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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Weir lives the dream that all self-published authors dream. He writes a book, posts it on his website, and the next thing you know it’s a bestseller and a movie. And deservedly so.
For writers: This book is gripping because Weir creates one life-threatening catastrophe for his protagonist after another. Each one is unique and organic to the …
So good! Read it!
What can I say ! Great book, could not put it down.
I loved it – and my teenage grandsons loved it too. An edge-of-your seat thriller. The ingenuity amazes you.
From an original concept, the author created a very believable depiction of what it may be like to be stranded on Mars. The escape scene was riveting.
Read. This. Book. It’s freaking brilliant, so so funny, and scientifically realistic without being dense or boring. It’s fantastic. READ. THIS. BOOK.
I did not expect to like a “science” book so much. It kept me wanting to read into the night. well written for a lay person to understand space and aeronautics.
The Martian has to be the best example of good Hard science fiction there is. It is very realistic, and a page turner to boot!
I read the book and saw the movie. Great story of imaginative resourcefulness by a man stranded on Mars. Basically a survival story but not on a deserted island or out at sea. He has to figure out how to survive on another planet and how to get back to earth. Quite a task.
Weir has created an absolute keeper! Despite being futuristic, Weir draws you into his characters and makes the reader believe that this situation could be occurring today. Human ingenuity and spirit flows throughout this book.
One of my favorites
I loved it. Just my mind of book.
So, so funny! Smart and fun. You will not want to put it down!
Weir has a way of making highly technical writing engaging and suspenseful, but there’s still so much heart and humor to this book.
It was so realistic. I can not imagine the research author must have done for this book.
Awesome book
Read this before I saw the movie. There was something very satisfying about this book.
The story was not tied up neatly with a bow. There was character development – you spend most of the book inside the main character’s head. There were suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat moments. He had failures that made you want to cry for him.
The science was, at …
I had seen the movie before reading The Martian , which is not my normal way of doing things, but that’s ok! It only meant I read this book with Matt Damon playing the lead in my mental image of the book. (I love Matt Damon.) I found this to be an easy read and it made scientific concepts accessible to someone who is admittedly not the best at …
I love this book! I’m not a fan of language, but if I were stranded on Mars, alone, I might let a few slip myself. Can’t say I blame the guy! It’s such a fun read.
Such a wonderful story told in a humorous way!! The ultimate underdog story and all of the things that can go wrong. Great connections between the crew and Watney.
A great read. Much better than the movie. Highly recommend