The Martian, Reviewed by my Space Nut Husband

The Martian
Written by Andy Weir
Science Fiction, Survival
Published February 11th 2011
384 Pages
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first men to walk on the surface of Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first man to die there.

It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive, and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission 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 get 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. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Mark Watney is the first human ever to be stranded on Mars. After an accident during a Martian dust storm, his NASA team looses contact with him and barely escapes with their lives. NASA believing that Mark is dead, hold a memorial service for him on Earth. His crew believes that his body lies dead on the Mars surface, but as fate would have it, he's far from it. This story is one told in a few different ways, first person narrative and also as a log entry from NASA Astronaut Mark Watney. The story and it's realism is what you would expect to see, if this unfortunate reality came to pass on the red planet's surface in our very near future.

Mark's mission specialties are mechanical engineer and botanist, which are now the most crucial skills he needs to survive. Long enough to hopefully get off the surface of Mars. NASA believes they have lost the first human to the hostile environment, as do Mark's crew mates aboard ARES 3 who are currently hurtling towards Earth. Their mission cut drastically short after just six days.

I liked that the story took place in a near future, as our generations will be among the first to send Humans to other worlds. It also provides a remarkable wealth of knowledge in both botany and physics,. It is quite clear that Andy Weir, the author, has a keen interest in the subject of Mars, survival of hostile environments and physics. I was pleased to hear that this book is being made into a movie, with Ridley Scott as the director and staring Matt Damon, scheduled for release in November this year.

What I didn't like was the format in which the story was written. It was confusing at times, with the first six chapters being little more than information overloads. But I feel that was necessary to bring the reader up to speed of the science behind the novel.

This book does contain mature language and some toilet humor, so I would not recommend it for more discerning readers. Even if science fiction isn't your typical read, I still recommend giving this one a try. It offers something that all readers can take away from the storyline, even if little more than a few hours of entertainment.

14 comments

  1. Awwwww Hi Kelly's husband!!! Haha, I haven't read any book that contains space theme, in a more serious manner, maybe when I'm more mature, I'll try this out! :D

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    1. It's funny Jules, he won't try anything that ISN'T space related. He's listening to The 100 on audiobook at the moment.

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  2. I've had a few bouts of starts and stops with this book until I eventually gave up. My foremost problem is the sluggish plot. It just couldn't keep my interest. Fantastic review, Mr. D. :)

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    1. I don't blame you Joy, this wouldn't have been something I would read either. The hubby listened to it on audiobook, so maybe that made the difference and offered a little more to the storyline. It sounded like it needed it too.

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  3. "some toilet humor" aha that made me laugh. This has been on my TBR for the longest, I do like the idea of survival in space, I'm happy to hear it worked out for you though - I might give it a try sometime soon. Great review overall! .
    Benish | Feminist Reflections

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    1. It sounds like it's a little too 'guy' humour for me, but the hubby really enjoyed it Benish. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it too.

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  4. Thanks for this terrific review, uhm, Mr. Kelly. I remember thinking this book was over hyped but I'm glad that you enjoyed it very much. I'm not a fan of confusing formats as well. And to be honest, I'm not a huge science fiction reader but I'll be reading this in the future for sure. Because I already have a copy and I don't have a choice :P And I want to know why a lot of readers loved it. :)

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    1. Me either Paula, especially adult science fiction. It really seems to be aimed at men much more and have a masculine harshness to the storyline. He really did enjoy this one though, despite having a few issues with the storyline. I hope you enjoy it as much as he did, looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

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  5. Hi Mr Birdbrain! The science in this one sounds a bit intense for me, which is part of the reason why I shy away from sci-fi as a genre overall. Great review!

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    1. Same Jeann. It's too masculine for me generally, as many don't have that romance to soften the storyline. He enjoyed the audiobook though, not sure he would have had the same reaction if he had of read this himself actually. It sounds a tad on the boring side.

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  6. Hi Kelly's Husband! My book club is going to be reading The Martian for April's book, so I'm hoping I'll also like it. I probably will since I'm such a science geek. But the science terms are kind of intimidating, oh well. Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed it a lot!!!

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    1. Hubby is a science geek too, so I dare say you'll probably really enjoy this one too. I agree though, a lot of pure science fiction goes straight over my head, so I tend to shy away from it as well. Looking forward to seeing your thoughts poppet.

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  7. Love your review; I shared a few of the same sentiments :) Your blog is gorgeous by the way!

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    1. Thanks Claudia. Glad you enjoyed this one too, my husband really did as well.

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