarated. It made me laugh, think, and hope, and along the way, it captured my imagination and my heart.

Due to a freak accident, astronaut Mark Watney is in a bit of a jam. His crewmates have blasted off from Mars and left him behind, thinking he is dead. Now he has no way to contact anyone and his supplies are fast dwindling. To survive, he must reach into the depths of his scientif ...more

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Feb 23, 2014 Jeffrey Keeten rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, book-to-film

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

”So that is the situation. I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last thirty-one days.

If the oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yea. I’m fucked.”

When I read the line “kind of explode” I couldn’t help thinking of ...more

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Jul 29, 2016 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

This is by far my favorite (and most listened to!) audiobook.

If you're still thinking about reading it, just do it.

If you're in a slump, just do it.

If you've seen the movie and aren't sure if it's still worth the read, just do it.

You won't regret it!

...more

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Sep 29, 2015 karen rated it liked it

Shelves: live-through-this

i have finally seen the movie, so i added some notes at the bottom.

this book is basically just a really long SAT question. and i so hope the movie is just matt damon sitting at a table doing equations for two and a half hours.

oh but first, as promised, here are the photos of me being an astronaut this past weekend.

zooooom!

i am orbiting the eeeeeeaaaarttthh!!

i did a really good job at astronauting and i didn't need to do math even once! (although i started experiencing cramped space ...more

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Jul 29, 2014 Stepheny rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: destroy-it-like-a-horcrux, gouge-out-my-eyes-with-a-spoon, audio-books, why-would-ya, ya, not-even-in-the-zombie-apocalypse, yawwwwn

Thank god that's over.

Everyone has been talking about The Martian. And I literally mean everyone. Since the moment I saw the cover and the raving reviews I knew I had to pick it up. There’s a reason people are talking about this book.

I just don’t fucking get it.

I think I am the only person on GR to give this pile a one star rating. I’m ok with that. This is a classic case of- it’s not you, it’s me.

I wanted desperately to fit in with the Goodreads community and love the shit out of this book a ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Petrik rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, self-published-and-indie

I have a Booktube channel now! Subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/petrikleo

This is my 500th review!

4.5/5 stars

I have to admit, I didn’t expect I would have such a great time reading this book, but The Martian, somehow, became one of the most enjoyable sci-fi books I’ve ever read.

“I guess you could call it a "failure", but I prefer the term "learning experience".”

As I mentioned several times across my reviews, if I’ve watched a movie/TV series adaptation—that I loved—based on books first be ...more

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May 09, 2014 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fi, awesome-guy, book-boyfriend, adult, action

I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last 31 days.

If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yeah. I’m fucked.

If you think about it, Robinson Crusoe is kind of a whiny pussy, I say, while sitting in my plush comput

I’m stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I’m dead. I’m in a Hab designed to last 31 days.

If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yeah. I’m fucked.

If you think about it, Robinson Crusoe is kind of a whiny pussy, I say, while sitting in my plush computer chair, with a bar of 72% dark chocolate resting atop my glass of port. Surviving on a deserted island? Easy shit. Crusoe's got all that fucking water, plenty of good carbon-based animals for the eatin', and all those coconuts growing on tree. And here I am, having to actually go to Whole Foods to buy my fresh, young coconuts and having to pay for extra virgin cold-pressed coconut oil!

Look at all the motherfucking trees! See all the moist, fertile soil?! What kind of a survival scenario is that, anyway?!

Surviving on a deserted island? That's easy shit. Try surviving on another planet. Namely, Mars. I love a survival premise...but one on another planet? A science fiction book, no less? Um. I don't know about this.

As it turned out, all my fears were wrong. This book was fan-fucking-tastic.

It is filled with humor, it's got a adequate depiction of science that wouldn't confuse a layman like me (not sure how technically correct it is, but it sounds adequate to me, and while I'm not a scientist, neither am I a moron), it's got diversity and female scientists, the narrator is this brilliant genius while having the humor of a 17-year old DotA gamer/frat boy. I absolutely loved him. I wanted to marry him.

I'm fairly good-looking. I'm single. Can someone send this type of engineer my way, please?

The not-so-good: character development (the MC is altogether too optimistic and cheerful), the scientific details can be too much, and this book is really, really fucking long. It's realistic, because it takes a long fucking time to get shit solved, but it lost my attention sometimes.

The Summary:

I’m pretty much fucked.

That’s my considered opinion.

Fucked.

Six days in to what should be a greatest two months of my life, and it’s turned in to a nightmare.

Yep. That he is. Mark Watney, botanist, mechanical engineer, participant in the fledgling Ares program to send humans to Mars, is royally screwed. Shortly upon his arrival to Mars with his crew, his "MAV" ("Mars Ascent Vehicle") got blasted with Category 5 hurricane winds, and with no other choice, the crew had to hightail it out of there.

Sounds like a plan. Except Mark didn't get out when he should have.

It was a ridiculous sequence of events that led to me almost dying. Then an even more ridiculous sequence that led to me surviving.

There was an accident involving lots of blood and a punctured suit (fuck), and long story short, the crew left without Mark, believing him dead (fuck).

Mark isn't dead, but he's stranded on Mars and everyone thinks he's dead. So that means he's as good as dead himself. The good thing is that he's not an idiot. Mark's been given medical training (boom, stitches for his injury) by NASA. They don't send untrained idiots on board a mission to Mars. He's also trained in mechanical engineering, and he got his undergraduate degree in Botany. Pretty stupid, when it's like, a fucking mission to Mars, right? I mean, who the fuck would need to plant anything on a hostile planet? As it turns out, botany is more useful for his survival than you would think.

Because now that he's alive and back in the Martian Habitat (the "Hab"), Mark's got to set out a plan for survival. He's realistic about his situation. He's really, really fucked. But all is not lost, he's still got the Hab. Inside the Hab is a good quantity of food, it's an enclosed environment. Mark can stay alive for some time. He's got enough food to last him about a year.

We were six days in when all hell broke loose, so that leaves enough food to feed six people for 50 days. I’m just one guy, so it’ll last me 300 days. And that’s if I don’t ration it. So I’ve got a fair bit of time.

He's got enough air from the Oxygenator. He's got power cells. He's got enough water from the Water Reclaimer. The trouble is that the next mission to Mars isn't coming until four years. Mark's got to stay alive until a) they come or b) he manages to communicate with Earth. Clearly, it's a better idea to try and communicate with Earth so they can come get him.

But if I could communicate, I might be able to get a rescue. Not sure how they’d manage that with the resources on hand, but NASA has a lot of smart people.

So that’s my mission now. Find a way to communicate with Earth. If I can’t manage that, find a way to communicate with Hermes when it returns in 4 years with the Ares 4 crew.

Priority right now: get enough food to last four years. That's a whole lot of calories to generate from nothing. But hey, here's where his botany degree comes in handy!

Mark needs to do a lot of things, but priority #1: grow some potatoes in his Hab.

Remember those old math questions you had in Algebra class? Well, that concept is critical to the “Mark Watney doesn’t die” project I’m working on.

I need to create calories. And I need enough to last four years. I figure if I don’t get rescued by Ares 4, I’m dead anyway. So that’s my target: four years.

It's not a foolproof plan.

I have an idiotically dangerous plan for getting the water I need. And boy do I mean *dangerous*. But I don’t have much choice.

In fact, it's downright fucking dangerous at times.

As you can see, this plan provides many opportunities for me to die in a fiery explosion.

Firstly, Hydrazine is some serious death. If I make any mistakes, there’ll be nothing left but the “Mark Watney Memorial Crater” where the Hab once stood.

Presuming I don’t fuck up with the Hydrazine, there’s still the matter of burning hydrogen. I’m going to be setting a fire. In the Hab. On purpose.

If you asked every engineer at NASA what the worst scenario for the Hab was, they’d all answer “fire.” If you asked them what the result would be, they’d answer “death by fire.”

And thus we watch the Mark Watney show as he struggles to grow potatoes on Mars and create water out of thin air. And it's really, really thin air, BECAUSE IT'S MOTHERFUCKING MARS.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, all is not lost! A glorified photo technician (ok, she's got a master's in Mechanical Engineering, but all she's doing for NASA is looking at pictures) finds some odd signs on Mars. Shit's there that wasn't there before. It's not Martians, so it's gotta be Mark. He's alive! Sound the bells! Hallelujah! Well, shit, now how do they get him out of there? How do they communicate when there's no way of communicating? Will Mark be able to survive before NASA comes to rescue him? Will NASA be able to find a way to communicate with Mark?

“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?”

He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”

LOG ENTRY: SOL 61

How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.

The Setting: Well, it's Mars. What did you expect? There's um, craters, dry dust, and more craters and more dry dust. Just kidding. We spend most of our time within a contained environment, and to be honest, it's not that important. What makes the setting believable is the science that's presented to us, in entirely layman's terms. There's a lot of concepts to understand, and Mark does a fantastic job of breaking science in a way that makes it feel real while making it credible and easy to comprehend.

I’m going to use the RTG.

The RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator) is a big box of Plutonium. But not the kind used in nuclear bombs. No, no. This

Plutonium is way more dangerous!

Plutonium-238 is an incredibly unstable isotope. It’s so radioactive that it will get red hot all by itself. As you can imagine, a material that can literally fry an egg with radiation is kind of dangerous.

I'm a fan of science, but I avoid the hard shit when I can. I'm not the smartest person in the world, and technicalities beyond the basic grasps of physics, chemistry, and biology hurts my head. I can understand science. I just choose not to sometimes, and I avoid the cold, hard technical stuff when I can. I can break down most of the basics (like a truly laughable dystopian global-warming scenario) but anything more than that taxes me. Look down upon me if you will. I had no problems understanding and believing any of the scientific concepts in this book. This book may use science extensively, but it is so well-described and so well-drawn and explained that it doesn't feel like a science-fiction book at all.

I'm turning my pee into rocket fuel. It's easier than you'd think.

Urine is mostly water. Separating hydrogen and oxygen only requires a couple of electrodes and some current. The problem is collecting the hydrogen. I don't have any equipment for pulling hydrogen out of the air.

If I survive this, I'll tell people I pissed my way into orbit.

The humor:

I chipped his sacred religious item into long splinters using a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. I figure if there’s a God, He won’t mind, considering the situation I’m in.

Ruining the only religious icon I have leaves me vulnerable to Mars Vampires. I’ll have to risk it.

Mark is a damned funny narrator. This may be projection, but I see a lot of my own personality and humor in him. I'm such a humble person, aren't I? He's just like me, only wittier, funnier, smarter, and 1000x more brilliant. But I'm prettier, so I'm sure that makes us just about even.

There's a lot of geeky jokes, involving NASA's tendency to overspend on, well, just about everything.

One thing I have in abundance here is bags. They’re not much different than kitchen trash bags, though I’m sure they cost $50,000 because NASA.

And computer-related jokes that might go over the heads of people who don't fuck around with computers for fun.

"We updated Pathfinder’s OS without any problems. We sent the rover patch, which Pathfinder rebroadcast. Once Watney executes the patch and reboots the rover, we should get a connection.”

“Jesus what a complicated process,” Venkat said.

“Try updating a Linux server some time,” Jack said.

After a moment of silence, Tim said “You know he was telling a joke, right? That was supposed to be funny.”

The Character Development: This is one of my few complaints. Mark is incredibly cheerful, and this is very hard to believe. He is fucked, but he makes a joke out of it. This might work, except that for almost the length of the entire novel, he is constantly funny and optimistic about it. He jokes about his own death. He jokes about the fact that he might end up a a handful of dust on Mars. Everything is humorous, and I like it, because I love his humor, but it doesn't make him a believable character.

I wanted to see his despair. I wanted to feel his loneliness. I wanted to see him suffer, to FEEL him suffer because it's a really, really fucking screwed up situation. Mark's attitude makes him a fun character to read, but it doesn't make him feel realistic.

[12:04]JPL: We’ll get botanists in to ask detailed questions and double-check your work. Your life is at stake, so we want to be sure. Also, please watch your language. Everything you type is being broadcast live all over the world.

[12:15]WATNEY: Look! A pair of boobs! -> (.Y.)

...more

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Feb 28, 2014 Carmen rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Engineers

Shelves: american-author, science-fiction, fiction, he-says, traditionally-published, published2012

How can I say this to you? This is one of the most boring books I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

I was really looking forward to reading this book. Everyone was so enthusiastic about it. I was saving it for myself as a little treat.

By page 27 I knew I was in trouble.

Here's the book:

LOG ENTRY:
I'm fucked.

Oh, wait! I have an idea!

Science, science science. Then if I science science science, science.

Great! [Insert lame joke here].

Now imagine this repeating 1,000 times.

Watney's stranded on Mar ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Mario the lone bookwolf rated it it was amazing

Shelves: weir-andy, science-fiction-new

McGivering ones´ way through the space Robinsonade with full focus on fun, celebrating science, nerdism, and the extra trope vitamins fight against time, poopy DIY, and rescue mission

The love for science
The authors´ affinity for science drops from every page and is combined with definitively very fine plotted, interwoven tech plot arcs, making protagonist(s), story, and world one astonishing unit. Weir said in an interview that what he enjoys most about being a writer is doing very detailed res McGivering ones´ way through the space Robinsonade with full focus on fun, celebrating science, nerdism, and the extra trope vitamins fight against time, poopy DIY, and rescue mission

The love for science
The authors´ affinity for science drops from every page and is combined with definitively very fine plotted, interwoven tech plot arcs, making protagonist(s), story, and world one astonishing unit. Weir said in an interview that what he enjoys most about being a writer is doing very detailed research about all the hard science he shovels into each chapter, which results in even many gags, accidents, and almost catastrophes being based on wrong calculations, forgotten physics, or just sheer bad luck. Fusing theory and practice, cold math, and real results, makes the complex technical and physical details much more understandable, especially when it includes unwanted slapstick stunts with a touch of black comedy because it's nearly fatal.

Immense concentration of greatness in a very small space, I hope it won´t explode
I can´t believe how short this thing is, it´s so densely packed with all that makes sci-fi great, one sometimes finds in books or even parts of series combined to not close that quality with lengths and stuff. But Weir even puts in some, seemingly, essential human needs such as social interaction, the badass protagonist Chucks away like if it was nothing. Unrealistic? Nope, it just depends on character, each introvert balancing on the thin, red line towards the autistic spectrum will fully agree while extroverted human lovers may find it unlikely that there aren´t more mental issues. As so often, it´s the subjective perspective that counts most.

Its place in the big sci fi picture
It´s doing an immense job in spreading the sci-fi genre, although people reading it might expect something completely different from it than it usually means, especially not being that accessible, funny, and easygoing. Sci-fi is often more exposition with the length of an average novel, complicated concepts interwoven with different fractions and protagonists, and sometimes a struggle to keep following the plot and understanding the science and meta political economic ideological in world constellations and real world implications and innuendos, not to speak of inside gags aimed at the target audience. I guess that´s the reason why some sci-fi prone readers don´t appreciate The Martian as much as sci-fi rookies who are still open minded and not that picky about defining the rules and possibilities of the genre.

Funny as heck while doing edutainment
As so often in funny as heck satires, the first person perspective adds the extra layer of making fun of oneself, something impossible with the more widespread third person perspective. Our protagonist doesn´t just make the reader giggle, but motivates himself with cynic pragmatism while giving the rest of humanity watching his endeavor hope with his optimism and jokes. It´s great for learning too, because a relaxed and happy mind integrates the shown science much better than one bored out by clunky hard sci-fi or school.

This isn´t your average sci-fi book and why Weirs´second novel Artemis didn´t live up to the expectations of broad parts of the audience while Project Hail Mary did.
As mentioned in the big sci-if picture department, it´s far too accessible and easy to read for that genre. That´s, I guess, the reason why people expected a second Martian and were disappointed when they got Artemis, that is more of what sci-fi readers are used to, using more of the common tropes and conventions sci-fi heads love, while others might shy away from the reduced usability by far more complex storytelling.

These groundbreaking new and old voices of sci-fi are so amazing
Just as Jemisin, Chambers, Butler, Okorafor, etc. Weir is reinventing the genre in ways one could have found much earlier, but didn´t, showing the immense potential of the best genre to rule them all, especially when made science fantasy or social sci-fi. Hard sci-fi, cyberpunk, and dystopic subgenres maybe not so much, because these exhausting and depressing subgenres just can´t get so many readers motivated to consume them and will never have the same impact as the funny, optimistic, utopic genres, especially some space opera series by Banks and Hamilton who find the perfect balance between world and characters, and even often cross that border and unite them to one, amazing overkill.

Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph... ...more

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Oct 26, 2016 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

You are an astronaut, the immensely able Mark Watney with a great, glamorous job until stranded through a freak accident on the desolate, airless, extremely cold red deserts of Mars in the mid 2030's a powerful dust storm has apparently killed...the five others in the crew ( originally four men and two women including the commander, Melissa Lewis) they barely escape themselves, with their lives, now up into orbit in a small spacecraft rejoining the massive, very expensive Hermes vessel on a long You are an astronaut, the immensely able Mark Watney with a great, glamorous job until stranded through a freak accident on the desolate, airless, extremely cold red deserts of Mars in the mid 2030's a powerful dust storm has apparently killed...the five others in the crew ( originally four men and two women including the commander, Melissa Lewis) they barely escape themselves, with their lives, now up into orbit in a small spacecraft rejoining the massive, very expensive Hermes vessel on a long, sad voyage of hundreds of days back home to Earth, its ion engines slowly accelerating in limitless, merciless space leaving their dead companion behind, a shame but nothing can change this fact except that Mark is still alive...The lone not badly wounded spaceman regains consciousness, sees a frightening sight...he's all alone on the vast planet and says I'm pretty much screwed, ( admittedly not an exact translation) the castaway repeats this frequently in the story. Abandoned by his friends little hope to survive, 31 days of supplies left either starve or run out of air no more communications with NASA possible, slowly waiting to die...but Watney will not lay down and expire gently into the night, darkness will be postponed for now as his fertile, brilliant mind keeps working after all he's the fix it man, a mechanical engineer nothing will faze him, Mark with his rather macabre sense of humor, wishes it were true. Planting potatoes in his "Hab" he's a botanist too, ( the best on this planet as he jokes) growing them, a big harvest and yet soon loathing how many can you eat without vomiting... Making water and air repairing anything he views (leaks are fatal here ) especially the Mars Rover, so he can transverse the eerie, lonely, empty nevertheless quite fascinating and attractive, sandy, landscape with dangerous, broad craters...exploring in complete stillness makes for an uneasy journey, no sounds either... find what will be useful his goal, Pathfinder many thousands of miles from his Martian base . This ancient robot craft an old relic, is found miraculously though now communication with Earth and NASA , ( they knew earlier by the orbiting satellites, he was still alive) can be reestablishes, at last...navigating by the tiny, strange nearby Martian moons and stars above, the helpful clear brownish skies at night, keeping constantly busy the next scheduled spaceship back here, by the American space agency brings him depression... four years away...grim Mark thinks...Disaster follows disaster, anything that can will break, mistakes are made by the intrepid but somewhat clumsy spaceman, yet Watney can never succumb until he breathes his last mouthful of air. Deep inside his intelligent brain something occurs, hope...One of the greatest most entertaining science -fiction books ever written, for any reader who wants to travel to another time and exotic place, be thoroughly mesmerized, turn the next page and discover the continuing adventures of a man who never quits. Required reading by new NASA astronauts, the American Space Agency loved this novel, so did I. ....P.S. the film is magnificent also...thank you, Robinson Crusoe. ...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Beverley rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favourites, would-read-again, set-in-the-future, fresh-and-orginal, action, books-for-my-kids, adventure-and-exploration

If The Martian isn't a million dollar blockbuster in the next 5 years, Hollywood have missed a treat. I read the entire thing in one sitting, making it probably the best way to pass 8 hours that I can think of. Maybe it helps that I came to the book with no expectations, except the hope that I might get my next 'fix' for my inner space geek.

Well, what a fix! The story is a fast-paced, compelling adventure across Mars and offered everything I wanted and more. I was behind Mark Watney the whole w ...more

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Jan 24, 2014 Navessa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, all-the-feels, sci-fi

If The Martian was marketed as a prescription drug…

Every year, thousands of critical readers around the globe roll their eyes in frustration at the science fails they find within their favorite fiction genres.

Extreme cases of literary frankenscience carry the risk of full-blown ocular gymnastics on the part of the reader. As a result, serious injury has been reported, to include corneal abrasions, iritis, and sprains of the lateral and medial rectus muscles.

Luckily, there is a cure.

The Marti ...more

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Aug 18, 2014 Anne rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi, read-in-2015

Has anyone not heard of this book yet?
I see one hand up there towards the back! You! Yes, the one next to the potted fern.
Ok. Well, then this review is for you. Everyone else, feel free to hit the buffet!
Pile your plate high! I've been trying to get rid of that seafood salad for a few days...

description

Does The Martian really need one more glowing review?
No. No, it does not.
But I'm going to do it anyway. Because even though I'm the last person on the planet to read this one, I still feel the need to put ...more

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Aug 06, 2014 Thomas rated it it was ok

Shelves: science-fiction

How many exclamation points can you shove into one book?

Time to start off 2015 with an unpopular opinion: I did not like how Andy Weir wrote The Martian. He writes science well, and his background in research and technical prose shows, but by page 100 the style of the book got repetitive. Watney discovers a problem. Watney worries for a sentence or two. Watney comes up with a solution. Watney enacts the solution with minimal struggle. Watney celebrates. Rinse and repeat.

I also have no idea how W ...more

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Jul 17, 2014 Alejandro rated it liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, politics, humor, novel

Mission Control to Reviewer One...

Reviewer One, here. Go ahead, Mission Control...

Lift off minus fifteen. Final Systems Check...

Roger, Mission Control...

Characters... Go...

Story... Go...

Style... Go...

Overall Reading Experience... Go...

Roger, Reviewer One. All Systems are Go. Iniating Countdown.

Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two!...

One! Lift off! We have a lift off!...

Welcome to CNN's Reviewer One Report. Presented to you thanks to the sponsorship of "The Martian"'s Quotes...

...more

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Jul 04, 2014 Wendy Darling rated it it was amazing

Shelves: survival, 2014-publication, read-2014, hilarious, adult, 2014-favorites, sci-fi-or-futuristic, action-packed

4.5 stars This book is nothing short of spectacular. It is insanely well-researched, and it's impossible not to be charmed by Mark Watney's hilarious sense of humor, or jeez-MY-brain-is-filled-with-absolutely-useless-information-impressed by his smarts, ingenuity, and spirit.

I will say that after a few chapters, I started skimming some of the more technical parts of what he was doing to survive. I normally love this stuff, and certainly I absolutely DID enjoy much of what was here and sincerely ...more

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Jun 19, 2020 Swaroop rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

“The worst moments in life are heralded by small observations.”

This is the incredible story of Mark Watney, an astronaut-biologist on the mission named Ares 3, to planet Mars. When a terrible storm destroys the base, the crew of the ship assumes that Mark is dead, and leave the planet. The Martian is about Mark`s survival until help arrives from home.

Even though this book is completely fiction, it feels like a real-life memoir and collection of personal thoughts of an astronaut.

"Your Home Plane ...more

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Aug 14, 2015 jessica rated it it was amazing

in honour and respect of the recent news that NASA rover, opportunity, has been officially declared dead after 14 years of being on mars, i finally wrote a review for this book. too soon? lol.

i actually really enjoyed this story, a lot more than i thought i would. i was convinced the hype was going to be misleading, but i was so pleased to find out it wasnt.

knowing absolutely nothing about planetary science, physics or botany, i have no idea if this story is plausible, or even accurate in the ...more

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Sep 17, 2017 Luffy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: science-fiction, 5-star

Mark Watney is stranded on Mars in the near future. If that makes sense. You all should be familiar with the story by now. Mark's crew thinks he's dead. But though he loses consciousness, he evaulates his chances when he revives.

The book is quite funny. It's also quirky. I know that the author didn't send his manuscript of The Martian to publishers and did not have to deal with rejection like 99% of the writers do. He got incredibly lucky, just as his character Mark did.

I had to set a lot of my ...more

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Mar 28, 2022 Lisa of Troy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Mark Watney is having a very bad day. He is on the third mission to Mars when his crew, presuming he is dead, leaves him behind. How will Mark stay alive?

After reading Project Hail Mary, I just had to give this a go. The prose is non-pretentious and fun. However, I felt like this was the warm-up novel for Project Hail Mary. The book seemed a bit off in its pacing. For the first 25% of the book, there were too many calculations. As the book progressed, it became funnier (ugh that’s a weird word). ...more

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Mar 13, 2014 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone!!!!

Recommended to Shelby *trains flying monkeys* by: Kelly (and the Book Boar)

Shelves: favorites, read-2014

Mark Watney. I just can't even tell you how much I love this character. I think he may just be on the list of my favorite male characters ever. The dude is stranded on Mars..with no one. Does he cry? Well, only sometimes. Does he fight against the planet from hell? Heck yes!

Everywhere I go, I'm the first. Step outside the rover? First guy to every be there! Climb a hill? First guy to climb that hill! Kick a rock? That rock hadn't moved in a million years!

I did get lost in some of the scienc ...more

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About Andy Weir

Andy Weir

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ANDY WEIR built a career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, THE MARTIAN, allowed him to live out his dream of writing fulltime. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects such as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail. He lives in California. Andy’s next book, ARTEMIS, is ...more

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Trivia About The Martian

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Quotes from The Martian

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.” — 2063 likes

“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?” He turned back to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s thinking right now.”

LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.” — 1542 likes

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