The Martian Review

Andy Weir's The Martian is a very simple idea for a story. An astronaut, Mark Watney, is stranded on Mars after a mission goes wrong. These are his adventures as he tries to survive/get rescued. Think Cast Away meets Apollo 13. Nothing super interesting that hasn't been done before. This being said, however, The Martian is, and I don't put this lightly, one of my favorite books that I've ever read.

I first heard of The Martian when the first trailer for the film adaptation hit the Internet early last summer. After surveying the comments section, I decided that this was a book I wanted to read in the near future. It wasn't until I spoke to a friend of mine, however, that I decided to actually read it. His recommendation was intense, requiring that I read the book as soon as possible.

The book starts out a little slow. With some memorable first lines, the reader is introduced to Watney, our hero. We get to know him over the first few chapters, as he explains that he has no way to get home or contact home, and that he is against all odds. The story is in first person, so Mark's voice is incredibly clear. This continues for about the first 60 or so pages. This may sound a little tough to get through, but it helps that Mark Watney is perhaps one of the most likable characters ever written.

The book switches perspective regularly following the first few chapters, going from Mark's log entries to a third person look at NASA's attempts to rescue him and to past tense recaps of the original mission. These switches keep the story fresh and moving, and always leave the reader wanting more. For example, when a chapter ends on a cliffhanger, you may have to get through another chapter to find out the resolution. But then THAT chapter also ends on a cliffhanger! It's almost criminal how much this book ropes the reader in.

The Martian deals with a few different topics, namely isolation and perseverance. It's difficult to go into too much detail here without giving too much away, but the book really is an optimistic look at human nature. It's a tale of man vs. nature., where it very easily could also be man vs. self but doesn't fall into the cliche/stereotype.

Andy Weir is the son of a particle physicist, and has a bit of a background in computer science. He is something of a genius, as part one of the most entertaining/fascinating aspects to the novel is the math. What's incredible about it is that it is all plausible and accurate. It makes the story that much interesting. He originally released the book chapter by chapter on his website, but eventually got it published. It is his first novel published.

Something different that I did reading this that I hadn't done before was listening to the audiobook of it while reading along. The recording of this is very well done and well paced. I strongly recommend both the book and, if interested, the audiobook. The whole experience is just a load of fun.