The Martian: A Novel

Andy Weir

Feb 2014 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Street Journal

The inspiration for the major motion picture

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 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 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?

NAMED ONE OF PASTE’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE

“A hugely entertaining novel [that] reads like a rocket ship afire . . . Weir has fashioned in Mark Watney one of the most appealing, funny, and resourceful characters in recent fiction.”—Chicago Tribune

“As gripping as they come . . . You’ll be rooting for Watney the whole way, groaning at every setback and laughing at his pitchblack humor. Utterly nail-biting and memorable.”—Financial Times

Ratings and reviews

The writing's juvenile, as though written by a teenage blogger. I never want to read a main character say "Yay!" or "Boo!" to emotional situations. It may seem like he "masks" his feelings in sarcasm, but you can tell the author cannot write convincing insight. It's evident when he resorts to 3rd person for the biggest moments at the end. Though predictable, I was curious to see how the plot unfolded. It was such an easy read that I didn't mind finishing. Back to Kim Stanley Robinson now.

Very entertaining! A fast read that keeps you interested throughout. Even with tons of science and facts being thrown at you, very understandable and always believable. Looking back at the story, it's hard to imagine someone being stranded on Mars for a year and a half. As you read the book, things seemingly progress very quickly and you don't always feel as though that much time has passed. Gave me the opportunity to think about how thankful I am that I have family and friends surrounding me every day! A really neat, modern day take of the classic "stranded/castaway" story!

I really enjoyed reading The Martian: there was a lot of suspense, well developed characters, and that ever present need to keep reading to figure out how Mark, the main character, will get out of his current predicament. However, I'd definitely consider coming in ready to suspend your disbelief as many parts are a bit too fantastical to believe that they'd actually all work.

About the author

ANDY WEIR was first hired as a programmer for a national laboratory at age fifteen and has been working as a software engineer ever since. He is also a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of subjects like relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. The Martian is his first novel.