344 books
—
24 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “The Martian” as Want to Read:
The Martian
(The Martian #1)
by
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 ...more
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 ...more
Paperback, Movie Tie-In Edition (US/CAN), 435 pages
Published
August 18th 2015
by Broadway Books
(first published September 27th 2012)
Featured Notes & Highlights
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Martian

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

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 ...more
No matter what horrible thing is happening to Watne ...more

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
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

'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

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
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

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
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

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

Feb 23, 2014
Jeffrey Keeten
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
book-to-film,
science-fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

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
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

Jul 29, 2016
Emily (Books with Emily Fox)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
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
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

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 ...more

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
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

Dec 03, 2020
Petrik
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
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.
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
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

May 09, 2014
Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
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 you think about it, Robinson Crusoe is kind of a whiny pussy, I say, while sitting in my plush comput ...more
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.

Feb 28, 2014
Carmen
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Engineers
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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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
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

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, up into orbit, in a small spacecraft, rejoining the massive, very expensive, Hermes vess
...more

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...

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
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...

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

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
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

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
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

Mar 13, 2014
Shelby *trains flying monkeys*
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Everyone!!!!
Recommended to Shelby *trains flying monkeys* by:
Kelly (and the Book Boar)
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
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

dan brown syndrome.

which is to say, this guy has a knack for a compelling idea, but his writing is...
hoo, boy.
just... brutal.
no soul.
no poetry.
all the verve of a dead body.
or a software engineer...

just kidding, my gorgeous software-engineer-buddies: i was teasing the author, who is one of you, not you in particular or, y'know, in general, please don't hex my laptop because you are my everything, all i want for christmas is you, i can't live if living is without you.
*winsome smile*
but yeah, i ...more

which is to say, this guy has a knack for a compelling idea, but his writing is...
hoo, boy.
just... brutal.
no soul.
no poetry.
all the verve of a dead body.
or a software engineer...

just kidding, my gorgeous software-engineer-buddies: i was teasing the author, who is one of you, not you in particular or, y'know, in general, please don't hex my laptop because you are my everything, all i want for christmas is you, i can't live if living is without you.
*winsome smile*
but yeah, i ...more

Mar 08, 2014
Trudi
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
man-vs-nature,
love-the-premise,
favorites,
outer-space,
science-fiction,
survive-this,
2014,
rusa-reads
4.5 stars
This whole book left me stupid happy and deliriously impressed and I spent most of my time declaring:

Jesse would have loved Mark Watney. I love Mark Watney. He's super smart but not just in a poindexter nerd alert bookish kind of way. Watney's got some serious problem solving skills; he's McGyver in a space suit. Give this guy a toothpick, some tinfoil and a ziplock bag and he'll build you an airplane. But don't forget the duct tape. Duct tape is awesome and I will be putting in a suppl ...more
This whole book left me stupid happy and deliriously impressed and I spent most of my time declaring:

Jesse would have loved Mark Watney. I love Mark Watney. He's super smart but not just in a poindexter nerd alert bookish kind of way. Watney's got some serious problem solving skills; he's McGyver in a space suit. Give this guy a toothpick, some tinfoil and a ziplock bag and he'll build you an airplane. But don't forget the duct tape. Duct tape is awesome and I will be putting in a suppl ...more

This book was great! Suspenseful, witty, humorous, well researched (at least I assume it was, I cannot say for sure that all the science and math was correct, but it was very detailed). I am not sure this book is for everyone, but for me it lived up to the hype!

Well, here goes nothing.....
This is not a good book.
I tried. I really, really tried. I wanted to love it at first. Then, I wanted to at least like it. Then, I wanted to at least have something good to say about it since everyone loves it and it's everywhere right now. Maybe it's just the hype, I thought. Maybe things pick up and the story gets better, I hoped. Maybe the book just sucks, I ultimately decided.
Maybe my expectations were off. I guess when I read about how an astronaut was stranded ...more
This is not a good book.
I tried. I really, really tried. I wanted to love it at first. Then, I wanted to at least like it. Then, I wanted to at least have something good to say about it since everyone loves it and it's everywhere right now. Maybe it's just the hype, I thought. Maybe things pick up and the story gets better, I hoped. Maybe the book just sucks, I ultimately decided.
Maybe my expectations were off. I guess when I read about how an astronaut was stranded ...more

“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
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
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Buzzwordathon: The Martian Group Read | April 2021 | 2 | 86 | Apr 07, 2021 08:21PM | |
Goodreads Librari...: Please add cover for "The Martian" | 3 | 14 | Feb 19, 2021 02:03AM | |
SciFi and Fantasy...: "The Martian" Final Thoughts *Spoilers* | 45 | 264 | Jan 03, 2021 03:15PM |
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
Articles featuring this book
Spring is Mother Nature’s way of saying, “Oof–let’s try this again.” The last 12 months have been, well, challenging is the polite term....
251 likes · 74 comments
53 trivia questions
2 quizzes
More quizzes & trivia...
2 quizzes
“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”
—
1991 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.”
—
1495 likes
More quotes…
LOG ENTRY: SOL 61 How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.”