Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadSix days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that … alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue 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 kill 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. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
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Great sci-fi with good technical content
The main character in this castaway story is genuinely likeable and engaging.
I’m going to be brutally honest, I did not like this book as much as I thought I would, nor as much as I wanted to. That being said, once I got past the scientific jargon that read more like a text book, I did enjoy the story. Once NASA is involved in the book and there is more communication, it became much more likable and easy to get into. For …
The Martian violates a few laws of physics but it’s fun and entertaining.
One of the better books I have read this year
Extreme in its mental and physical activity.
A bit of a cliche but it’s better than the movie.
Much better than the movie [aren’t they all] a real page-turner! Kind of knew he would make it out but couldn’t wait to find out how …
Great first book read for someone who has never read science fiction before. Mark makes the best of a bad deal with determination and humour. Loved it!
Being a gardener, I have to like a good story about a potato farmer on Mars…
Read this book right before I saw the movie. Not normally a sci-fi fan, but this was a wonderful book. Managed to be upbeat and even funny during the most serious, harrowing moments. Enjoyed it!
The technical explanations for a bit tiresome.
Science fiction without aliens yet extraordinary in its hard complexity. McGyver meets NASA. Absolutely wonderful, cohesive and real adventure.
realistic, good treatment of first Mars mission.
Whether you’ve seen the movie or not, this is worth reading. As always, there is more in the book. This does not take away from the excellent film. It just gives you more information than is possible to fit into a film.
If you like science you’ll love this realistic tale of an astronaut surviving against all odds with a great sassy sense of humor
Not completely realistic, but it tries hard, and you come to want the character to succeed.
It’s a great book, well done.
It was a great read. Could not put it down. Well written story.
One of the great books to movies out there today!!! Loved all the science and really loved Mark Watney’s view on stuff!!! It really makes you understand that any problem can be overcome with the right ingenuity!!!