Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Title: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher/Publication Date: Crown, February 11, 2014
Genre: Science Fiction
Format/Source: Paperback Review Copy, Blogging for Books

Goodreads     Barnes & Noble     Amazon     Book Depository     Audible



Book Summary From Goodreads

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. Full Summary Here

My Thoughts:

One of my goals this year is to expand the genres I’m reading, and The Martian by Andy Weir is one such novel. Even though I like science fiction I haven’t read many books in that genre. I really had no idea what to expect when I picked this book to read next. It’s certainly different from what I’ve been reading up till now, and I have to say that I freaking loved it!

As far as reading goes, I’m having a great year so far.

The Martian follows Mark Watney as he figures out a way to survive on Mars after being stranded on the barren planet after a particularly bad dust storm. He was resourceful and I did enjoy his humor despite the situation he was placed in—and his determination to survive. I liked seeing how Mark kept-it-together despite being completely alone.

I have to say that I enjoyed the alternating points of views, as the story is partially told from logs written by Mark and other perspectives of those left on earth. There was no shortage of tense moments, and I liked the overall pacing. I think the concept was executed well and blended themes of survival and science fiction together nicely. And the setting, well, it was Mars. It was barren and basically uninhabitable. How much more can I really say on it?

Overall I loved The Martian, and I look forward to reading more books outside of the genres I’m familiar with.

5/5

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review, thank you!

About the Author 

Andy Weir was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martian is his first novel.