Book Review - The Martian: A Great Mix of Science and Story

Photo by Penguin Random House

WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS OF A REALISTIC BOOK WHICH IS PARTIALLY EDUCATIONAL

Do you like Sci-Fi? Are you interested in Space Exploration? Are you tired of fictional novels where the main character’s resources, such as food and shelter, are magically unlimited and appear whenever they need them? Do you just want a nice, realistic yet humorous novel, where an astronaut gets stranded on Mars, and has to use their ingenuity to survive (who doesn’t?)? If you've answered yes to all of these questions (and even if you didn’t), then you should absolutely read The Martian.

The Martian, by Andy Weir, is a sci-fi survival thriller, which follows the adventures of American astronaut Mark Watney on Mars, where after a dust storm he is presumed dead and left stranded by his crew mates, without any way to communicate with Earth. However, even if NASA knew that he was alive, any rescue mission would arrive only years after he starved to death. Good thing he is a botanist and a mechanical engineer...

The novel was published in 2011, and was Andy Weir’s first book. When writing it, he wanted to create a book that was scientifically accurate. Because of this, he faced the complication of writing about the science behind the book, while not going overboard and making the book immensely boring, with five pages dedicated to how each of the machines in Watney’s HAB worked. In finding this perfect mixture between science and story, I think that Weir succeeded beyond all possible expectations.

Plot

The Martian begins with Mark Watney regaining consciousness, after the dust storm. During it, he was hit by a radio antenna, which punctured his bio-monitor. Seeing his life-signs fail, his crew had no choice but to abandon him, as their MAV, which took them to their main spaceship which was orbiting Mars, was in danger of falling over.

After Watney awoke, he found himself half buried in the sand, with a large metal pole sticking out of him. His suit was getting dangerously full of CO2, but he managed to get himself safely to the HAB (his base).

Subsequently, he took stock of his supplies, and thought about his dilemma. He had food for a little more than a year; although the next manned mission to Mars was in 4 years, and their landing spot would be about 3,200 km away. NASA also had no idea that he was alive, and he had no way of contacting them, as the HAB’s communication system had been destroyed by the storm.

Additionally, while the HUB, solar panels, rovers, and other gear was in good condition, it was all built to last only 31 days. Watney would have to spend more than a year on Mars, during which any of them could break down and kill him. The environment would also be unforgiving, but perhaps his greatest danger, was human-error...

With nothing but his ingenuity, humor, and determination to stay alive, Watney is tasked with doing the impossible: contacting NASA, creating 3 years-worth of food, but most of all, staying alive, and seeing Earth again.

My Opinion

In my opinion, The Martian is an excellent novel. I recommend it for science and non-science lovers alike, as this book is truly unique.

As said before, The Martian is the perfect mix between science and story. The small tidbits of science and engineering are perfectly ingrained and add greatly to the story. The language is also simple, it is fun and enjoying to read, and unlike many other books today, it isn’t depressing. Mark’s struggle to survive, and well as his witful humor, will keep you wanting only one thing: more.

The only major downside that the book has, is that it contains A LOT of inappropriate language. No matter what your age is, I highly recommend that you read the classroom edition, which not only has child-appropriate language, but also has several other bonus features...

There is also a movie adaption of The Martian, directed by Ridely Scott and staring Matt Damon as Mark, but it just doesn’t live up to the legacy of the book. The screenwriters changed too much, and the film doesn’t capture the “essence” of the book (furthermore, did I mention that the movie also has bad language?). Albeit, the movie does have its good parts and is decent, if you don’t compare it to the book.

Photo by Film Fan

In conclusion, The Martian is a great novel, especially for an author’s first book. I highly recommend it to you, and when you read it, you will without a doubt see why.


Thanks for reading this post and if you have any questions about The Martian, please comment below.