The Martian by Andy Weir

Blurb:

A mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).

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?

Review:

When Mark Watney goes to Mars with the Ares 3 crew, the last thing he expects is to get stranded on the isolated, frigid planet and left behind by the friends he came there with. Trapped on Mars after an unexpected dust storm forces the crew members to retreat from the planet and give up their expedition, suffering from a wound the others thought was fatal, Mark is facing a different predicament than fulfilling NASA’s orders: surviving. Putting to use his skills as a botanist and engineer, he must figure out a way to survive the desolate wasteland he’ll call home until the next Ares expedition—Ares 4—occurs, potentially providing a way for him to get home.

The issues he’s facing? He’ll run out of food and water long before the Ares 4 crew comes to Mars, he doesn’t know if the Ares 4 mission is still operable, and he can’t communicate with NASA or earth. The dust storm destroyed several vital communications devices, meaning Mark is on his own. He’ll either survive and find a way to get home on his own…or die, stranded on Mars.

I read Andy Weir’s novels backwards. Rather than starting with The Martain, I dove into a readthrough of Project: Hail Mary first. I absolutely loved Project: Hail Mary for the main character’s sass and the unique conventions of real science placed in the science fiction sphere, and I adored The Martian for many of the same reasons.

Voiced by protagonists that are intelligent and skilled without partaking in the normal stereotypes about what makes a character “strong” or “skilled”, half the reason I enjoy Weir’s work so much is because of the phenomenal grasp he has on character perspective and personality. Mark is such a visceral, grounded, relatable, and positive character that even in near-death situations like he experiences throughout the book, it is a pleasure to read his point of view. He came across very real despite his enthusiastic optimism, which made him super easy to like.

Another thing to note about Weir’s incredible writing and masterful craft of the science fiction genre is his writing style by way of original formatting. Weir has a way of organizing his stories, both The Martian and Project: Hail Mary, in ways that are profoundly unique and prolifically him. The way multiple timelines, multiple perspectives, and multiple sources of conflict are weaved together so seamlessly in his narratives make them some of the most original and evocative stories I’ve ever read.

Weir has a way with words: a way that makes you wish he’d publish more stories and publish them faster, because his novels are so well and incredibly written! Although the premise of The Martian is focused on Mark Watney and his survival, a singular conflict for a singular person, it also brings in many perspectives outside of his own to paint a picture of how a sole person’s situation can impact countless others. 

This novel is a beautiful commentary on how if society has a reason to come together, they can do incredible things with the might of their power and collaboration. It’s stories like these that give me hope, especially considering the state of the modern world, and I hope Weir writes many more stories just like it!