Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Crown Publishing (February 11, 2014)
Author Information: Website
Mogsy’s Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
One of my greatest fears is being lost in space, helplessly drifting forever in the endless dark until you either die of thirst or starvation or run out of air, and it’s this idea of dying so utterly alone and far from home that gives me the major heebie-jeebies. Those scenes in movies like Deep Impact or Armageddon where those poor bastards get blasted off the asteroid or get their tethers cut loose and they go flying off into the abyss? Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in Gravity? OH MY GOD.
No, you couldn’t pay me enough to go into space. Obviously, I’ve never had any designs to be an astronaut. Being caught at the center of a space disaster would be like my worst nightmare. But for some reason, I sure as hell love reading about them. And as space disaster/survival tales go, I gotta say The Martian is one of the best I’ve ever read.
So, rule number one of space disaster story: Nothing ever goes as planned. NASA’s latest Mars exploration mission is over before it even began, when a dust storm and a terrible accident forces the crew to head home and leave their presumed dead friend and colleague Mark Watney behind. But Watney, being ever resourceful, actually manages to survive. Now he’s stranded on the red planet with no way to contact Earth and NASA to tell them he’s alive, but even if he manages that, the next mission to Mars isn’t for another four years and he’ll run out of food long before then.
What follows is an incredible tale of Watney’s survival, using only his wits and astounding ingenuity to problem solve his way out of this mess, one life-threatening catastrophe at a time. Heck, this whole book is an engineer’s wet dream. I’m no rocket scientist, but author Andy Weir knows what he’s talking about, and even if he doesn’t, it sure sounds pretty convincing. The book gets technical at times, yes; Mark Watney’s character, being an engineer and a botanist, puts his knowledge of his fields to good use, making the most of what he has (mainly a habitat, rover, and other limited supplies) to find a way to contact earth and stay alive. He’s a man with a plan and it involves growing a crap ton of Martian potatoes. We’re kept up with all the procedures and calculations of making this possible, from Point A to Point B, so there’s a lot of scientific details and explanations. I don’t know how I would have received this book if I’d been reading the physical copy. Maybe I would have been tempted to skim, but because I listened to the audiobook, all the techno-jargon didn’t bother me too much.
The big surprise? This book was actually funny. I don’t know if I could have taken all the science and technical bits without the laughs. If I’m going to read about a person stranded on Mars for years with no one but his lonesome, I’m glad it was someone like Mark Watney. He’s so down-to-earth (in a manner of speaking) and so human. One of my favorite lines in the book was his self-deprecating observation that it wasn’t so much Mars trying to kill him but his own stupidity (but of course he’s far from stupid!) It’s hard to keep things light in a survival story, but as it was explained in the novel, Watney was partly chosen for the crew for his amicable nature. Without a doubt, this book wouldn’t have been the same with another personality in his place. I love his sense of humor and the random smartass quips about Aquaman, 70s disco, duct tape and whatever thoughts a person entertains himself with when he’s stuck by himself on Mars. You can’t help but root for the guy. I also don’t usually comment on audiobook narration, but I have to make an exception here and praise R.C. Bray’s performance. You can tell sometimes when a narrator is having fun and actually enjoying the book they’re reading; Bray’s enthusiasm comes through when he’s speaking in Watney’s voice, and he brings the character to life.
For a book of its type, The Martian is gripping, tension-filled but also unexpectedly feel-good, nowhere near as dry as it could have been. Interspersed between Watney’s scenes on Mars and his mission logs are also scenes on earth where NASA is going apeshit since finding out Watney’s still alive and that he’s stranded. The idea of a whole country’s eyes on one man, holding their collective breaths and cheering for the best outcome, and even another nation stepping in to help bring him home…well, it’s stirring and heartwarming.
This is one smart book, complete with cool premise and engaging characters. And you don’t have to have a degree in astrophysics to enjoy it, just a pulse. Check out this book and let take you on a rollercoaster ride of emotions; it’s well worth it. It definitely satisfied my love of space disaster stories without being too grim, and offered just enough tension to make me squirm.
The BiblioSanctum 
Great review well done. Looks like I need to add another title to the ever growing list of books to read. Thanks for sharing.
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Haven’t seen a single bad review of this book yet, the only criticism I’ve really seen is that it can get a bit too technical at times and that Watney’s manner and behavior isn’t “realistic” but all in all, good fun.
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Hahahaha!! My very first career aspiration was to be an astronaut, and I refused to even contemplate the things I would be willing to do to go to outer space, b/c I’m pretty sure that list would be frightening. Anyway, it just occurred to me that I can probably get this book from the LIBRARY, instead of stalking it on my wishlist, so I’m off to check that out. Great review, Mogsy!
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LOL I probably wouldn’t even pass astronaut training. And yes, this one has been out for a while to great acclaim, I would be shocked if your library doesn’t have it.
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I never thought I would enjoy Gravity, but I did! So maybe I could read this one then
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It was a great movie…like I said, I don’t want to go to space, but I love space disaster movies, and it was good.
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I just watched Gravity this weekend, so I know exactly what you’re talking about 🙂 Although watching it with my husband as he tried to debate the physics of it was rather annoying. This definitely sounds worth a read though!
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LOL, my husband did the same thing. Thank goodness we watched it in the theater though, so he kept all his physics debate gripes to himself until we were done the movie and in the car on our way home before he started going off about it 😛
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Ok I have a big big problem with space books and movies so I confess I’m not sure this one is for me but it’s nice to see you had a good time.
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We must be on the same wave length because I just started reading this last night. I was bleary with exhaustion after getting back from Comic Con so I only made it to page 10, but even in 10 pages you get a very clear idea of the character and the humor and the extremely fascinating idea of throwing someone into a situation and having them figure out how to survive. It reminds me of that scene in Apollo 13 where the guys on the ground have to save the day by figuring out how to solve a problem with a random bunch of items. Great review!
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I hope you enjoy it! The book has been described as Apollo 13 meets Castaway, which is a pretty good comparison. I really do hope someone makes a movie of this book one day.
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I’ve never really thought about being lost in space until you brought it up, so thanks for the nightmares! LOL
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Good thing my chances of being lost in space are pretty slim, or I WOULD get nightmares 😉
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This was great – there was undoubtedly a lot of techno babble (that’s my description of it anyway!) but the voice of Watney is so amusing. I love his comments – just everything from the disco music to his potato growing techniques! Plus, I thought the scenes from planet earth interjected a nice touch that broke it up a little.
Lynn 😀
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Yeah, I loved his offhand comments and sense of humor. I honestly didn’t expect the book to be funny at all, that was a really nice surprised to be picking up a survival story to see that it was lighthearted but also realistic enough to be suspenseful. I can understand why so many people loved this book now 🙂
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What?! To be honest, I’ll do anything just to go to Mars, Mogsy. Sure, it has a lot of risks and I’m going to die but I think it’s perfect. At least I get to experience something that wonderful. And if I get to see real aliens, that would be totally awesome.
I’m going to add this series to my TBR because it’s sci-fi, I love funny guys and your review is just so convincing. I really don’t mind reading techie stuff because it’s knowledge. As long as the author explains them properly then I don’t have any problem.
Thanks for the wonderful review, Mogsy!
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I am just a big fraidy cat 🙂 Definitely not a risk taker. I’d happily stay on earth and enjoy the feeling of my two feet on solid ground, but maybe that’s why I love these kinds of stories…knowing that I’d never have the guts to do stuff like this, I love living those experiences vicariously through stories ^_^
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Down to earth…I see what you did there! Thank goodness this one was chock-full of laughs, because otherwise it’d be depressing as hell. I really like the idea that Watney was chosen for the mission because of he’s so easy to get along with. That seems like a realistic detail while also explaining how he keeps his spirits up.
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I think you’re right – a lot criticisms from reviewers involved their doubts that someone in Watney’s position would still be joking around, which is a valid point.
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Wait he’s stranded for years – see again there makes me feel like its Cast Away in space. I wouldn’t have thought this would be funny – but if you say it’s an engineers wet dream maybe I’ll have to turn my husband onto it.
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