The Martian by
Andy Weir is one of those stories you don’t come across very often. While we
have been getting countless dystopian novels about futuristic alternative
worlds, this novel is completely believable despite the fact that we’ve never
sent anyone to Mars. Mark Watney is a member of a six-person crew that has been
sent to explore Mars, though unexpected events cut their trip (and their crew)
short. I don’t think it’s giving too much away to say that though the crew has,
as far as they know, lost a member, Watney does survive. This book is the story
of his fight to get back home.
The book is filled with scientific terminology and
calculations and procedures, but it doesn’t feel overwhelming. The writing is
very aware that the average person knows nothing about space physics and
technology, and the author could very well have made all the science up but I’m
in no position to refute it. The colloquial way the information is presented
leaves the story informative yet understandable.
Just when I was getting a little sick of the continuous
engineering in this book, it opened up a couple more perspectives. While it
would have created a sense of isolation similar to Watney’s as he’s trapped on
Mars, I’m glad we weren’t subjected to that. Weir does a good job of creating a
large cast of likable characters even though most of them have only a few pages
to convey their personalities. The sense of humor in this book is undeniably
sarcastic, so if that’s not your thing—never mind. It’s everyone’s thing.
The Martian is a fantastic
read – it was one of those books I missed while I had to do other things – and while
I don’t have much else in its specific genre to compare, I think it’s safe to
say it holds its own.
4 stars out of 5
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
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