Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Science Fiction
Summary: 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?

Stars: ★★★★★

Review:

What an amazing book! I will admit, I heard about the movie first, but I decided to read the book before I saw the movie. Yes, yes, I know both are several years old at this point. What can I say, I’m slow.

Anyway, I loved the book! Talk about edge of your seat action. Mark Watney was a nerdy, quippy guy, and yeah, I saw a review that complained about everybody trying to write like Joss Whedon with witty one-liners, but I mean, I think Andy Weir pulled it off pretty damn well. I snorted aloud several times. I didn’t even get the Whedonesque vibe.

I’ve heard the science in this novel is pretty sound. I’m no scientist, so I can’t comment on that but wow, this book really has you rooting for Watney.

I also like the format that it was written. It swapped between telling the story through Watney in first person log entries to third person exposition of things back on Earth. Plus some third person scenes of Watney on Mars. It was different but I really liked it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who had even the slightest bit of interest in space travel to Mars or science or even space in general. Great, great read.