Book: The Martian
Author: Andy Weir
Pages: 396
I Read: On my Kindle
Read in: Across 3 days
Plot Summary: Six 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 & forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded & completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—& 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—& 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?
General Thoughts: I have had The Martian on my Kindle for more than a year or so. I bought it after I read some rave reviews of the book on Goodreads and the premise sounded interesting. I don't know why I picked it up now to read, just when I was beginning to come down with the mother-of-all bronchitis and such, but, boy, this was such a great choice! The Martian is a smart, funny, sufficiently science-y and overall well-written book.
What I Liked: Here's the list:
1. The premise. I know, I know, the crazy-sounding premise of an astronaut being left behind on Mars and how he manages to brave all kinds of, haa haa, literally, astronomical odds, to survive got me curious. I mean, how can one survive on Mars?! It does not have O2 or any usable/ potable form of water.. and what about food? So, like I said, it got me curious and I was intrigued!
2. Not wanting to spoil things, but the ways in which Mark uses the resources he has to survive on Mars are just so simple and so well thought out (scientifically) by the author. Mark does simple things and tweaks the devices, food and uses basic science to survive and, even thrive, on Mars for about a year and a half!
3. Mark is an amazing character! He has a really funny voice and a never-say-die attitude. He has setbacks and deals with it in his characteristic wry and dry sense of humour. Mark manages to stay optimistic, strong and mostly happy through his various trials and tribulations on Mars. His voice is just so much fun and such a joy to read!
4. The other characters in the book are the various scientists, administrators and other technical experts at NASA. Some of the notable characters that I liked reading about were Dr. Venkat Kapoor (the head of the Mars Mission), Mindy (the girl who plays a crucial role in getting Mark any kind of help from Earth), all of Mark's colleagues on his Mars spaceship. There are several characters who move in and out of the story but you don't really have to work hard to keep up with who they are and what their purpose is in the overall narrative.
5. Mark's journey on Mars- literal and metaphorical- is very enjoyable! As readers, we get a very real sense of the Martian atmosphere, of the issues that Mark is dealing with, the things he does to fix whatever gets broken, how he manages to produce food and find himself usable water. It was, to me, an extremely riveting and interesting read.
What I Didn't Like: Not too much, but, umm, the book was sort of predictable. And cheesy. But, I didn't mind that too much!
Rating: 5/5
Even if you are not a sci-fi and/or fantasy fan, I would still recommend that you go read this book. It is fun, has some nice characters and a hero that you can really root for!
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