The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Published by: Random House LLC
Genre: Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Space
Pages: 387

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Synopsis:

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 & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& 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—& 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?

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Opinion:

I decided to pick this book in anticipation of the movie coming out next month and having a need of something that wasn’t YA. Boy, am I pleased that I read this. This book was fantastic! It’s definitely way more than I was expecting and I had a great time reading it. If you are skeptical about reading it, don’t be…read it!

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

Now I am not going to talk too much about the plot because I don’t want to spoil anything, but it was pretty simple. Mark Watney was left on Mars after his crew thought he was dead after an accident. So the book is told from his POV through his log entries while on Mars and his voice is truly fantastic. He had a great sense of humor and voice. This man was truly clever and too smart for his own good. I couldn’t even deal with what he did on Mars. I seriously would have died at least 200 times. The first day stranded I would have stressed ate all my ration packs and then died of starvation. Or I’d forget to put on my EVA suit and get myself blown up for the atmosphere. But not this man! He planted his own crops on soil that grew nothing and beat every obstacle thrown his way. I bow down to your awesomeness, Mark Watney.

“Me: “This is obviously a clog. How about I take it apart and check the internal tubing?”
NASA: (after five hours of deliberation) “No. You’ll fuck it up and die.”
So I took it apart.”

As for the writing, I am awed. The writing was simple, yet very humorous and scientific. I admit, most (probably all) of the science talk went right over my head and made my brain feel all fuzzy, but I still couldn’t put it down. Every time you want to walk away, something else insane happens and you find yourself clutching the book again (or at least I did). As previously stated, the humor in this book is so entertaining. It was surprisingly hilarious! I don’t know how Weir did it.

“I’m calling it the Watney Triangle because after what I’ve been through, shit on Mars should be named after me.”

Overall, this book was stellar (see what I did there? Cheesy? I’m sorry). I couldn’t put it down and experienced every emotion possible to a human being. I laughed, I cried, and was at the edge of my seat! Seriously, guys,I had little spurts of anxiety from getting so nervous while reading this book!

“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!”

Now I cannot wait for the movie! Let’s hope they keep Watney’s fantastic personality.