Is this book cover cool or what? Kudos to Eric White, its creator. I was lured to this sci-fi novel because of all the good words going on about it on blogs and book sites. It’s been quite the success story. First the author Andy Weir self-published “The Martian” on his website for free in 2012, then he put it on Kindle for 99 cents, and later it was picked up by Crown publisher for six figures and put out again in February of this year. The movie rights for it have already been optioned, and Matt Damon is being rumored for the main role. Wow! Not bad for a first-time author.
Truth be told, I’m not normally a science fiction or space reader, but the synopsis caught my eye. It’s about an astronaut (Mark Watney) whose crew is on a mission on Mars when a violent dust storm hits. Watney’s suit is pierced and he’s flung unconscious out of the crew’s reach. Thinking he’s dead, the others lift off, ending their mission and stranding Watney behind with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive.
Holy smokes, it’s a bleak situation, but Watney’s no quitter. He puts his mind to work on how to survive and reconnect with NASA. And here I thought Robert Redford’s character in the recent movie “All Is Lost” was resourceful, but in that regard Watney leaves him in the dust (so to speak). Watney’s quite the engineer-astronaut-botanist phenomenon. He’s a math-physics nerd but a smart-ass too. He’s got gumption, which apparently doesn’t hurt if you’re left on a totally inhospitable red planet.
“The Martian” drew me in at the start. I absorbed the dire situation as if it were the missing Malaysian airliner whose puzzle needed to be solved. Where in the heck is it? And what would happen to Watney? Being a reader of epic Arctic and Everest survival tales, I pored over this one like a bat out of hell.
Some of the novel takes place on Earth within NASA as they grope with what to do, the other half takes place on Mars as the resourceful Watney tries to overcome his circumstances. It makes for an interesting back and forth.
“The Martian” though is loaded with technical details, which in my opinion gets excessive at times. It’s almost as if the author were adding all the equations and physics suppositions to show how smart he is. On the one hand, it’s great having a lot of scientific details in the novel to make it seem real, but the constant equation set-ups clogged it up at times. In places, it sort of felt like reading a textbook instead of an action thriller. My mind fuzzed over some of the scientific and math thought processes, and the middle of the book sagged for me, as Watney carried out a lot of tests for his proposed rescue plans. No wonder I gave this book to my husband to read first; he’s an engineer he probably liked all these endless details.
But luckily “The Martian” picks up towards the end. And how it all plays out is worth sticking around for. I imagine the movie of it could be quite riveting. Despite the excessive details, I’m still amazed about the author’s knowledge of space and that he made “The Martian” into such a believable tale. It might not be for everybody, but if you’re a nerdy fan of the final frontier and such, you’ll inevitably like this one, too.
I bought this a month or two ago, after reading all the great reviews, and it’s still sitting unread on my shelf. I am definitely picking it up soon – though I have a feeling I will be skimming through some of the more technical/math-y stuff. 🙂
Yeah Carrie, it’s got quite a bit of technical stuff in it. In the middle my eyes fuzzed over for awhile. But still glad I read it.
I’m not usually a Science Fiction fan, either, but this one does sound tempting. Thanks for sharing…
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It’s quite good Laurel. But now I’ve had my fill on Space for awhile. The author’s quite thorough for sure!
My local indie bookstore will refund your money if you don’t like this book. I plan to pick up a copy soon.
That’s a good deal Kathy. You can’t go wrong there!
This would be fun to read in conjunction with Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. Now, if I could just find time for that little reading project!
Thanks Joy, I’ll check out that book by Mary Roach. I didn’t know about that one.
I was hoping this would get picked up as a movie, so glad to hear that! Really loved this read. I like Joy’s suggestion about reading Mary Roach’s Packing for Mars, too. I read that immediately after The Martian. Fun combination. 🙂
Hmm. Thanks Monika, I’ll have to check that out! You must be a space buff.
Hello Susan,
Our mutual friend recommended this book so I read it on the family sailing trip – GREAT ONE! Gripping, funny, good geek-factor….
Thanks!
Oh cool Sue. Glad you liked it. Yeah high geek factor for sure! Ha!
There’s another new one called Red Hope that takes place this year. It starts with the Curiosity rover stumbling upon some unusual fossils on Mars. It transmits the images to Earth right before it loses power. I hadn’t heard of Packing For Mars, but will give it a try too.
Okay I’ll check it out. For disclosure, you’re the author of Red Hope right? Thx for stopping by
Hi Susan, that is true, I am the author. Found this discussion interesting and wanted to add my two cents (and 250 pages). I apologize for not including that. My naivete as a new author shines brightly. Take care.