‘The Martian’ by Andy Weir is one of the most thrilling and absorbing novels I have ever read. Mark Watney is the seventeenth man to set foot on Mars, an order determined months before the Ares 3 Mars Descent Vehicle (MDV) touches the ground. The easy-going botanist/engineer is happy with his slot. He’s on Mars, isn’t he? Living an astronaut’s dream. Unfortunately, the dream lasts longer than the scheduled sixty days.
A dust storm scrubs the mission early. All six crew suit up and make for the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). High winds kick up debris and Mark is almost impaled by a detached antenna and knocked out of line. The antenna hits and disables his bio-monitor and pierces his suit. The last read-outs the rest of the crew get hint that he might be alive, but that his suit pressure lost pressure. An attempt is made to find him, but with high winds tilting the MAV, the mission commander has to make the call or risk five more lives. The MAV leaves without him.
Mark doesn’t die. In fact, in a bizarre set of circumstances that might only happen in Mars’ lack of atmosphere, blood from his wound seals the breach in his suit. He lives, only to be stranded alone on Mars. So begins his journey of survival, which will include a series of firsts for the seventeenth man. He has myriad problems to solve: food is foremost, then a plan to survive long enough to be rescued.
The unique atmosphere of Mars plays an important role in many of his plans and I enjoyed learning the differences between what we take for granted and what Mark must invent. It’s that, his inventiveness, that keeps this novel rolling. His upbeat personality, which understandably squeaks close to the edge of madness from time to time, renders the science readable or even personable. Despite his intelligence, he makes mistakes, though, plenty of them. Some were humorous, many were not.
At no point, during the course of the novel, did I take it for granted that Mark would live through his ordeal, which is why I kept reading and reading until the end. I finished the book in a single day. I had to know how it all turned out for my new favourite astronaut.
‘The Martian’ was originally self-published. His success gained the attention of readers, publishers and film studios. He cut a deal with Random House and sold the film rights. Not bad! This edition has two new covers. US edition pictured above, UK edition right.
With all the science and math, the novel could have been dry. I didn’t find it so, I found it all fascinating. If I didn’t understand something, I took it for granted that Mark did. His life depended on it, after all. Not mine. The scientific exploration is broken up with plenty of adventure and commentary and a good portion of the book is devoted to NASAs efforts to help him from Earth. It’s the humour that really made this story work for me, though. For all the thrills, there are plenty of laughs. There are also more than a few poignant moments. How can there not be? Mark Watney ends up racking up a lot of firsts during his sojourn on Mars.
Written for SFCrowsnest.
Kelly Jensen 
Great review. I have been wondering about this one since I first saw the US cover image pop up, you’ve convinced me that I need to add this one to my pile. I’m super fond of stories on Mars anyway. I guess because it seems like the next logical place we would have visited had the space program continued to develop the way we SF fans had hoped it would.
I have my husband reading it right now and he’s whining about the math (which is weird as he went to college while I drew pretty pictures). There is a lot of math. But it really does make sense as part of the story and as part of the character. The way he figures stuff out and works every problem from several angles is the story. I found it really absorbing and quite exciting. Guess I’m just a nerd. 🙂
What I think makes this book really special, though, is the broad appeal. It’s near future SF that reads like it could be happening now. So the technology isn’t too hard to grasp. But it’s also a thriller with a bit of mystery thrown in and it’s also a very human story. It’s the kind of book anyone can read, really. In that, it reminded me of The Cassandra Project by Jack McDevitt and Mike Resnick. You may want to check that one out, too. 🙂
Thanks for the recommendation. I haven’t finished it to this point, so it isn’t exactly a recommendation, but as you mentioned astronauts in your review, have you read The Explorer by James Smythe? It got a lot of buzz when it came out last year.
Looks like another good one! Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll keep an eye out for your review. 🙂