I'm a hard-science science fiction fan and would rather read hard sc-fi than almost anything. I love stories and movies about Mars, and I'm a fan of survival, castaway, and man-against-the elements stories. I loved Robinson Crusoe, so it should not surprise you that I loved the movie, Robinson Crusoe on Mars. I realize it's not Academy Award material, but to me, it's everything I want it to be, as was this book, The Martian. The main character, Watney, presumed dead, is accidentally left by his crew mates when an intense Martian dust storm forces them to abort their mission. What follows for part of the book is a logbook style narrative that describes in great technical detail Watney's efforts to extend his life until the next scheduled mission arrives in 4 years. After reading just the first 20% of the book (my Kindle has no page numbers) one can't help but be impressed by the author's depth of knowledge in this regard. In fact, the entire book is an astronaut's primer on extraterrestrial and deep space survival and rescue. The Martian isn't without its typos and editorial glitches, and I'm not sure if this was a result of a bad Kindle conversion or just a shortsighted editor. For me, though, typos and editing issues paled in comparison to the snowballing storyline, which I gladly admit is not for everyone. This is not a touchy-feely book about love, romance or relationships. There is no overpowering angle between characters. No good guys in white hats and bad guys in black hats. There's no room for cliches. It's all very business like and scientific. So, if you're looking for Twilight in Space. Or Fifty Shades of Mars. Or Tom Hanks making himself a friend by drawing a face on a soccer ball, you'll probably want to skip this one. This book is simply about the mission, and the cold reality of working hard to turn a wrong into a right. Another thing you won't find in this book is a lot of heartfelt reminiscing or reflection. There are no flashbacks of our main character fishing with Dad at the old water hole, or him riding his first bicycle without training wheels. This is a book about a guy with a keen intellect surviving on a hostile planet and doing so by making the most out of a given set of resources. About a third of the way through the book, the author adds third person narratives from mission control and the Hermes space craft, the latter manned by the crew that left our hero behind -- and make no mistake, hero is the operative word. Again, we don't follow our mission control cast of characters back too their respective homes and meet their wives and husbands and get served up cliche insights into their innermost thoughts. Blech! I hate those stories! Which doesn't mean these characters are cookie cutter or superficial. On the contrary, I found the characters sufficiently individuated and interesting. I highly recommend this book to people who are into reading hard sci-fi of the not-too-distant future, sci-fi without blasters and ray guns or 9' tall aliens that bleed acid. (Btw, I like those stories, too, but good ones are hard to find.) Somebody did their homework on this one -- and that's what stands out above all else.

I'm stranded on Mars. I have no way to communicate with Hermes or Earth. Everyone thinks I'm dead. I'm in a Hab designed to last 31 days. If the Oxygenator breaks down, I'll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I'll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I'll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I'll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So yeah. I'm f----d.' - Mark Watney As the two-hundred thirty-fourth reader to review THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir, I have no illusion that I can add anything substantive to the plaudits already heaped on this intelligent work of space sci-fi. Simply put, it's a nail-biter that'll trim your finger nail plates down even with the nail beds. My reading tastes usually don't encompass space fiction because the vast majority of it seems to fall within the realm of extreme fantasy with worlds and ETs of the most fantastical sorts. I prefer my off-Earth stories to have some plausible connection with realistic, albeit extrapolated, technology and situations, and the one book that remains embedded in my memory as simply terrific is from all the way back in 1975 when I was much younger and perhaps more impressionable - Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama . With films, I'm the same way; Outland  and Silent Running  come to mind. THE MARTIAN is my kind of SF. In Mars mission engineer-botanist Mark Watney we have a thinking man's hero for the ages, and THE MARTIAN is a story that cries out to be serialized for television. THE MARTIAN would be ideal for a lengthy trans-ocean plane flight. If you start the book on take-off, you'll likely finish on landing and not even be aware of the hours that passed or the screaming kid a couple of rows back. You owe yourself this novel. Trust me.

A futuristic Robinson Crusoe! Due to a dust storm, Mark Watney is left for dead in the Acidalia region of Mars when the Ares 3 mission is aborted 6 days into the scheduled two months. What follows is largely a logbook of living in a large tent or a small rover for about 550 days on what was supposed to be two month's rations for 6 people. Fortunately there were some potatoes for thanksgiving that were alive, so Mark starts dividing them and growing them. But first he has to make soil, and then water, and so on. Generally speaking, a logbook is a poor technique, but here it is brilliant. You cannot have conversation, and you cannot develop other characters, but did I mention he was abandoned? Alone? You might still think that 550 days stuck in a tent or rover could get boring, but no, this book is absolutely gripping. Watney was resourceful, and the book is very good at showing the scientific approach to problems, putting numbers to them, and showing what happens if you do what, so in a sense it is also a book of puzzles: this has gone wrong, how can it be fixed? Tension is maintained well because Watney has an unseen companion: Murphy. If it can go wrong, it does, sometimes because of Watney's own lack of knowledge. To make water, first he makes hydrogen. This is not a good idea, and Watney finds out why. Because I have also written a book centred on Mars, I know the author has really spent a lot of time understanding the nature of Mars, and this book shows quite well what being on the surface of Mars would be like. There is the odd error, probably intentional for effect, for example the effects of the dust storm are too great. Martian winds can hit up to 200 k/h, but gas pressures are about 1% of Earth's, so, after correcting for the lower gravitational acceleration and the mass of dust, the forces will still be only a few percent of those of comparable wind velocities on Earth. That, however, is forgiven, because if the author were strictly correct on this, then there would be no story. To summarize, this is a surprisingly gripping story of survival against all the odds, and I strongly recommend it. Ian Miller, author of Red Gold.

Follow the adventure of an astronaut as he tries to survive being left on Mars. During a mission abort of the Ares 3 Mars landing, astronaut Mark Watney is thought dead as the rest of the crew does an emergency evacuation from the surface of Mars. Follow Mark as he fights to survive on a planet that really doesn't like living things. The author, Andy Weir, wrote this over a long period of time in a serial format and I waited patiently for every chapter. Now that it is complete it is even better. Thank you Andy.

This is in some ways a delightful book. It's incredibly detailed in its technical aspects, and the inventiveness of the hero is quite wonderful to watch. There's a continual vein of sardonic humor running through, and a nice sense of suspense at the cascading disasters that occur. That said, this is a nerd's book. It is driven almost entirely by the mastery of technical details, which are set forth more like engineering term papers (wait, were there even papers in Engineering? I was an English major...) than story narrative. There is a modicum of fairly one-dimensional characterization layered on top of it, and a plot that consists of an almost predictable chain of catastrophes. It fits a small niche of technically-driven science fiction but lacks any of the breadth and depth of much of the genre. I'm fascinated by the mass of 5-star reviews, given that (a) this is a book that appeals primarily to our technical side and (b) sic-fi reviewers are by and large a pretty critical lot. Interesting.

The Martian has all the right elements for a classic adventure tale: a modern day ''shipwrecked'' explorer with limited resources but lots of ingenuity and technical know-how, fighting for survival in a dangerous environment. The level of scientific and engineering detail fills the narrative with a vivid sense of realism. At first glance, it reminded me of Robert A. Heinlein's hard scifi stories, so I was pretty excited about reading it. The first few pages reeled me right in, but the more I read of The Martian, the less I enjoyed it. I like hard scifi, so I was expecting The Martian to be heavier on the science than on character development. When a novelist puts characters in life-or-death situations though, I do expect him to flesh those characters out at least enough to interest me in their fate. The people in this book are so very flat and undeveloped that they never even come to life. The novel is mostly journal entries written by the main character, astronaut Mark Watley. Given that he & his crewmates lived together in a spaceship for months on end, seems he'd have something interesting to relate about them (and himself). Instead, the reader hears who is The Hot One, who is The Religious One, who loves disco and who hates it. What finally ruined the book for me is the author's sloppy approach to writing dialogue, particularly Watley's. As a protagonist, he's inventive, intelligent and persistent, while still human enough to make mistakes. His situation predisposes the reader to like him, or at least root for him. Unfortunately, the author writes such clumsy dialogue that Watley often sounds annoying if not outright obnoxious. Human qualities, yes, but not good ones for your main character to exhibit. I guess the author pictured Watley as an amusing, cheeky rogue. Instead, he comes across as irritatingly juvenile...I almost expected him to start telling knock-knock jokes. I hope this author continues to write; he's got the ''science'' part of SF mastered, though the fiction aspect still needs work. He does a good job with action, and the ''stranded on Mars'' scenario itself is fascinating to imagine. But when the characters aren't interesting or engaging, what should have been an exciting story becomes an increasingly monotonous account of what broke and what got fixed.

I can't even begin to say how much I liked this book. I buy a lot of indie sci-fi from the Kindle Store, and most of it is poorly edited and utterly bereft of anything remotely approaching a plot. I came across this I don't know how, and figured ''well, 99 cents, I can't really lose.'' This is quite possibly my new favorite sci-fi book of all time. It is written in the style of George Alec Effinger's Budayeen books, with an irreverent 1st person style, occasionally dropping in to 3rd person for various scenes. As thick with the info-dump as a Neal Stephenson novel, but without the massive digressions. There's a hero, he overcomes obstacles (to put it mildly), and an exciting finish. Well written, well edited, fast-paced. All in all, if there were like 500 stars to click, I'd click 'em.

Sorry...i really wanted to like this book based on the reviews. The science pieces were indeed believable and well reasoned. What i didn't like is the actual style of the prose. The contrast of highly cerebral science to high-school level writing made for an awkward read.

I just finished co-authoring a white paper on the plug-in hybrid car and how it can save the world. My fellow author is a professor of mechanical engineering, and had to make a student of me before I could process his ideas into English. The protagonist's survival in ''The Martian'' depends largely on his McGiver-ish ability to use creatively his knowledge of mechanical engineering. I really enjoyed seeing concepts of physics take on vivid meaning in this suspenseful context. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie version.

Andy Weir's mind-bending short story The Egg was my introduction to his work. Available to read for free on his website as of this writing, it explores the aftermath of a car crash, and demonstrates Weir's spare, but deep and engaging writing style. Recently, while discussing Chris Nolan's Interstellar among friends, I heard Weir had a new book out when someone mentioned Ridley Scott would be adapting The Martian for film. With how much I enjoyed these other works and their respective messages about humanity, I was ready to dive in to Weir's debut novel, expecting greatness. But it isn't there. Where Interstellar or The Egg are deeply emotional, human stories, equal parts introspection and cosmic pilgrimage, The Martian is the inexplicably cheerful diary of a know-it-all, describing his efforts to return to his home in the comments section of reddit. Due to an accident during a Martian sandstorm in which he is presumed killed, fellow astronauts maroon the narrator, botanist and engineer Mark Watney, on the Red Planet. He is forced to survive in a small space, without contact with other humans, for years. His friends left and took the radio. If the food doesn't run out first, the water or oxygen will. The situation is, as he implies in the opening lines, quite dire. As a reader: okay. So far, so good. The obvious question is, ''What type of rugged techie survivalist is Watney? What is he going to do to get out of this?'' Turns out that he was the ''comic relief'' of his crew--less Jack London or Liam Neeson, more Bozo the Astronaut or MacGyver in a propeller hat. Maybe it's the bad TV and music he consumes which makes Watney's log entries, which comprise most of the book, read like +1000 comments on reddit, but never mind the cause. To anyone outside of that culture, it's insufferable. To clarify, I am not at all opposed to hard science fiction, technical jargon, or research. Getting some technical bits right while you make stuff up is important, as Weir, son of a particle physicist, surely knows. Apollo 13 could have been a tragedy, but technical badasses on both ends averted it. Using science and gumption to save yourself from dying on an inhospitable alien planet is BAD ASS. The problem is, to paraphrase Carl Sagan, ''They should have sent a poet... not this dweeb.'' I don't know what kind of device he's writing these log entries on, but Watney's phraser is a semi-auto loaded with exclamation points (yay!)! His jokes are regrettable and cringeworthy coming from an adult man (bwa ha ha!)! They might be why his crew actually left him on Mars. Such stumbling could be forgiven if the rest of the story and characters were compelling, but they aren't. There are cool swashbuckling ideas, like re-purposing old probes for survival, or using a nuke as a space heater to save electricity, but in execution, the adventure of it all is buried under an avalanche of facts and figures. In serious mode, Watney sucks the suspense and life from the narrative by writing it in the style of instructions for putting together a piece of furniture. Even scenes which involve playing with rocket fuel are marred by tedium. Maybe it's all some kind of ironic meta-commentary on the ill effects of staying shut indoors away from people for extended periods: you become euphoric about chemistry equations and poop jokes. Again, though, it's terrible. Most of all, The Martian needs some genuine danger, damn it. For being stranded and alone in a freezing, rusted desert tens of millions of miles away from civilization, Watney comes across as remarkably comfortable and unconcerned. Whatever the environment throws at him, he has an answer. His mistakes are trivial and few, so one never worries that he won't survive. Aside from almost blowing himself up and being alone, the greatest adversities he faces in the first third of the novel are an uncomfortable car seat, unswept solar panels, and disco music. At one point, he needs to load solar panels onto the roof of his rover, but they weigh quite a bit even with lower Martian gravity. ''Uh oh,'' the experienced sf reader might think, ''I know where this is headed. He's going to break a panel and screw himself over!'' Nah. He rigs something up and instantly the artificial problem is solved. It's almost a footnote in his log, as if it didn't exist to begin with. This is a recurring theme. The Martian is a disappointment, less of a novel and more of an overlong blog post infused with the stink of edutainment, and not even the fun Oregon Trail kind. Again, there is nothing wrong with learning cool science things--I encourage doing so--but in a novel, this should come second to learning about the characters and their struggles. To The Martian, the opposite is true. Or maybe I just hate Mark Watney and wish there could have been a character building, Cast Away dentistry scene. (I still have hopes for the movie adaptation. It could outshine the book if it nixes Watney's narration.)

Self published books on Amazon are often a crap-shoot. You read through piles of drek that should never have been published in hope of finding one good book. This is that book. It is, by far, the best Hard Science Fiction book I've read in years. In The Martian, Astronaut Mark Watney is accidentally left for dead by his crewmates during a fierce storm. Marooned on Mars, he has to use his intelligence and wit to survive and wait for a rescue ship, which at best would be over a year away. The majority of the book is in a 'Log' format, with the main character chronicling what happened during each day. Periodically the book cuts from the logbook format to a traditional narrative for the supporting characters in space and on Earth. This is very difficult format to write, but the author manages to pull it off masterfully. As the main character recounts his triumphs and tragedies you can't help but be dragged into his struggle against the unforgiving Martian environment. I never thought it would be possible to be kept up past my bedtime by story that involved a man trying to grow potatoes inside an inflatable tent. The tension and drama are interspersed, where appropriate, by humor and wit. A good example is when Mark realizes that by growing potatoes he has met the requirements for colonizing Mars (''Take that, Niel Armstrong!''). The author did his homework and it shows. The science is top notch and well researched. The only obvious scientific inaccuracy I found was that the effects of a Martian storm were stronger than they are in real life by an order of magnitude. This is acceptable as without the storm, Mark would not have been abandoned and the story couldn't happen. The author manages to describe exceptionally complex engineering and chemical processes in a way that is both entertaining and understandable to the layman. Andy Weir managed to masterfully capture the spirit of NASA during its glory days, when there was no obstacle that could not be solved by an engineer with a slid rule, roll of duct tape, and a dash of creativity. I bought the Kindle edition, but I hope someday it will be released in paper form. The hard cover has a place on my bookshelf next to Heinlein, Clarke, and Asimov.

I understand the 5-star reviews -- but I can only give The Martian 3. To his immense credit, Andy Weir has re-invented Daniel Defoe's terrifically popular 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe and turned it into a nerd's fantasy of engineering competency. This is a huge achievement, and yet it is flawed. Robinson Crusoe dealt with a shipwrecked sailor's survival narrative, and The Martian is likewise at core a survival narrative. Survival forms the core tension for novels as diverse as Lord of The Flies, Hatchet, The Hunger Games, Flight of The Phoenix, and Jurassic Park. The varying literary quality can range from young adult (Hatchet) to the serious literary concerns of Lord Of The Flies. In the case of The Martian, Weir invented his own genre (another considerable achievement, maybe worth 5 stars alone.) Call it the uber-engineering problem-solver technology puzzle survival narrative. This structure of creating problems (puzzles) to be solved in order for the hero to survive and then having the hero solve them is gratifying and fun. You hope to God that if you were stranded on Mars, you'd be as smart as Weir's astronaut hero and figure out such crazy, clever inventive solutions. This problem solving structure, a strength of the book - is also a weakness, because 90% of the plot goes like this: 1. Astronaut Mark Watney meets technical problem A, solves with clever solution B. 2. Astronaut Mark Watney meets technical problem C, solves with clever solution D. 3. Astronaut Mark Watney meets technical problem E, solves with clever solution F. 4. REPEAT, REPEAT, REPEAT This novel argues a deep faith in human reason and hard work to solve any problem, and that reveals a naïve core. Because the book never strays far from the technical details to investigate any of the bigger problems that more serious science fiction might address. (Aside:) I was at a presentation at the Rand corporation where the engineers present demonstrated crazy hubris in their ability to solve global warming. Their attitude: ''Don't worry, if climate gets really bad we'll write some code - that's what we do.'' Still, if you are going to write hard science fiction, it's easy to get trapped within the known limits of technology. And one of the things Weir does well is to poke into every corner of the known. I am sure he had fun researching this book, and learning details about the battery that went into the 1997 Pathfinder probe. There are limits to that kind of convincing detail, because while readers want that, they also want to connect with the human factor, and interesting complex characters. Astronaut Mark Watney's log feels believably written because his entries are composed like you'd expect a guy with an engineering degree to write. This is not a slight at guys with engineering degrees (Norman Mailer studied engineering for awhile.) But engineers are typically less interested in stylist prose than cool engineering details. Any lack of style on Weir's part actually adds to the credibility of his hero Watney's log. And Watney, he is exactly what we have been told astronauts are like: brilliant, cheerful, can-do and tireless. Another writer might have aired Watney's depressive doubts or discussed his futile sex life on Mars, but Weir stays in ''the clean room.'' Watney is iconic, a can-do American engineer and farmer. He can even farm Mars, no problem. This book celebrates our belief in that mythic hero, the American astronaut, no doubt a strong part of it's appeal. Possibly, if there is an emotional connection and an emotional core to the book it is here. We wish people like American Astronaut Mark Watney existed and if they did we would happily root for their survival. Likely, the readers that love this book are responding to that note. Bottom line, if you are an engineer, you will love this book because it confirms everything about life that ever made you want to be an engineer. But if you are not an engineer, but are just interested in reading the best of imaginative hard science fiction there are better books. Books that engage bigger questions and open worlds of wonder and philosophical inquiry. Here are a few: Rendezvous With Rama (Arthur C. Clarke) Foundation (Isaac Asimov) Ringworld (Larry Niven) Revelation Space (Alastair Reynolds) The Forever War (Joe Haldeman) Spin (Robert Charles Wilson) Contact (Carl Sagan) Downbelow Station (C. J. Cherryh) Red Mars (Kim Stanley Robinson) The Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson)

I honestly can't believe the number of 5-star reviews for this book. And, I'm no ''literary snob,'' I just expect a couple of basic things from a novel, even a ''light read'' like this: an engaging plot (which is the strength of this book) and well-developed characters who I actually care about (which is its huge, glaring weakness). I say this without a hint of hyperbole: these are the most weakly developed characters I have ever read. I literally know almost nothing about ANY of the characters besides brief, very shallow initial descriptions, and whatever I could gather from their very science-heavy interactions. I mean, it's crazy how little we know about the main character, Mark, considering we have plenty of time to get to know him: we're trapped on Mars with him for more than a year! I challenge one of the 5-star reviewers to tell me something about Mark, besides ''He is funny'' and ''He is clever.'' I honestly thought that maybe a big plot twist was going to be that Mark was a robot. Think of how much better this book could have been if we had learned anything about Mark's life, his goals/desires, even his inner feelings about being trapped. Does he have someone special waiting for him back on earth? A kid? How are his parents feeling - and how does he feel toward them? Maybe he develops a relationship with someone on board the ship? Does he ever have dark days of depression? Just give me something to grab on to! I mean, if you think about it, even an oft-mocked book like ''Twilight'' could be considered a better novel; at least the characters are developed to the point where they seem like actual human beings (or vampires/werewolves, as it were), instead of cardboard cutouts. The consequence of this weak development is that I didn't care what happened to any of these people. Mark could have blown himself up and I would have said, ''Eh.'' This ends up reading like a technical manual for escaping mars - or some kind of solve-the-puzzle book - not an actual novel. If/when this is made into a movie, screenwriters will have to create an entire backstory for every single character, otherwise nobody will watch it. The sad part is, the plot IS pretty good. There's always some new problem cropping up and Mark figuring out some clever way to solve it. I don't even mind the VERY detailed scientific explanations of everything (yes, everything.) They just need to be balanced out a bit. Overall, a very hollow disappointment.

They say don't judge a book by it's cover, because the judgments can prove to be false wrongly guide you perspective, but it's inevitable. My literal first judgments of The Martian's cover proved true, unfortunately. If prompted to think of cover imagery for a novel titled 'The Martian', what appears? It most likely contains the red sandy atmosphere of mars, and an astronaut planted within the familiar atmosphere; communicating the overarching plot(s) of the novel. It can be pretty well assured that response would be in the majority. If a majority can anticipate how something will be with minute briefing it is not because they are incredibly deductive thinkers, it is more likely that the imagery is riddled with cliché and predictability. The predictability of the cover foreshadows the nature of the plot and characters of Andy Weir's The Martian. The plot, character's, format, and theme are exactly what one would expect from looking at the cover. A man trapped in space with no communication who must face impossible circumstances to find a way back to Earth. The cliché of the genre, which this novel is heavily imbedded, presents immense opportunities for plot twists and cliffhangers; sadly the author took every opportunity presented to him, keeping comfortably within the framework. With the close frequency of the minor twists and turns even those became predictable and soon lost the intended impact. We understand Weir's intention to keep the reader's attention engaged, but other methods, with maybe an artistic (low gravity) leap the novel would have brought about something new and exciting. Perhaps by removing a majority of the minor twists and instead having a handful of big plot twists The Martian would diverge from the predictable a be a 12g force of writing to be reckoned with. While originality is lacking, the one thing that sets this novel apart is the amount of sarcasm, lamp shading, and smartass-ery. Mark Watney, a.k.a. The Martian is one to cope with things through humor and sarcasm and thanks to that Weir's novel is riddled with hilarious remarks throughout. Many times throughout one can be sure to find themselves laughing out loud (literally) as Watney deals with every issue thrown at him, which when trapped on Mars for almost a year there is more than a few. Besides humor the next present element is math. With many of us not being astro-botanists a lot of the math, and science, goes over our heads, but whether we fully understand it or not makes no difference on it's validity. The realistic science and math paired with the uncharacteristic witty smartass of a main character The Martian definitely has something going for it that momentarily has the potential to overshadow the unoriginality of the plot. The Martian is in it's most basic form is a mix-mash of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles embedded with the reality and modernism of the hit films Gravity and Apollo 13. With it's light-hearted take on an astronaut being stuck on Mars Weir's novel is a fun read for anyone who had dreams of being an astronaut when they were little. An essential beach read for Dad's who don't want anything too serious. If you are looking for something that challenges genre boundaries, questions what it means to exist and survive, or bring something new to the 'space novel', it would be in your best interest to keep looking. Andy Weir's The Martian is an essential beach read for dads, and moms (don't want to be sexist), who don't want anything too serious. Read my other reviews (https://ello.co/montag-winston) or Watch my video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slaVL...)

The Martian is a solid book that hits all the sweet spots to get your adrenalin pumping. What could be more compelling than watching our hero-astronaut Mark Watney, left for dead on Mars, try to figure out how to stay alive on the barren red planet and get home. The book alternates between Watney's logs, which are full of snark, some atonally childish (he says ''Yay!'' a lot, seriously really?), some witty and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny; his shipmates on the Hermes, who were forced to abandon him; and the NASA team who try to figure out how to get Watney home when they realize he's still alive, going from Plan A to B to a desperate, go-for-broke C during the course of the book. Science wonderfully permeates this book and Andy Weir doesn't spare us the dry technical details. Since the whizz-bang calculations are coming out of the mouths of self-deprecating, potty-mouthed scientists and space geniuses, it all feels light and readable. It won't trip you up unless you have a serious aversion to science or lack basic science literacy. (And if you do, you shouldn't have picked up this book in the first place! Get out of here.) And still... something was lacking. This could have been a really terrifying book, the ultimate portrait of survival, but Weir does away with any extraneous psychological exploration, and the characters all end up like the stripped down vehicles and machines our stranded astronaut tinkers with on Mars to keep his shelter running. Mark Watney never despairs, he stays level-headed, and even when all things go to hell, he keeps his sense of humor. He's down on Mars for almost 18 months, alone, utterly isolated, just a teeny mistake away from imminent death, and his mood never changes. It's amazing. It's baffling. I know astronauts are extraordinarily stalwart people, but still. Come on. Some vulnerability would have been interesting and realistic; maybe a breakdown or two would have been a nice touch. The sarcastic, gallows humor is great but its irksome after a while, especially when it never varies and downshifts into 12-year-old-boy territory. I kept hearing a laugh track playing in the background as I read. Why does Watney, a super trained mechanical engineer and botanist, need to be a cutesy standup comedian all the time in his logs and communiques? And I guess I just really wanted the storyline to go into darker places. Sigh. Make us pay emotionally as readers, Weir! * SPOILER AHEAD: Watney, the rescue mission—it all works out perfectly in the end and everyone lives happily ever after. Everyone. No one dies. Kind of ridiculous, even as I was pumping my fists in triumph at the end. * But for all the thin air in this book, The Martian is still a thrilling story. I had fun. It gave me a new appreciation for NASA and our space program, and the people and all the moving parts that go into getting human beings closer to the cosmos. Just don't forget the duct tape and bring good music.

This is an exciting book with an old premise: an astronaut is stranded, in this case on Mars. He's wounded, his teammates have left him for dead, and his chances are slim to none. But Mark Watney, a wise-cracking botanist, refuses to give up. He's endlessly inventive and every step of the way he describes, in excruciating detail, how he gets food, water, air, power...you name it, he describes it. I had to take off one star because of this, although I think that science geeks might enjoy it thoroughly. As for me, I found myself skimming on most pages and for the first time in my life I thought it would have been great to see a condensed version of the story. Eventually, the world finds out he's not dead and things get lively. Can Mark be rescued? What politics are involved? What science is necessary? What about the cost? Watney's situation becomes the ultimate reality show and the whole world is watching. There is a reasonable amount of humor for such a grim situation and the suspense ratchets up as the food, water and air supply dwindle. You'll never regard potatoes the same way again. Unfortunately, none of the characters develop in any meaningful way, there is insufficient back story for our hero, and no depth to any of his psychology. What they're like the first time you see them is what they're like at the end of the book, which is why I removed another star. I felt the book was somewhat realistic, but I don't have enough background in the subject to know what information, if any, was tweaked to enhance the story. It was a great story, but I wish I didn't have to skim so much technical stuff, which was really rather dry for me. I recommend this book to anyone interested in space travel who doesn't mind some profanity and irreverent humor. It is tailor-made to become a movie and without the constant details will undoubtedly be a smash success.

While there's no disputing the level of detail and ingenuity the author and lead character provide in this book I was really disappointed in the end result. The book takes us through what could be a guide to Mars Survivability. Mark Watney's MacGyver-like ingenuity is interesting for a few pages but its 'Log Entry' format and mind numbing level of deal makes you wonder 'Who Cares?' Do we really need a step-by-step description of how to create water from hydrazine? The level of detail would be more palatable if the characters had some depth. The folks presented in the book are singularly one-dimensional and we've met them all before. Finally, after enduring all of Watney's Trials and Tribulations we arrive at a climax that's anything but. In my opinion this is a book only an engineer could love and if you're going to call it a novel at least make it ...entertaining, with characters that have some depth beyond the NASA stereotypes that have long become cliché. I DO think 'The Martian' would make a great movie script. One of the few new 'novels' that would benefit from a Hollywood 'Treatment'

The concept and story are amazing but the writing and dialogue aren't believable or good. Other reviews highlight the profanity and it is over the top. So is the ''dorky'' behavior. I wish the author had spent more time considering the psychology of the Martian rather than make 3rd grade jokes. All in all, I was glad I read the book but won't be recommending it to others.

Have you ever wanted Apollo 13 and Castaway to be combined and then turned into a novel? No? What do you mean no? Mr. Weir manages to create a protagonist with a truly amazing will to live. Although ostensibly, very little to live for. Left behind on Mars, there are no lovers, friends, family, or meaningful work awaiting Mark Watney on Earth that he hungers to return to. If there is, he doesn't mention it. There is no animosity born toward the crew that thought he was dead and left him behind. No. There is just an unyielding desire to stay alive and a preternatural sense of good humor about his really f'ed up situation. The majority of the book presents itself in an epistolary format, and from the beginning we are bombarded with what is essentially a laundry list of technical challenges to be overcome and the arithmetic related to working out those challenges. A brilliant engineer, Watney can apparently fix nearly any problem that comes his way. Of course, he didn't think of laying out rocks to spell SOS on the martian surface, but hey, who's keeping score? The answer was me. I'm keeping score. NASA, that ever resourceful government agency, takes no photography of the 'Hab' he is located at until two months after the incident that left him stranded. I find this difficult to believe. An incident occurred and they don't take a photograph for two months? Even if they were trying to avoid bad PR from photographing a dead astronaut, this makes little sense. Their satellites probably would have picked up something unintentionally from regular surveillance by that point. And the guy's dead. If his body's there, the public will see it eventually. The remainder of the characters also seem to be no nonsense engineers with little on their mind except their jobs. Can I get one warm blooded character, please? I have to hand it to Weir, the pacing is good. The voice is unique. He lacks pretension. But none of this can make up for the fact that it's hard to care about what's going on. Why should I care about this protagonist? He seems to have no inner life. There is no emotional core in his character. It's just a guy who wants to survive, and that isn't enough.

[INCLUDES SPOILERS] I don't think I've ever written an Amazon review in my life, but after finishing this book I feel like I have to take out my frustrations somewhere. At the beginning it was very enjoyable, and I really wanted to keep enjoying it. I thought Watney's sense of humor was refreshing and I actually found myself laughing out loud more than once. But as time went on, it was just more of the same over and over and over and over again. Somewhat predictable technical problem, pause, dry explanation of how he fixes it. Rinse, repeat. As many others have pointed out, there was zero character development. Watney's attitude and writing style seemed to be the same on day 1 as on day 450, after over a year of being almost completely isolated. We learn nothing about him as a person, or about anyone else for that matter. All the characters seemed very 1 dimensional. The scientific solutions to his problems were interesting at first, but grew tiring later on as it just seemed like more of the same. I found my eyes glazing over and skimming parts, and I'm someone who really enjoys the science part of science fiction. As I got further along in the book I realized I could hardly distinguish between the other characters. My first reaction was to go back and try to figure out who was who in the fictional version of NASA, but then I realized it didn't matter. Anyone could've been saying any of the lines. The easiest way to tell the characters apart was to look at the amount of needless profanity they used (and I mean truly needless -- I'm happy to have swearing where it makes sense and have no moral objection or anything). Another reviewer pointed out that it sounded like Watney's journal entries were written by a teenager on reddit, and I think that's absolutely spot on. A couple of lines that really stuck out to me were when he jokingly referred to a probe as ''gay'' or towards the end of the book, as he's making the modifications to the ARES-4 MAV, he writes: ''The lunatics at NASA have me doing all kinds of rape to the MAV.'' Seriously? Rape? I stopped enjoying this book somewhere around a third of the way through, but I kept reading because I was invested and wanted to know what happened. If you find yourself at that point, do yourself a favor and just stop--it's not worth going on. It just gets worse and there's nothing satisfying about getting to the end.

If you are interested in Sci-Fi that reads like it was written by a teenage boy, this is the book for you. The writing is so pedestrian and the author feels the need to explain every little thing (example: ''CO2 is carbon dioxide'') that I couldn't get through the whole book. This is an author that thinks his audience isn't as smart as he is and, to give Weir credit, I feel pretty dumb for having spent my money on his book.

Highly readable as a sort of extended McGyver episode. While I found the characterization of this book weak and the narrator at times annoying, I still found it compulsively readable as a detailed ''What if'' scenario. It takes being stranded seriously, and applies the science of the situation rigorously. And science is really what makes this book stand out. It can make you love science again, for at its most basic it is applied ingenuity, and this book is full of that. The main character here really isn't Mark Whatney, stranded astronaut. The main character is science. I would give the book a much higher rating if it weren't for the first person Mark Whatney sections, where I think the writer's inexperience shows. The tone of voice there as narrated by Whatney seem much more filled with the writer's enthusiasm for his ideas than the astronaut's. I just never bought the astronaut's tone of voice, which remained unchanging throughout his long ordeal. I actually think the whole book would have been stronger in third person voice, because I often found myself wondering why Whatney would be writing in this way. However, I gladly overlooked all that in order to experience a relatively realistic space scenario, that replaces standard action movie clichés with the rigorous safety protocols a trained engineer would use in such a situation. As a licensed scuba diver and the son of a pilot, the constant safety steps really rang true to me. And if you've got a kid anywhere near you at all interested in science, please do give them a copy of this book (but be warned -- the book does contain swearing).

5 for plot, 0.25 for writing style. Over the top expositional writing (have he really wrote a hard sf book assuming that the reader can't multiply single digit numbers or doesn't know that a solar battery needs well...light? Really?), weakest character development I've read in a long time, completely unrealistic handling of the main character's emotions. Due to all above, the book is dull and really boring at times. There's just no drama. We all know that our cosmic hero will just handle everything no matter how hard would that be with a stoic approach throwing jokes around. Boring....

I throughly enjoyed The Martian by Andy Weir. I was really drawn into the book through its ability to make me feel and understand Mark Watney's experience while giving me just the right dose of science to teach me something but not make it a technical read. This book is not for young readers as it has some situationally appropriate language that some parents may not approve of. If they are a mature reader it should be fine.

It has been a long time since I read a hard science fiction story that was a page-turner. I had a few very late nights of reading as I just did not want to put the book down, and there were no really dead spots that made for a natural go-to-bed location. Weir does a great job of inserting real science into this novel. If you've ever read about Robert Zubrin's ''Mars Direct'' plan for how to go about getting exploration missions to the red planet, it appears that this was used extensively for the core technologies in the book. The stranded astronaut, a botanist and mechanic, figures out some quite ingenious inventions to survive. It was much more interesting than the old movie ''Robin Crusoe on Mars'' (which I really liked!) and without any aliens or annoying monkeys. There also were tremendously funny lines throughout the novel, and I found myself laughing out loud at many points. Others have mentioned that there was too much profanity, but that didn't bother me at all. Who doesn't curse when something goes horribly wrong? It didn't diminish my enjoyment of the novel, but if you are very sensitive to this, be warned. The expletives are mild and standard, but they are sprinkled liberally in the text at some points. I am definitely trying an new novel Weir comes out with in the future.

I just couldn't finish this without skipping huge portions of it. There's no depth here; it would be interesting to a survivalist who might end up on Mars some day, but I wish the character had some depth. Any depth. At first, I thought it was natural that the main character's log of his experiences focused on the technology, with 1/100th relating to the entertainment left behind by other astronauts. But I found out that this is his ENTIRE log. Nothing about missing people from home. No introspection. Just, ''I did this. Then I did this. Then I did this. And then I did this.'' Over and over again. I was so relieved when it got to a section about NASA people on earth trying to figure out what's happening, but there the dialogue is so unreal and, again, there's no depth, that even that bored me very quickly. I agree with other reviewers that the reviews here MUST be friends of Andy Weir's or the publisher or something. There is no way that thousands of people would give this book such a high rating. As science, maybe it's OK. As fiction, it's terrible. As science fiction it's just terrible. I also agree with other reviewers that if this is made into a movie, the movie will undoubtedly be ten times better than the book. Somebody will get ahold of this and make the characters real and interesting.

I purchased this book based on the reviews. I am a streaky reader. I'll read a bunch of Sci-Fi and then move to historical drama and then to Biographies and then to baseball. I've read and loved all of the Wool series and am eagerly awaiting Third Shift. This book jumped out at me and I bought it figuring it would be a nice little read until something jumped out at me. I had just finished Pillars of the Earth and needed a break so I jumped into my Sci-Fi mode. This book was not a nice little break, it was a tremendous read and now I've added Mr. Weir to my must read list. I was believing that the author must have been an astronaut prior to becoming an author with the detail he put behind the technology and strategies of a Mars landing, life on Mars, the return trip and all of the trials and tribulations that the main character faces in his time alone on Mars. This may scare some people away, but don't the detail is what is needed. He vividly describes the problem, why it happened and then steers the character through a very viable and believable solution. An average author could not have pulled this book off to the degree that Mr. Weir did. The bouncing around between the daily (SOL) log book and the characters on Earth who are working out solutions to help bring the main character back home are done very smoothly. The prospect of reading a log book gave me reservation. The entries in the log book were thorough, filled with sarcasm, humor and spirit. It would exactly be how I would have approached entries in my log book had I been stranded on Mars. With no one to talk with, the absurdity of my situation and in the remote hopes that someone would actually read this log book someday, you wouldn't pull any punches. A strong 5 star rating for this book. For those of you who complain about grammar, spelling or punctuation errors in an e-book, get over it. Look past these issues and appreciate the genius of this writer and be thankful that at $0.99, you can read high quality material such as, ''The Martian'' I'll be reading more Mr. Weir. Keep up the great work!

What's impressive is Weirs knowledge of his subject yet I wish he had the same capacity with writing. Riveting at times and cheesy at others, I found myself distracted by very flat characters and a flat telling of the story. The novel should of been entirely told by Watney's logs. I didn't really care towards the end what would happen. Unique premise bogged down in trite mainstream gimmicky. The soul was Lost in the stars.

This is another one of those books that are really kind of hard for me to review. I expected to be blown away by this book. Everything about this book sounded absolutely perfect. A man stranded on Mars....it just doesn't get more exciting than that. I wasn't blown away. I liked the story well enough but I have to admit that sometimes the science got a little too much for me. I ended up enjoyed some parts of the book much more than others but I do think that this book will be a great framework for a very good movie. Basically, anyone who has seen a movie preview or read the synopsis for this book has a basic understanding of the story line. Mark Watney is part of a group of astronauts doing some work on Mars. When things go horribly wrong, Mark is left alone on the planet and must figure out how to survive long enough to possibly be rescued. I liked a lot of the book quite a bit. Some things just became a bit much for me. I loved Mark's sense of humor....to a point. At times, it was just a bit much. I appreciate being able to laugh during times of adversity but I don't think that anyone could have remained in such good spirits being isolated and alone as Mark was during most of the book. I didn't dislike Mark but I didn't fall in love with him either. I am thinking that movie Mark will be a little harder to resist because.....well, Matt Damon. I found the science in the story to be very interesting....until it wasn't anymore. Enough is enough and there were times in the story that it was just too much. I like science. I felt like the science took over the plot of the book at times. If Mark had someone to discuss the science with it probably would have fit into the plot better possibly as conversation. Some of the science in the book really felt like information dumping to me and I found myself setting the book aside to do other things. I liked most of the scenes that took place on Earth and on the spacecraft. I really thought that the parts of the book where characters were able to interact with each other worked well. I actually liked the parts that Mark was able to communicate. A story of one man's thoughts about science on Mars can get a bit dull. I also think that there were a lot of very exciting sections in the book that really kept me glued to the book. The parts that I liked....I really liked. I would recommend this book to others. I think most readers will really enjoy this story and I know that a lot of people are looking forward to the movie. I still can't believe that I jumped on the bandwagon with the timing of reading this book. I must admit that I can't wait to see the movie with my husband. This is the first book by Andy Weir that I have read and I look forward to other works by this author.

Well you can read the synopsis from the other 9,000 reviewers so I'll bypass that here. WARNING: For those that care. .from the opening line and throughout there is heavy adult language. Not necessarily crass or sexual in nature, but a lot of F-bombs and other language. Thus if you are sensitive to this type of writing or want to keep your kids away from it, know that it's here. This was an genius story. Everything felt authentic and rooted in great, in-depth research. The breadth of issues that happen and how ingenuity and science win out was an amazing feat that paid off. Good humor scattered throughout. Likable main character. This is a must for me and I wasn't disappointed. I didn't feel any parts lagged, not even the middle. The ending was worth it. You know that there is basically one character so by the nature of the story he is not going to die in the Act I. But even with this, the suspense was good because he may not die since we still have a couple of hundred pages to go, but you as the reader are wondering how bad will it be for him after this. The story is well paced and logical, with no acts of god to come to the rescue. OVERALL: The actor did a great audio reading job, which only enhanced the drama of the story and made it one of 2015's best reads so far.

For me the book was just a character running through a check list - if this happens, do this, if this explodes, do this, ad nauseum. It is like an old movie serial where each week the hero has to extricate himself from some impossible situation. The level of technical detail I found to be more overwhelming than interesting - more like a textbook than a novel. From the number of glowing reviews it seems that many will enjoy the novel. But I was among those who found it tedious.

Technically the book is very solid. The problems encountered are believable, and the solutions are clever. The pace is fast enough to give that edge-of-the-seat feeling (I read the book in two sessions). If you're a space or technology fan, the book is certainly worth reading. However, it also feels like the ''first novel'' that it is. There's essentially no character development, and the ending feels flat.

The first pages of the book are the best part. Marooned on Mars, millions of miles from the next living person, with no method of communication or escape, and everyone thinks he's dead. From the concept, I expected a lonely descent into the inner workings of the narrator's mind: lost loves, memories from long ago, deep regrets, soliloquies of an easy suicide versus the primal instinct of living. All these thoughts set against the harsh, cold, desolate, blood red Martian desert. Unfortunately, that book I'll have to wait to read. This book is very different. Mark, our protagonist, is a lively humorous fellow, who is always quick with a joke. Even after he's abandoned on Mars, he only laments the lack of quality music to listen to. While his attempts to survive and communicate with Earth with MacGyvered tools are interesting, unfortunately after the first few times, it becomes quite boring and predictable. Mark's dry, sarcastic wit only serves to annoy us. A typical joke would go something like this ''Harvested 5 pounds of space potatoes today. Woo! Botany major FTW!'' So, yea, not so funny. Theres also a dearth of character development. We never get to know Mark. Who does he think about when he sleeps? What does he think about mortality now that his life is in jeopardy? We'll never know. All in all, a cool concept, some interesting macgyvering, but ruined by not taking itself seriously.

Lets get that out of the way first. There are no Martians in this book. What it is, is a hypothetical manual on what could go wrong and how to survive when it does, on Mars, if you ever happen to be stranded there. Mark is a likeable character, self motivated, inventive and courageous, however he could as well be a paper cut out. For a guy stranded on uninhabitable planet, with little chance of survival, and plenty that could go wrong, his undying self motivation is one ... of a robot. What exactly keeps him motivated to live, I don't know. Because you see, Mark has no real ties to earth. There is no wife/girlfriend, children, not even a close friend of real family ties that would be the reason for him to get up every day and face incredible dangers and fuel his MacGiver like inventiveness. The writers attempt to pre empty this question, with a few sentences of Mark's psychological pro filing as an optimist and a joker, hardly cuts it. Some mention this is a book is for geeks and engineers, but I don't know about that. I am married to an engineer and have a super geek for a brother and I can tell you, when they talk, they don't sound like juveniles pretending to be super intelligent adults working for NASA. That in my opinion was on of the weaker points of this book. The diagoues seriously lacked wit and were more like the pre programmed conversation you hear in a Si-fi computer game in a 13year old's bedroom. Good effort for a self published author, but I would have liked this story to be little bit more about Marks personal journey: loneliness, despair, self reflection, maybe spiritual or religious reflections in face of imminent danger? I would like Mark to have a bit of personality and depth, to keep the story more emotional and engaging.

I am firmly in the camp of those reviewers who've said ''This is the best hard sci-fi I've read in a looong while''. Got it as a bedtime read - finally had to surrender to sleep at something after 2am. And was right back on it first thing the next morning (thank goodness for the holidays). Mixes the best of the HW Bush era SEI program with Zubrin's Mars Direct. Takes the dry details & brings them pulse-poundingly(is that a word? even hyphenated?) to life. One of the best 99 cent books out there. I'll definitely be looking for more from Andy Weir!

I had no idea there were so many astro physicists making reviews on Amazon - who else would give this book 5 stars? The ''stranded on Mars'' premise is fascinating and is what made me buy this book. How the heck will he get out of this jam, i wondered. I also secretly hoped there would be aliens (there were none). Instead we get to learn in long tedious detail - and i mean DETAIL - how the Martian manages to improvise himself out of every dangerous situation using mathematics, chemistry and physics. Doesn't matter if its a sand storm, lack of food or whatever - he will put some stuff together like a space McGyver and make everything ok again while cheerfully joking about it in his space log. Now, if you are indeed an astronaut or space engineer reading this book, i would assume you would nod your head, rub your beard and think ''yeah, thats pretty much how it would be done'' but for the rest of us, its just a bunch of technical stuff we cant relate to. How much is even real tech or made up future tech? If most of it is made up future tech - the entire book becomes irrelevant. There are MUCH better sci-fi reads out there if youre looking for cool fantasy technology. The only thing that grabbed me was him beeing alone at Mars and Nasa finding out he was there alive. The rest just becomes a long winded problem solving tech porn drama with predictable events and even anti-climaxes. Over-rated, but for a geek like me it was still a nice read but no more than 3 stars = ''good'', not great and certainly not ''epic''.

I would have loved this book if I was seventeen. Aptly titled 'The Martian' because none of the characters act like they're from Earth. It's kind of fun, but reads like the solution to the world's longest maths problem. No, wait! It actually reads like a 350-page version of the spiel from the old Chinese man in the House of Evil in Treehouse of Horror III ''The Frogurt is also cursed...''. A lot of potential, and I hope the Ridley Scott movie coming out later this year proves to be good, but it's essentially this year's Da Vinci Code.

An accident during a dust storm on Mars leaves astronaut Mark Watney stranded, left for dead. He begins a journal of his survival efforts, punctuating the details of chemistry and makeshift botany with ''Yay!'' and ''Boo!'' and ''LOL!!!!'' to liven things up. Things go pear-shaped, Mark figures out a work around, and repeat. The level of tension and introspection (not to mention the vocabulary) is a lot like one of those you-tube video game walk throughs. I much preferred the chapters back on Earth, about the politics of announcing that a man had been left behind, and the plans to recover him. Not a lot of depth here, either. It's not so much a novel as an extended movie pitch - and I hear it worked, so bravo for Mr. Weir.

This book is to basic science what Asimov's ''I, Robot'' is to basic logic and Gaarder's ''Sophie's World'' is to basic philosophy: You'll get some fun lessons in basic physics, chemistry, biology, math and technology. Don't let the small percentage of critics scare you away from this book, telling you it's ''hard sci-fi'' more suitable for engineers, techies and nerds. All of the science is at a basic level and it's nicely embedded within the adventure/survival narrative. That said, there IS a lot of basic science, so if you are completely bored with science, then and only then I might suggest that this story would bore you. I recommend this book for middle school and high school kids - for some kids it might even inspire an interest in science they didn't have before. (I have a niece who got interested in science from watching ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.'') However, I will warn parents that this book does contain a few f-bombs. Astronauts can say the darndest things when faced with life-and-death scenarios. Thankfully the profanity is few and far between and there's no sex to speak of. Kids reading this book might even get some ideas for school science projects. Likewise, don't let critics scare you away with talk of poor character development and clunky dialogue. It's all nonsense. For a science/adventure/survival story, the character development and dialogue are appropriate and natural. Some folks seem to expect ''Middlemarch.'' Others grouse that this is MacGyver on Mars, with one problem-solving episode after another. I won't deny that problems are solved, but there's a difference: MacGyver's solutions are largely gimmicky, where he created complex Rube Goldberg devices in a few short minutes, while our hero on Mars, Watney, works with more realistic materials in more realistic timeframes. And unlike MacGyver, the only bad guy Watney has to fight is Mars. ''The Martian'' is basic science wrapped up in an adventure story. Just like Asimov made logic fun and Gaarder made philosophy fun, Weir has made science fun. The people who don't like this book don't like science, but they don't want to admit that. Don't let them talk you out of giving this book a chance. There's nothing wrong with not liking science, but give it a chance. And don't expect ''Middlemarch.''

Astronaut Mark Watney wakes up and finds himself injured and alone on Mars. His crew mates believed him dead, so they were forced to leave him behind. Faced with impossible circumstances and utterly alone, Mark Watney refuses to give up. His quick thinking and smarts help him to devise a plan to try and get rescued. Unfortunately, the odds are insurmountable. Watney faces starvation, a hostile environment, and he has no way to contact NASA. Can some duct tape and ingenuity help him find a way home? What I Liked: *I am an eclectic reader, but I can honestly say, I wouldn't likely have picked up The Martian on my own, and I would have totally missed out. This is a sci-fi book packed full of math and science and danger, and I absolutely loved it. This book was so fun to listen to. I was rooting for the hapless Mark Watney, and I completely fell in love with his never say die attitude and his unwavering sense of humor. Think of this book as MacGyver stranded on Mars. Yes, even on Mars, duct tape is miraculous. Trust me, even if sci-fi is outside your normal reading zone, you should read this. It is so good that a movie is in the works starring Matt Damon! *Mark Watney is the star of the show. You would think reading an entire book surrounding one guy stranded alone on Mars would be boring, but nope, it's not. What makes this book shine is Watney's humor. He is always cracking jokes and making sarcastic remarks that help liven up some of the more dry science passages(ninja pirates). I absolutely adored is comedic remarks, his commentary on seventies tv and music was hilarious. Most of the book is told via Watney's blog entries where he relates his Martian antics and failures via a computer journal in hopes that someone someday will be able to retrieve it because he realizes his situation is rather dire. Yet he refuses to give up. Talk about resourceful. Time and time again, he manages to figure out a solution using math and his smarts. Watney actually proves how valuable those algebra story problems can be. Loved, loved, loved, Mark Watney. Geeky botanist or not, he is totally hot. *After a certain point, the book switches view points and you start getting voices from people down on Earth who are desperate to find a way to save Watney. I enjoyed getting inside the heads of the powers that be at NASA and learning about all the obstacles and red tape that had to be dealt with in order to try and save Watney. Eventually, you even get the view points of his former crew mates. I thought the way this story was executed was brilliant, and I thoroughly enjoyed all the view points. *Let's talk about the science parts. This is an incredibly realistic and obviously well researched book. The author takes us through all the science in what is necessary to survive on Mars. You learn about all kinds of fascinating stuff. There are lots of passages where Watney explains the science behind whatever he is doing, whether it be trying to make water or rocket fuel, or even growing potatoes. I know some of you are worried that reading all the scientific details would get a bit dry, but for the most part, it was awesome, thanks to Watney's fun narratives. Watney spices it up, and makes you laugh as he explains things. So even if you don't like sci-fi books with lots of science, you will enjoy this one thanks to the humor. *I kid you not, this is truly an edge of your seat thriller. Watney's life is constantly on the line as he tries to survive one harrowing experience after another. He faces insurmountable odds as he battles starvation, shelter issues, a long arduous journey across Mars to hopefully be rescued, dust storms, explosions, etc. It is literally one mishap after another, and the reader quickly learns early on if it can go wrong, it more than likely will. This is an addictive read/listen that you won't be able to put down as you just have to know if he will survive from one predicament to the next, and most of all, if he will actually get off Mars, because trust me when I tell you, the odds are stacked against him like you wouldn't believe. *This is a book where I absolutely can't recommend the audiobook enough. R. C. Bray brilliantly narrates this one, and he brings Mark Watney to life. He is outstanding. This is the first time I have listened to this narrator and it won't be my last. He vaults his way up there next to Will Patton and Luke Daniels on my favorite male narrator list. I think this one is better to listen to vs. reading, as Bray manages to make all those scientific passages funny. I don't think I would have been as engaged if I had read it vs. listening. If you can, get your hands on the audio. And The Not So Much: *Without giving away too much, I was left at the end wanting more. I would have loved to see it extend just a little bit. *For the most part, I enjoyed all the scientific jargon and the explanations. Weir manages to deliver it in a way where it is relatively easy to understand, but I do admit, there were a few times, especially toward the end when I was overly anxious, that some of it went a bit over my head and I had to listen again. Still I loved all the detail, the science and the explanations. If you are a detail reader and you love science, you cannot miss this one. The Martian is without a doubt going to end up on my best of 2015 list. This is a book I would likely not have picked up on my own, but thanks to all the stellar reviews, I grabbed it, and I am certainly glad I did. This was a fabulous listen, and I cannot recommend the audiobook enough. This is a brilliant book full of science, danger, life and death situations and,believe it or not, humor. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of this before the movie comes out. You do not want to miss this book! Outstanding! I borrowed a copy of this book from the library. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review. Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

// If anything, The Martian made me feel quite unaccomplished, because it's an 'intelligent' read, but I will say this: I feel confident and almost certain that my IQ went up just a tad bit after reading this narrative ;) // I'm not too keen with Andy Weir's writing style, but his conceptual leap molds the overall premise of this narrative brilliantly! // A survival fiction stationed on Mars!? Yes, please! The suspense and uncertainties surrounding Mark Watney will haunt you long after you've put down the book; that's for sure! // The Martian is a relatively fast paced hardcore sci-fi novel based on scientific reality, not fantasy by any means // Because The Martian is an 'intelligent' book, it is riddled with technical and scientific details that mentally challenge you to think about what is taking place, what might possibly happen, and what the consequences of said possibilities may result in; it's all so strangely addicting too // More than anything, The Martian made me want to start wearing glasses and hang out with intelligent cultured people; what is that about? // Mark Watney's character is really what made this novel a compelling and interesting read for me; he's like a modified version of Sherlock Holmes but under a scientific umbrella if that makes any sense :? // My mission to Mars was a gratifying and pleasant adventure; I liked this book and I heartily recommend it to fans who are up for a more challenging read. It's a total nerd book to say the least! 3 THINGS I LIKED: {+} Mark Watney's witty voice, sarcastic humor and cynical remarks kept me riveted and literally, laughing out loud. That's not all there is to this biting and caustic character, Mark Watney is strikingly intelligent too! He takes known facts and reaches conclusions at an incredibly rapid measure, he creates new scientific theories and modifies space technology and objects in moments where it would take a normal scientist weeks or years! He even goes as far as to crunch down difficult math equations without pen or paper! And you unknowingly become mesmerized with it all; his natural ability to process information, solve equations and overcome unfathomable obstacles. With these themes in mind, coupled with the most hilarious one-liners ever, you've got yourself one of the best sarcastic protagonists of all time; what a riot it all was! You don't tire of Watney's snarky approach either, because his obnoxious behavior is the only thing preventing him from losing his mind, and you can't help but to root for the guy; oh man, I so enjoyed this more than I should have. There are, in all seriousness, a plethora of priceless hilarious one-liners in this narrative, that to list them would mean, I would have to share at least half of the book, but in order to avoid any sort of lawsuit, here are a few of my favorite: - ''This is my food supply. All natural, organic, Martian-grown potatoes. Don't hear that every day, do you? - ''There's no backup, and they think I'll die instantly without it. To them, equipment failure is terrifying. To me, it's 'Tuesday.' - ''Firstly, hydrazine is some serious death. If I make any mistakes, there'll be nothing left but the 'Mark Watney Memorial Crater' where the Hab once stood - ''The planet's famous red color is from oxide coating everything. So it's not just a desert. It's a desert so old it's literally rusting. - ''I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on the planet. - ''They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially 'colonized' it. So technically, I colonized Mars. In your face, Neil Armstrong! - ''Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not a mama's boy or anything. I'm a full-grown man who only occasionally wears diapers (you have to in an EVA suit). {+} The hidden jewel for me was in the unpredictability of a survival prose on Mars! You are immediately plopped right into the middle of Mars, and then the real mission begins as you struggle to survive in a primitive way. . .wait, am I talking about me or Mark Watney? Well, in a sense it felt like my mission too, because as a matter of fact, I was left breathless and wide-eyed throughout the entire story as Watney took me along on his wild escapades throughout Mars on a rover no less; as well as the hazardous experiments that had me at the edge of my seat! It was all so thrilling! {+} It's a book turned movie! The cast looks promising, but considering Mark Watney's charming arrogance, I couldn't help but to think that Robert Downy Jr., or perhaps George Clooney (in light of his recent role inGravity) would have played a better Mark Watney role. BUT, since we have yet to see the film, I will leave my thoughts here, and hope that Matt Damon will live up to this fantastic character arc. It's going to be fascinating to see the real life-threatening moments come to life on film too; I seriously cannot wait! 3 THINGS I DID NOT LIKE: {-} At some point in a novel, authors are inclined to have to provide chunks of information in order to get the setting, mood, point across to the reader, I understand this, however with The Martian, the expository of information dumping is exceedingly overwhelming. But it's a novel situated on Mars Claudia! Yeeeaaaaah, but no, it's a completely different level of sci-fi friends. The way in which Mark Watney explains his arguments, observations and theories referencing numerous elements from the periodic table (which by the way I vaguely remember) within the narrative, seriously feels as though you are sitting in an astronomy science class at a university. Here allow me to give you some perspective: - 'My best bet for making calories is potatoes. They grow prolifically and have a reasonable caloric content (770 calories per kilogram). I'm pretty sure the ones I have will germinate. Problem is I can't grow enough of them. In 62 square meters, I could grow maybe 150 kilograms of potatoes in 400 days (the time I have before running out of food). That's a grand total of 115,500 calories a sustainable average of 288 calories per day. With my height and weight, if I'm willing to starve a little, I need 1500 calories per day.'' - 'The oxygenator will turn it into oxygen in its own time. Then, I'll release hydrazine, very slowly, over the iridium catalyst, to turn it into N2 and H2. I'll direct the hydrogen to a small area and burn it. As you can see, this plan provides many opportunities for me to die in a fiery explosion.'' - 'The regulator uses freeze-separation to sort out the gases. When it decides there's too much oxygen, it starts collecting air in a tank and cooling it to 90 kelvin. That makes the oxygen turn to liquid, but leaves the nitrogen (condensation point: 77K) still gaseous. Then it stores the O2. But I can't get it to do that for hydrogen, because hydrogen needs to be below 21K to turn to liquid, And the regulator just can't get temperatures that low. Dead end. Here's the solution: Hydrogen is dangerous because it can blow up. But it can only blow up if there's oxygen around. Hydrogen without oxygen is harmless. And the regulator is all about pulling oxygen out of the air.'' See what Andy Weir does here at the end? It's like Science for Dummies! First, he demonstrates his extensive knowledge in mathematics and scientific notations, and then subtlety lays it down for readers like me! Yeah, this {points to head} doesn't seem to function properly when it comes to science Mr. Weir, I need visuals, illustrations and models of the sort; especially with science and math. But man, you Sir have my respect! Still, I think a condensed version of information would have been more effective, aaand, I think I'll stick to Dr. Walt Brown, he grabs my attention {-} Foul language plays out best when it is used sparingly, or at least in moderation; for this reason, it behooves me to say, the profanity in this novel was a major turn off for me. Okay, humans get angry yes, and Mark Watney is stranded on Mars, thus I can see how he might possibly find it comforting and relieving to stress his frustrations using raw language, but what really threw me off was the way in which Andy Weir penned NASA. I am not kidding when I say this, every single bureaucrat conversed in such a rude, ignorant, socially unacceptable way that left me feeling no respect for them whatsoever. NASA was poorly delivered in terms of character. Is NASA that unsteady and ill-equipped to belittle someone, or some event, that they must resort to such tasteless abusive words? It just didn't seem to fit their well-versed character; they're incredibly literate professionals! So why must you drench me with so much swearing NASA!? Ugh! I was extremely agitated and utterly disturbed to say the least {-} I don't know about you, but when I think of Mars, I think of aliens {shrugs & shakes head} no aliens here my friends; The Martian is actually Mark Watney! Clever huh? One more thing, owing to the fact that the narrative is an 'information dumping book,' the world-setting and overall mood fell short for me. BUT, I still enjoyed the narrative and think it's worth reading Overall Rating: Storyline | 5/5 Characters | 2/5 World Setting | 3/5 Moral Value | 1/5 Cover Art | 3/5 Overall | 3/5 Violence | Mild Profanity | Extreme Sexual Content | None Drugs & Alcohol | None Mature subjects/themes include, but are limited to: Suspense and non-stop peril, suicide, loss

This book made me laugh out loud on page two. It's my kind of book. I say this because it's important to know up front that this book isn't for everyone. 'But... everyone loves to laugh,' you say. Sure, but there are different kinds of humor, and the humor of this book is only going to appeal to certain types of readers. It's gallows-nerd humor. If you don't like sarcasm or are not at least in some small way nerdy, or nerd-leaning, there is a good chance you could hate this book. This book is about an astronaut stranded on Mars. Astronauts are a bunch of brilliant, problem-solving, planet-jumping bad@sses. But they're still nerds. So yeah, plan for that going in. You will learn stuff in this book that you forgot as soon as the bell rang on your final sophomore chem class. Thankfully, Mark Watney—our hero—remembered his lessons. And he's going to use them to MacGuyver his way across a planet that's trying very hard to kill him. He will use his super nerd powers, and the most inspiring will to survive I have ever read in a character, to do stuff like turn water into rocket fuel. 'You can't turn water into rocket fuel,' you're saying. Oh yes you can. Chemistry b*tches! Not only that, he'll be the first Martian gardener. Botany b*tches! (Okay, I'm done with that now.) Andy Weir has done an amazing job in writing this novel. You would swear he was an astronaut himself. Apparently he's not, but I bet he knows some. I can totally picture him hanging out with astronaut buddies, playing foosball and saying things like, 'After this game, you guys want another round? And by the way, how many amp-hours does a rover battery draw when you route it in series with a life support system and a water reclaimer? Buzz, you good on that whiskey sour? Lovell, how you doing on beer over there? Remind me to ask you about how to rewire a carbon dioxide filtration system, okay?' Research out the ying yang, but you don't have worry about this book lacking in tension. Weir ratchets up the danger level for our intrepid hero so often you hardly get a chance to breathe. Just as one terrible life-threatening disaster is averted, there are three more lurking on the horizon. Seriously, Tom Hanks had it easy on that island. Hell, he had it easy in that tiny space capsule, too. The Moon, psshhhh, that's like a trip to the back yard... This is a tale of survival. Which brings up another good point. If you are expecting a lot of dialogue in a story, don't read this book about a castaway, then complain about having to read log entries. We can't all have friendly-looking volleyballs to talk to. And let's stop for a minute and appreciate the fact that if we were reading the story from the perspective of some omniscient narrator, or hero's retelling, we would lose most of the tension. If you are reading journal entries, you don't know if the person who wrote them is alive or not. He was after all on a planet with a 758% chance of killing him. It's annoying to read one-star reviews from people who bailed twenty percent in and whined about the format. Have a little faith people. (It's not all log entries. And YES there will be dialogue and omniscient narrators at some points.) Weir uses all the story telling tools at his disposal to get this tale across, and for me, it worked nicely. This book is not for everyone. But if you like science and space and enjoy self-deprecating nerdy survival humor, and want to be inspired by what the human spirit can accomplish, this book nails it. It's a fictional Apollo 13 for a new generation—that reads like real life. Also, the cover art was gorgeous, so kudos to the cover designer. I paid full retail for this in hardback even though I knew it had an eBook just because I love the way it's going to look on my bookshelf. Thank you, Andy Weir, for satisfying my lust for space exploration, and making me appreciate things like the atmosphere, and drinking water that hasn't ever been urine. I've been to Mars now, and I'm happy to have made it back.

The Martian took me by surprise. If I am honest, I have yo say I was ready to give up on this book after 50 pages. It's not that I didn't find it interesting enough, or well written, or even scientifically accurate, because it really was all these things. I just found it hard to connect with the lead character. Mark Watney was not a character I immediately connected with. In fact, it took me long time to even get to the point when I would tolerate him, what with all his jokes and jackass behavior. I didn't understand how a person left to die alone on a different planet could be so lighthearted, cheerful and in the mood for random jokes. It wasn't until I finally realized, that, had he been any more serious or depressing, I would have hated his guts even more. Mark made the best out of the situation he found himself in, and I learned to appreciate his optimism and zest for life. His brave attitude was truly admirable. He was a clever problem-solver, and in situations where most of us would probably break down and cry, he looked for solutions and ways to troubleshoot. And his jokes and surprisingly positive attitude? Well, I realize now that without it, the whole novel would have been pointless, he might've as well just shoot himself in the head in the first chapter. By the end of the book, I was a huge fan of Mark Watney and his biting sense of humor. He is such a fantastic, complex, intelligent and sharp character, I actually miss his inappropriate remarks and nerdy observations. He grew on me, like no other character ever did, and I wish I knew someone like Watney in real life. The concept behind this novel is really rather simple, and really kind of brilliant in its simplicity. Can you even imagine how incredibly terrifying it would be to be left behind, all alone, on a planet thousands of miles away from home? Knowing that you don't have enough supplies to last anywhere long enough for the rescue mission to come and save you? Not even having any means of communicating to others that you're alive? Boy, I would probably give up and die on the spot the moment I'd realize the extent of just how screwed I was. The premise was blood chilling in both the concept and its execution. Mark is a fighter, but Mars itself is definitely a worthy opponent. Everything that can go wrong, does, and it's a never ending battle against time and Mars' deadly atmosphere. The sense of urgency and danger is omnipresent, almost palpable and claustrophobic, to the point that you're having trouble breathing yourself while reading about Mark running out of oxygen, or you suddenly feel the urge to stock up on food supplies, while reading about Mark's desperate attempts at growing potatoes on Mars (and really, just how cool is that?). I loved how scientifically accurate this book was. All the scientific detail made this story very believable, and therefore that much more terrifying. The many bits and pieces of information and data, endless calculations and predictions, detailed descriptions, etc.. It all made for an interesting read. And even though it was definitely a bit heavy on the scientific stuff, it was never boring or disconnected. Andy did a great job of balancing the intense plot line with the scientific information, creating a story that while mentally stimulating, complex and challenging, was also very entertaining and emotionally engaging. And Mark's awesomely bad-a** character played a vital role in making this a very accessible and enjoyable read. I would recommend this book to all science fiction fans, especially those who appreciate a great, thrilling story with a carefully fleshed out scientific background. You won't be disappointed.

Fun book, incredible narration by R.C. Bray. You could summarize the plot as Apollo 13 meets Robinson Crusoe, with a dash of Cast Away. You can see the official summaries, but I want to tell you about three things that made this fantastic for me. 1. Overall plot - if you describe it to someone, it sounds as if it could have been written by Heinlein or one of the other greats. It's a great engineering/adventure story. There was a ton of ''hard SF'' detail (or probably more exactly ''S'' - I got a strong feeling that Weir did his homework on this) but the author works hard to avoid the classic ''As you know Bob, the oxygenator works through . . . '' and actually makes it central to the plot - making it much easier to follow for someone who has basic scientific knowledge, but is *not* a specialist. He keeps the plot moving, and I was riveted. 2. Humor - If you look at the quoted first line, you'll see why this *isn't* a tale straight from SF's golden age. Weir is hilarious, both in the portions narrated by astronaut Mark Whatley, and also in the sections with Mission Control on Earth. This *isn't* Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (which I love). The humor is not slapsticky, or goofy, but grows organically from the characters and their interactions. 3. Excellent narration - I got the audio edition, narrated by R. C. Bray. He has a voice that is perfect for the ''First-Person Singular Smartass'' narration, and does a great job creating a multi-ethnic/national cast for the portions on Earth. He makes most of them true indiduals, and it was always easy to follow exactly which character was speaking, even in scenes with a crowded office full of people. Also, he hits the sarcastic and ironic bits of dialogue perfectly - funny, but not making him into the guy you want to punch because he doesn't know how to turn it off. I know I have praised the humor, but the book is about a literal life and death situation, and the author and narrator make sure the stakes feel very real. If you enjoy classic adventure stories, with several laugh-out-loud moments, and great attention to scientific detail, check this out.

I suppose there is a ''type'' of person who will like this book. I loved it because I like science (but don't know enough of it), I like problem solving, I understand the character, I'm kind an introvert, and I've spent a lot of time alone on boats. I'm positive my automobile-obsessed, deeply mechanical brothers will love it. I'm quite certain my science-writer sister will admire it and think it is very well written but she might tear it apart for purely ''writer's workshop'' kinds of reasons (virtually no viable female characters for example). My wife would hate it because there is only one main character and pretty much all he talks about is the details of his survival on Mars using NASA training to modify NASA-built devices. He's a wise-guy. He rarely gets deeply despondent or reacts in a non-astronaut, non-nerd, anti-rational way (otherwise he would have died). All that doesn't matter. It's a very, very good, modern Robinson Caruso kind of tale that anyone with a bit of tech in their blood will love. If you learned the science behind everything he does you would have a pretty good start on chemistry, biology, materials science, astrophysics, planet science, electronics, certain kinds of math, and a kind of survival decision-making. So kudos to Andy Weir. I have no idea who he is or what else he's written but he's done us all a service. I'm deeply impressed that he knows so much science and is confident enough to put it on the line. This is well written and well-edited (especially compared to the usual SciFi dreck). On top of that he is selling it for a dollar and gives permission to pass it on for free. What a guy!

When this book was announced, I put it on my calendar to make sure I didn't forget when it came out. The idea, being stranded on a planet with only your wits for survival, is an excellent story line. But this book seriously lacks character development, as other 2-star raters have said. The book bothered me from the very start. Mark, the main character, seems to have almost no emotional reaction to learning that he's been left on Mars, except for, 'I'm f---ed'. Well, that goes without saying. I would have expected some bit of reflection, like I can't believe it, what I'm going to do, I'm so angry, I'm so sad, whatever. Then he seems to jump right into survival mode like he's been expecting it all along. I've watched nearly all episodes of 'I shouldn't be alive', and I can't remember a single person in a survival situation starting off with complete and immediate acceptance of their situation and quickly developing and executing a survival plan. Even if Mark had said NASA trained astronauts for eventualities like this, he should have still gone through some sort of reaction, then gotten into survival mode, explaining that training said not to waste time dawdling or some such thing. I think I got about 20% into the book and stopped. The amount of detail and repitition that went into just setting up the soil for potatoes became dull as dirt (no pun intended!). Sorry, but I just returned the book.

I am skeptical of many sci fi books because the science is so implausible & too often the plots become yet another space opera. Not so with Andy Weir' s debut The Martian. An unlikely hero becomes stranded on Mars & the race for survival is on. The story is told through the journals & communications of the main character & his colleagues, making for an amusing, touching, & page turning read. Funny, suspenseful, and very very real - The Martian does not disappoint. Lots of science & McGyver-ish moments make this geeky action story a hit for just about anyone, although Weir' s characters speak candidly, ie, dropping f bombs when things go bad in a hurry, as most folks do! I couldn't' put this book down & could imagine a great movie being made of this! Highly recommended.

Ome of the best SF stories I've read in quite some time. Great story, great characters and well edited too. I could hear Mark Whatney's voice as I read the story. Plus some fantastic humor sprinked in. Please write more Mr. Weir, you have real talent. I will pay full list for your stories.

There aren't many books that I can't put down but this is one of them. It's a real page-turner and I stayed up way too late reading it. For prose addicts like me, this book would be a good way to spend a winter Sunday. The tone is very upbeat, even though the story is about an astronaut trying to survive after being abandoned on Mars. The scientific angles were very well handled, from the astronaut's Robinson Crusoe-like efforts on Mars to the orbital physics of the rescue operation. For a hard SF fan like me, this was a treat. The plot was well thought-out and the pacing was excellent. Kudos to Mr. Weir. One reviewer commented about the F-bomb. There's no shortage of that, though I thought the hero's character was engaging despite (and sometimes *because of*) his frequently profane soliloquies. If the hero's characterization wasn't tempered with a little profanity, it would be hard to take him seriously: he'd be just too upbeat to believe. (IOW, I'd probably be cursing a blue streak if I were in his shoes.) The other characters were also well drawn. And some of them were equally - but believably - profane. You never know what you'll find, shopping the Kindle SF section. This book is a real jewel and I recommend it very highly. I wish I could find more books this good at this price. I'd be a happy addict.

Take this book for what it's worth, a decent vacation read. At times it can be tedious and the main characters use if language is obnoxious. Not referring to profanity but more that the author tries to paint the protagonist as the goofy cool guy, which just gets tiresome.

I know there are LOTS of reviews already, so maybe mine will just be added to the sea of voices. However, I feel I should point something out, so here is my rant...er..I mean review So, after reading this book, which I read faster than any novel I've ever read...I was intrigued by what others might have thought. I for one chalked up my hysterically enthusiastic love for this book to my marsophile way of looking at the world, and y'know me being an engineering student and a super nerd. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many people did in fact like this book. Wow! People really DO give a sh*t about science! Yay! Ok, so I guess I'm not saying all bad stuff. But I was still frustrated by some of the one-stars. I found a common trend among most (not all) of the one star reviews. The typical complaints I found were these: The book is boring/tedious The book is too technical/''science-y'' The writing is sophomoric/bad/etc The characters are juvenile/immature The characters are one-dimensional Go ahead and look at the one star reviews, and nearly EVERY SINGLE ONE of them says one or more of those exact things. Why would I be bothered by this? Well I'll start with the most nebulous or difficult to counter complaint and move to the most exacting, or easiest to refute. ''The writing is sophomoric'': Okay, so this one is sort of hard to refute. It's true that this is Andy's first novel, however, he isn't exactly new to writing. I will absolutely agree that his writing has a VERY distinct style to it, and if it just isn't your cup o' tea, it just won't improve. His style is polarizing. I think it's pretty obvious that he still has a lot to learn about writing, but I found his attention to detail, and pacing to actually be pretty darn good. Mostly he did the right thing in that his writing got out of the way of itself. I think a lot of this hinges on the other complaints though. If you found the story too technical or tedious, then clearly it'd be difficult to let the writing get out of the way. In fact, it'd be assaulting you right in the eyeballs in a pretty horrific way, and I think that's how it ended up for a lot of the negative reviewers. ''Too tedious/boring/technical'' This complaint I find to be highly alarming. The technical explanations NEVER exceed anything above high school level. Some of it IS specific, but not that hard to look up. In fact, plenty of ''good writing'' that is well respected tends to push the reader's vocabulary, they have to look words up, or learn new uses for old words. This is NOT uncommon in the world of great literature. Andy has chosen instead to expand the reader's technical vocabulary. And admittedly, your technical understanding SHOULD be at a level high enough to understand this. If it isn't, I'd recommend reading it, looking up what you don't understand, and reading it again. If this book is too technical for you, then your education has failed you, so do better! This is like complaining that a race car is hard to drive. Well, yeah, of course it is if you don't know how to drive one, driving a passenger car is hardly sufficient enough skill to operate a race car. Same principle here. ''one-dimensional/juvenile/immature characters'' I find this to be most disturbing of all. If you GENUINELY feel that these people, especially Whatney behaves in a unrealistic way, then I feel VERY sorry for people who interact with you. I was surprised by the depth of the character study done here. I personally resonated with Whatney! My wife went as far as to say that he talks just like me! So of course, I suppose that means many of you one-star reviewers would write me off as juvenile. Yikes. Spoiler: different people have different personalities. Mark Whatney is a CLASSIC ''INTP''. If you don't know what an INTP is, then google it and read it. You'll notice Mark behaves VERY similarly. In fact, I'd go as far to say that Andy himself might have this personality type, which lends itself well to injecting such passion into the main character, and bleeds through into the writing style itself. Look, this is a FANTASTIC book. If you are really into the space colonization thing, aerospace industry, survival stories, mars stories, and you have a decent enough technical background (or don't mind learning what you don't know) then this is probably a book you will want to read. I think a willingness to be open to both people and details are needed to fully appreciate this novel. Not all the negative reviews are bad, some have pretty valid points about Andy's amateur status. But overall, the majority of the negative reviews should be shunned due to their intolerance of those personalities that fail to match their social standards, and/or general lack of technical competency. I can sum up who should NOT buy this book: The stupid people who can't see the point of math after highschool (how is your retirement account coming along? lots of numbers, right?) The vapid self-centered people who think they're type of personhood and worldview is the only one that matters OR The person who is a rather competent reader who just happens to not be into this kind of story. But for almost anyone else who is interested, you already know you are, so just buy the darn thing already. And if you're offended by anything I said in this review...well, you won't be able to handle Mark Whatney, so you might as well NOT buy it.

I finished The Martian last night and it left me gasping. The character of Watley was complex, I mean his psych evaluation said that when he gets stressed, he cracks jokes. The humour in the dire situation was laugh out loud funny at times. We know that astronauts drill for worst case scenarios - and this book reads like a showcase of nothing but. The survival of each new disaster was believable and left me feeling more connected with the daily struggle. When the earth based side of the story started, it sent the story in a new direction and became less like a single POV diary (which would have gotten really dull) and became a totally absorbing action adventure. I hope the film comes close to capturing the humanity, the humour and the essence of this great story.

Really only $.99 for an epic adventure to the red planet. If you ever wanted survival training adventure out of this world look no further. This tale is told from both perspectives of the lone abandoned astronaut without a chance to live clinging on to every scrap of hope and from Earth and how mission control and the media perceives his situation. I appreciated how frank and candid NASA administrators are probably since everyone could die in seconds there is no reason to beat around the bush. The wit is exceptionally humorous and the jokes hit every funny bone in my skeleton. Could almost feel what it would be like to live in a spacesuit and gasp for every breath while counting down the final seconds to lift off. Get ready for a blast with this space adventure!

Mark Watney is one of the most engaging characters I've had the pleasure to read in a very long time. This is an amazing book. I have no idea how technically accurate it is, and I could care less. The author (bless you Mr. Weir) created a never say die character with an awesome sense of comedic timing. :) There is a bit of profanity in the book. Guess what, real people, they curse when in stressful, life-threatening and/or unexpected situations. I read, a LOT. The dialogue in this book was done very well. Especially considering the gentlemen was alone, on Mars, with ZERO communication with anyone for the vast majority of the book. Freaking great book. Can't say it enough. Very well done Andy Weir!

I don't know. I quite liked the storyline, but really, it reads like it was written by a teenager or someone without the acuity to explore characters. Very shallow, full of mildly interesting sciencey guff. I didn't find it gripping. For once, I actually think the movie will be better than the book.

A definite winner here, the raw and unfiltered main character, astronaut Mark Watney, guides you through his survival story, via log entries, on the surface of Mars. Interspersed throughout problem-solving, technical and scientific jargon is the character's interesting takes on the situation at hand, and we get to see what goes through his mind during critical situations. An unlikely, but nonetheless enjoyable, sequence of events takes the reader along on a journey with Mark, who impresses with his knowledge as well as his humor. Having the ability to connect with this likable character really made this a page turner. Well done, Mr. Weir!

Hundreds of reviews on this book. Would have given it 4 stars if some of the minutiae was less filling, and if there had a been an Epilogue about his return to Earth. Character is a bit thin, very fortuitous/Pollyanna like, and not quite as fulfilling as it could have been, imo. The multi-nation rescue is a bit over the top, (in terms of capabilities even in the next couple decades), and the harsh language seemed almost 'inserted' for effect vs how people really swear to themselves. Good Read, though. My 50Cts... GL, Ol'UncleMotor

This was an excellent read. I have just gotten into Mars sci-fi stories and picked this up on a random reccomendation. I am so glad that I did. The author does an excellent job with everything, but what struck me as the most wonderful was resourcefullness of the main character. I stayed up way too late two nights in a row, draining my Kindle battery to finish it. I hope to see more from this author soon. Just a side note, there were many laugh out lound funny parts without taking away from the tension of the story.

wow. After reading countless positive reviews e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e on the net I picked up a copy and was immediately disappointed. As a grown man I felt as if I were reading a story written for 'boys life' magazine. The narrative was completely incongruous and insulting to the perspective of someone trapped on Mars documenting their tale. You also find yourself thinking aloud ''Thank you Captain Obvious'' every other page. It's honestly as if Weir read too many B sci-fi novels growing up and decided to try his hand at writing - it's painful. Instead of convincing the reader, instead of entertaining the reader, instead of interesting the reader in scientific insight we are fed a constant stream of ''this does that, so I did this with that, then this happened and I made this with that''. No wonder it appealed to the geek crowd of 'shut-ins' neurotically tinkering away stranded in their own world of isolation. No wonder Hollywood is making this lowest-common-denominator book into a lowest-common-denominator movie. I'm ashamed for publishing that no one has come forward to criticize this book more widely.

Sol 1: I'm f----d. Sol 2: time for me to fix and hack stuff. Sol 3: I'm ok for now. Sol 4: Oh crap, I'm f----d again. Sol 5: more fixing and hacking. . . Sol 6: Yay, I'm still alive. Sol 7: Damn, now I'm REALLY f----d. Sol 8: Yep, back to fixing and hacking. . . Sol 9: false alarm, I'm going to survive. Sol 10: F----d again. Surprise. (repeat for a few hundred more sols) Sol 549: This is the happiest day of my life.

This book was an unexpected find. I love Sci-Fi, but the genre is getting a bit worn out with bad stories and social engineering. Weir's book has emotion and action, and it is easy for the reader to suspend disbelief. The story becomes real and it is hard to find places to stop reading. The science involved is believable. I have a strong background in physics and chemistry, but I'm not going to push the envelope and try and see if there are errors. The story was amazingly believable. I thought the sand storm near the end might be the end of the book. In many books where there is a lot of emotion, you tell yourself, ''This is just a book. The hero always survives, right?'' Throughout, I was never certain how the book would end and I won't spoil the ending, but towards the end I was with billions of people of Earth rooting for the outcome I wanted. I read a lot of books (several a week), and it was such a please to find an inexpensive book that made reading pleasurable again.

A tight story about an astronaut that gets left behind on Mars and the challenges he faces. Andy Weir is someone I'll be keeping an eye out for; The Martian was smart, exciting, and best of all, believably written. The story kept me engaged and wondering what next might befall the accidental protagonist. A bit like a Heinlein juvenile but with its own style and pace. If you like hard, fast sci-fi this one's for you.

The Martian is interesting as a technical survival manual, perhaps, but it has very little heart. Reading it is like watching a mathematician solve a very long and complicated equation on the chalkboard. Brief moments of ''I don't know'' are what constitute suspense. Clearly the reader knows from the very beginning how this story is going to end.

There are a lot of firsts in Mark Watney's life, first man alone on Mars, first man abandoned on Mars, first man to grow potatoes in his own excrement on Mars. Things can only look up right? With just 70's sitcoms and the horrors of Disco to accompany him he sets out to accomplish the impossible, to go home.....and to not ever eat another potato. I am always wary of reviews that are all consistently good but I do not think you will see a bad review of this book. If there is, it is because they hate Hard Science Fiction, or they are humourless or more probably both, I mean who does not like Hard Science Fiction right? This is the best 99c I have ever spent. You may be sceptical beforehand but 1 chapter will be enough to convince you this book is worth every cent. It is well written, well edited, funny, sad, gross and a great adventure from beginning to end.

Liked the book, but keep thinking: ''this could be so much better''. I understand the point was the make the reader feel the isolation, but felt to well done at times. Keep thinking I would like to see the reactions and story line on earth and Hermes. Also would have like more after the climax of the story. Books just stops. Good weekend read.

I'm surprised by all the favorable reviews. Characters were super flat. The protagonist is stuck on Mars and I think he mentioned once that he missed his mother. It was just bizarre. He was stuck on MARS. No thoughts on life or death, relationships, regrets, nothing. Although he did say he would buy someone a beer if he got off the planet. It was just one predictable disaster after another with him using his MacGyver skills to survive intertwined with sarcastic jokes. The only reason I finished was because I paid for the book and I'm cheap. If you are a science fiction fan this will not scratch that itch. No aliens; no time debt; no original and imaginative technologies; no discussion on politics, religion, or philosophy; nothing. You want a good Scifi book, read Hyperion by Dan Simmons.

I was dubious about this book being in a diary kind of format. Well, was I in for a surprise, I could not put this book down, and enjoyed every page. Some of the technical stuff was a bit beyond me, but easy enough to read. At work when things go wrong, I ask ''what would Watney do.'' A truly magnificent read, great job by the author.

This book puts you right on Mars. It's an incredibly imaginative and innovative work of fiction. At least I think it's a work of fiction -- it was so realistic you almost have to wonder... And I'll say this about Andy Weir -- if I'm ever stuck on a deserted island, or an EMP device goes off wiping out our electricity, that's the guy I'd want next to me.

This book was great and I could not stop reading it. This is by far the best book that I have read that cost me only 99 cents. There is a lot of technical jargon and mathematics in the book. Because of this I could see where it would not be for everyone. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in space or science fiction.

I only just heard of this book when seeing the movie preview recently and coincidentally heard someone raving about it on a podcast that I like in the same few days so thought I would check it out. I am glad I did, as it was an interesting and very quick read, but from a literary standpoint was definitely lacking some elements that make a novel truly engaging and memorable. I am surprised to see almost 13000 reader reviews on this and, like most popular fiction, think it is a bit overrated on Amazon with so many 5 star reviews, but I will add my 3 star review to the mix. It doesn't mean the book was not enjoyable, but it was no 5-star level novel either. The novel is a tale of survival of astronaut Mark Watney who has an accident while his astronaut crew are making an emergency departure of Mars. He is presumed dead and left behind. He is in a pretty dire situation, but uses his resourcefulness and materials at hand to extend his survival time until he can hopefully be rescued. The good things about this book are fairly numerous. It has an upbeat, positive vibe throughout which is a nice thing to have in a novel that could be pretty grim. The overall message is that humanity is not really bad and wants to help each other out. Weir's writing style is extremely similar to Ernest Cline (Ready Player One). Lots of exposition and geeky details added in for fun. I really enjoyed the science and technical details of how Watney created viable soil for crops and modified the equipment at hand to extend his survival and try to communicate with NASA. I had flashbacks to math and physics classes where we had to do word problems in enclosed systems. Which brings me to the ''bad'' aspects of this book. I admit I skimmed through a lot of the math once I got the concept of what Watney was trying to do. It is not always interesting to read through arithmetic, and there is a lot of it in this novel. Also, characterization almost doesn't exist. Watney shows no depth of character. He never despairs, never contemplates the landscape around him, even when driving through previously unexplored areas of Mars. He simply solves problems as they arise, and then makes a joke about it. Most of the book is given in the form of his logbook, so that sort of makes sense that he would try to leave a positive image of himself for posterity, but the book suffers for it. All of the characters given any time in the novel show the same range of emotions as Watney. Astronauts are brave and jokey. NASA officials are hard-working and jokey. The media response to the incident also didn't seem realistic at times. The media-relations character for NASA at one time insists on getting a photo of Watney on Mars which was impossible since he would have to be in his suit when he is in front of the satellites, but she keeps shrieking about it anyways. NASA should fire that person and get someone with common sense. Anyways, the book is totally worth reading but is not a classic to be read over and over again. I will probably see the movie when it is released as I think there are elements which would translate better on screen. Good summer reading material for sure.

My reading horizons consist of Paranormal, Paranormal, and more Paranormal. So, when another reviewer fervently recommended this SciFi audiobook to me, I was skeptical. However, past experience has taught me not to ignore my fellow bloggers, and that served me well once again because THE MARTIAN was outstanding! This genre isn't my forte, and Math was always my weakest subject in school, but pair them with Andy Weir's writing & R.C. Bray's narration, and soon you too will be endorsing this title with zeal. This story is told via a series of log entries from Mark Watney's POV, with intermittent JPL/NASA, Hermes, etc narratives. It was funny, dire, hopeful, scientific, and so much more. The protagonist makes good use of his mechanical engineering & botanist background which lead to a lot of technical jargon that even laymen like me could appreciate. The hero's fight for survival was one that every human can relate to, and his ability to laugh in the face of adversity was oftentimes the difference between life & death. You'd think that a novel that's restricted to a habitat, a rover, and a deserted planet as locales, and one character all by his lonesome would get tedious in the long run, but if you're Weir that's all you need. Mark Watney made this book for me with his sarcastic sense of humour, and MacGyver-like ingenuity. His last name really should have been Murphy because anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment. From magic duct tape, to pondering the accurateness of Aquaman, to solving terminal velocity à la Iron Man; you will fall in love with Watney. I can't say with utmost certainty, but I'm 99.9% positive that the calculations would have bored me to tears if it weren't for R.C. Bray's enthusiastic performance. The protagonist celebrates victories with yays, and setbacks with boos, and those emotions came through loud and clear in Bray's tone. Saving Mark eventually became a world-wide effort, and as a result, the narrator had to cycle through tons of accents including Hindu, German & Chinese, and he aced them all. Unless you're a whiz, I'd recommend listening over reading to most. THE MARTIAN was passed on to me, and now it's my turn to do the same for you. You're welcome.

If you enjoy 'realistic' science fiction--meaning a setting using near-term science as we currently understand it, as opposed to far-future aliens and space opera--and if the use of the 'f' word is your favorite means of expression, you may really like 'The Martian.' I enjoyed it, though not nearly as much as the majority of reviewers here, who seemed eager to have handed out top accolades. Perhaps that's just a reaction to the mountains of garbage that normally fill up genre fiction, and I understand praising a book that's trying to be better than that, but I can't give it a perfect score. I listened to the MP3 CD version of the story, which was very well performed, produced, and packaged. As for the story itself, the author seems to have wanted to write a 'future-decade Apollo 13' novel. While the story is brimming with technical details to sate hard science fiction fans, I found it wanting in basic ways. For one thing, there's no character arc at all. The main character is the same person on the last page as he is on the first. I kept hoping the story would explore what happens to a person's mental state after being trapped for so long in such a lonely, hostile environment. Would he become despondent? Philosophical? Angry? Our narrator here doesn't change, presumably because he is 'so well trained.' There's a general lack of drama in this story, in part because of the way the author chose to tell it--through journal entries. So even if there were exciting emotional moments, they passed by in-between the pages. One paragraph may say, 'I'm going to try this...' and the next paragraph is two days later: 'Well yesterday was a bad day...' and then the narrator launches into some techno-babble that is forgivable only because it is ostensibly based in real science. But we don't actually get to *live* that that moment. So the story ends up being a fairly monotonous, evenly-paced sequence of disasters and solutions, and the solutions come across as very 'writerly,' an attempt to recapture those great 'triumph of the nerds' moments from the film Apollo 13. Supposedly a film is now being made of *this* story... I can't imagine how since the solutions to all the problems encountered require pages of scientific explanation about how to extract hydrogen from rocket fuel and so on, but maybe the film will actually show us things happening instead of reading post-facto log entries, and perhaps seeing an actor actually looking terrified or jubilant will provide some human element that I don't feel comes across in the book, even when it's being read by a talented performer as it is on the audiobook version. Again, I think the author was going for 'smart people in a bad situation solve impossible problems,' which is wonderful, but to be a really good book, you need to have the character pass through an experience and be changed in some way, and that didn't come across for me at all. The events of Apollo 13 happened over a span of days, but the mission in this book is years in length, and a person would certainly change in such circumstances over such a period. That doesn't happen here. So it's an enjoyable story on one level, especially for the scientifically educated, but not a 'great' novel. I do think the awesome realities of space exploration—the immense times and distances, and dollars involved--are fertile ground for taught drama, but stories like Godwin's 'Cold Equations' found a better balance between the hard facts of the science and using these to frame a human story. Just solving a seemingly endless stream of science problems isn't as satisfying as living through the experience through a dimensional character.

This is definitely not remotely a romance. The vast majority of the time this novel focuses on one solitary man. Now that I have that out of the way, on to the review. I picked this up because it was the only Goodreads Choice Award Winner that piqued my interest. It was outside of my normal bailiwick, but I do enjoy the occasional science fiction story, so I figured why not. And I am so incredibly glad I did. Some of the thrill was probably just the palate cleansing effect of reading :shudders: NOT ROMANCE. But, I think most of the effect was the fact that this is a legitimately good and interesting book. It is commonly described as ''Apollo 13 meets Cast Away'', which if that makes you want to read it I say go for it, but if it doesn't, well I think that is actually a horrible description. Mine? Mark Watney is Q from James bond meets MacGyver... ON MARS! He is hilarious, with this irrepressible spirit, and he has this incredibly smart/sexy thing happening and he survives everything Mars has to throw at him with intelligence, science, and creativity. Honestly, I'd love to hang out with him in person, maybe stand him for a beer, and have his babies. Wait, that just slipped out, so maybe this is a romance...mine. Just for fun, here are some of my favorite quotes: ''My a$$---- is doing as much to keep me alive as my brain. ''I'm the King of Mars.'' ''I don't want to come off as arrogant here, but I'm the best botanist on the planet.'' ''Yes, of course duct tape works in a near vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshipped.'' ''I'll call it a ''pirate-ninja.'' ''As with most of life's problems, this one can be solved by a box of pure radiation.'' ''You're sending him to space under a tarp?'' ''...apparently, I smell like a skunk took a s--- on some sweat socks. This is the happiest day of my life.''

Curse you Andy Weir. Seriously. Your fault: I hardly slept last night. I could not—could not!—put your book down. It was too good. I loved Chris Hadfield's ASTRONAUT'S GUIDE TO LIFE ON EARTH, and when a commander of the International Space Station praises a book for 'fascinating technical accuracy', it makes my internal ears perk up. My interest is piqued. Then, the author of WOOL (who sold like a billion copies of his independently published work before getting professionally bound) said, 'The best book I've read in ages. Clear your schedule before you crack the seal.' I should have listened. Nope. And there went my night. Here's the mix: science and galley humor. With one of the best opening lines ever (censors prevent me from posting it; look it up on Amazon's preview) and with the stranded astronaut/science guy trying to survive in his 'Little Hab on the Prairie'—I'm slayed. Mark Waney, the protagonist, says, 'I suppose I'll think of something. Or die.' And so while he's recording his journal entries, the earth is watching in fascination and desperate hope. Incredible would not be the right word for this. If Tom Hank's Castaway Island was located on Mars and MacGyver was sent as the strandee, then this is what you get. Take a bunch of science—engineering, botany, chemistry (explosive at times)—and tie it together with math, and holy cow! Trust me, even if you aren't scientific by nature, this is written in an exciting manner that zips by. Did I mention hard to put down? Despite the sagacious humor, science, and adventure, I like the encompassing lesson: 'every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out.' Thanks to Crown and Random House for sending me this book to review—it was awesome! And I don't say that lightly. I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.

THE MARTIAN is headed for the bestseller list, I have no doubt. It is so deliciously readable that it is nearly impossible to put down. And here's the weird thing. Usually I HATE science fiction. And Andy Weir's first novel definitely falls into that category with its fascinating tale of Mark Watney, an American astronaut marooned on Mars. And there is plenty of science here, as Watney, like a resourceful shade-tree mechanic with a box of tools and a roll of duct tape, methodically dopes out various problems and somehow keeps solving them, his very survival at stake. Weir is an author who understands the techno-scientific stuff he is writing about, but he writes in a way that makes you get it, and he knows when to let up on the science and inject some comic relief. And THAT, I think, is an absolutely key ingredient in this finely crafted novel: HUMOR. Weir obviously get this, and he is a very funny guy. There are other characters here. All the staff of NASA back on earth, the other members of the Mars probe crew, and even some scientists from the China space program. Because the whole world is watching as all these experts try to figure out how to rescue Watney. And Weir's sense of humor and knowledge of human behavior works well with these other characters too - the Asperger-ish astrodynamicist Rich Purcell, who comes up with a plan; top manager Teddy, an OCD neat-freak constantly squaring things up, always prepared with a blue folder or red folder filled with his prepared statements; and even a foul-mouthed lady public relations officer. I mean there are some great characters here, and Watney, of course, is the best one. I kept thinking of ''Robinson Crusoe on Mars'' as I read Weir's story. And I never even saw that film. And, when it came to his fellow crew members, who wanted to help rescue Mark, I thought of ''Mutiny on the Bounty,'' and even the Donner Party, as they formulated their own desperate plan for survival. Weir also makes good use of humorous references to TV shows and music from the 70s throughout the narrative, even to picking, as his own theme song, ''Stayin' Alive'' by the Bee Gees. Which is most apt, as Watney's situation becomes increasingly desperate in his race to survive, which culminates in a nail-biting conclusion. THE MARTIAN is, quite simply, a great read, eminently accessible, and not just to sci-fi fans, but to anyone who enjoys fine story telling. Not since Heinlein has a science-fiction novel been so reader-friendly. In fact, this book is good enough to become a sci-fi classic that will be read for years to come. Well done, Mr. Weir. - Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER

The Martian begins as a series of journal entries of Mark Watney, one of 6 astronauts sent to Mars on an expedition, sometime in the indistinct future, by NASA. In the course of a massive Martian dust storm which threatens the integrity of the MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle), the crew must make it's way to the vehicle and make an emergency departure from the planet. In the course of doing so, flying debris coupled with near zero visibility severely injures Watney, and his life support system's telemetry indicates death. This results in his being left behind, thought to be a dead man by the remaining crew of the expedition. A piece of radio antenna has breached the suit, but bleeding and resulting coagulation , along with the suit's remarkable emergency systems, has prevented his breathable air supply form escaping. After regaining consciousness, he manages to return through the airlock of the ''hab: module and beginning self first aid. After recovery from his accident, he realizes that he's left alone on Mars as a castaway; thus begins his remarkable tale of dealing with adversity and coping with his fate. The selection process of the Mars explorers made a great choice with Watney; not a quitter, talented, very bright and innovative, Watney begins his preparations for long term survival and awaiting the next mission to Mars by NASA--in several years! I don't want to belabor the details in this review-not-a-synopsis, but I'll state here that it's a techno-nerd's delight. I was almost ready to put it down until the switch of operations involving NASA came along in another early chapter, wherein one of the Mars satellite techs realized Watney was still alive and making efforts to survive. At that point, the level of excitement and spirit of adventure kicks in, grabbing the reader's attention. Five stars for a number of reasons: besides the gripping tale of survival, and the unquenched human spirit of the protagonist, the overall technical accuracy of what he was up against and how a proposed Mars mission would be undertaken is spot-on by reference to Robert Zubrin's book: The Case for Mars.

Now that I've had my Kindle for a good long while I've got my reader's rhythm going. I keep a tight budget, LOVE to read, and especially love to read new authors and outside my comfort zone. Prior to my Kindle the tight budget was kept largely by utilizing my local library. Unfortunately, I'm in small town rural area and the library system is severely lacking in breadth and depth. So, what does this have to do with ''The Martian,'' you ask? Kindle's awesome, fabulous ''sample'' option, especially combined with bargain-priced and free books lets me search the written universe for hitherto unknown authors. I load hundreds of samples each month and whiz through them looking for hidden treasure. If I read the sample and cannot wait a single solitary minute longer to see what happens, that book is a buy, regardless of price. This doesn't happen often, so I like to take time to review the books that capture me and my dollars. The Martian was one of those books. I ate this book up in two sittings, and would have been one had I not started it at midnight. Imagine my surprise and delight to find it was only .99! I'm still trying to figure out whose writing style Weir is reminiscent of, but it hasn't come to me. And I like it a lot. Next to Hugh Howey's Wool series, this is my favorite surprise book of 2012. What is so odd is that I loved everything about this book when I absolutely shouldn't have. I don't care much for gratuitous profanity and this book is liberally laced with it. I don't like my sci fi so ''fi'' that it is absolutely unbelievable, yet I loved this book and it's completely implausible hero and his journey--mythic, epic completely wonderfully unbelievable yet gripping! I absolutely do not like my sci fi heavily loaded with too much techy ''sci'' either. I don't care for lots of technical jargon, but I love some nice clean science. Weir made the science and engineering feats totally engrossing and I actually read every word instead of glossing over the minutiae. I don't care if it's real (yet), it felt real to me as I read the book. As I write this I realize that frequently during the book I considered that if my husband the mechanical engineer, mr. fixit extraordinaire were abandoned in the same scenario, he would have extremely good odds of surviving (and without a single curse word for bonus points). So perhaps that is why the story really spoke to me? I encourage anyone who likes scifi/fantasy to splurge .99 and get this great book. I genuinely hope the author is hard at work on his next book because I am so ready to read it.

Quite a few people who saw me reading 'The Martian' couldn't stop ranting and raving about Mr. Weir's novel. Maybe their enthusiasm boosted my expectations to unrealistic levels because I thought the book was just okay. The author loves science and describes in very specific detail what Mark Watney did to solve problems in order to survive. For readers who like knowing how the stranded astronaut jerry-rigged this doohickey and that doohickey to keep alive, you'll find 'The Martian' a big treat. I, however, almost gave up on the book after the first fifty pages because so much techie talk was starting to make my eyes glaze over. Once Mr. Weir introduced the perspectives of NASA employees and the Mars flight crew who left Watney behind, the novel became more interesting. The book is a celebration of science, creative know-how and courage in order to try saving the stranded astronaut. There's no little green men or The Force between the covers of this thing. What you get is a realistic representation of the demands of surviving on Mars. It was difficult for me to rate 'The Martian' because I went through periods of being very absorbed by the story and, other times, drifting into boredom when ole Watney started describing how he was solving a problem even if it was a life-and-death situation. Watney is a very likable character and has quite a few sarcastic lines that made me smile. My guess is if you're geeky (which isn't a bad thing), you'll love 'The Martian'. I can also see why Hollywood snapped the book up and made a movie starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney. Heck, if I had been the main character and stranded on Mars, I would've wet and soiled my spacesuit and been dead within the first few pages.

Other reviewers have provided a synopsis of this book, but I have to chime in to say that it is one of the best hard SF books I've read in quite a while. The story of a sort of Martian Robinson Crusoe, all alone trying to survive in a indifferent and extremely hostile environment is gripping stuff. There is little ''action''. Things happen slowly with ocassionaly moments of excitement/terror when things rapidly go wrong. Yet the tension builds and the solutions to the problems are both innovative technically and demonstrative of a straightforward engineering and scientific approach to problem solving. The character simply doesn't give up. He demonstrates resiliance and good humour throughout. It's the sort of story that would, in real life, glue people to their screens every day looking for updates. The main character is both likeable and engaging, with a sense of humour and independance that is refreshing to find in any book. Working in the space industry I have met these people and been in meetings where similar attitudes are demonstrated. It rings very, very true and is a testament to an author who either has personal experience in the space indsutry or has done an admirable amount of research and then managed to write all of those characters & situations accurately and in a way that draws you into the story. Very, very well done. Highly recommended to hard SF fans.

this book had popped up in my ''things you might be interested in'' area for a few weeks, and i finally decided to give it a shot, i mean hell, only 99 cents single best dollar i have spent in my whole life. honestly. even better than that bag of skittles that was mostly all red ones. the story is very interesting and incredibly well written. many authors attempt humor, most of them miss the mark. this book had me laughing so many times i lost count. there is one part with an emoticon....tears coming down my face laughing so hard! some other commenters have complained that the man on mars didn't seem to take things seriously, and this is explained in the book, but its also common sense. some people, especially people that are highly trained and intelligent, don't freak the heck out in every situation. also, full disclosure, i'm a botanist, so, yeah......all that stuff is accurate! curious why the book is so cheap. this is easily a 4 or 5 dollar e-book. Again, i recommend this book to everybody because it's crazy awesome.

This book was just what I didnt know I desperately needed, like a flaslight/bottle opener/pocket comb. ''The Martian'' is a technically sophisticated and well researched yet hilarious account of an astronaut stranded on Mars. It has been too long to remember the last time a book made me burst out in actual spouse-startling guffaws. I looked forward to reading it more than having a personal six pack after a neighbor's cat funeral. Good job Andy, now don't go out and screw up the next one by getting all high-school English class on us. Your formula works.

What a fun read this was - a combination between MacGyver and Castaway! Mark Watney is the astronaut I want to be stranded with in a perilous situation. Funny, ingenious, self-deprecating - it is great fun to read his log entries after a freak accident strands him on Mars. The next year and a half (approximately) is spent on surviving, getting communication set back up with Earth, and planning a rescue attempt. Author Weir writes a story that is exciting, believable and laugh out loud funny. I hated to have the story end - a sign to me of a good book.

Writer obviously did considerable thinking and research on what it would take for humans to survive on Mars and the details were both informative and appreciated. It was notable that the required technology is not far beyond what we already have availalbe and just lacks a little more development and the willingness to comment MAJOR dollars. However the characters are just there to hang the technical details on, plus by page 50 you know the final outcome. Read for space colony background but not for suspense or character development.

'The Martian'' by Andy Weir Wow, this is a very difficult novel to rate. I loved the idea of the story, but at the same time, I did not like how the story unfolded. The idea = five-star; the story as told = one-star (or less!). One thing for sure, I now know, for example, that 2+2=4, and that 100+44=144, 10x3=30, and such as that. I know that Mars is a long way from Earth. I know that it's pretty hard to get to Mars. I now know that poop stinks! Okay, take all of that nonsensical, mundane info/calculations out of the novel, and you end up with a very, very short story! Yes, I'm one of those that actually read through all of those long, drawn-out calculations and scientific information - not because I wanted to, but I was a little nervous about skimming and thus missing something of importance. Nope, wrong, ...there was no such important info! All of that reading, and reading some pretty difficult calculations and equations, and all of it for nothing. To the reader, none of it meant anything ...was it all just thrown into the novel so as to increase the number of pages? If not, why? I'm sorry, as much as I liked the ...IDEA... of the story, Weir did not pull it off very well. And this novel seems to be highly rated, and highly regarded. Why? Did they read the same novel as me? Patrick

I think the style of writing is terrible, reads like an 8th grade creative writing assignment. Pretty much reads like this, over and over. Day 1 Oh **** I'm gonna die because I don't have ''X'' Day 2 I figured out how to get ''X'', but it's really dangerous and I might die Day 3 OK, everything worked out (insert terrible attempt at humor here)

One of the best sci-fi stories I've ever read and I've read most of it. The new digital stuff is inexpensive but usually not worth even the low prices, all derivative and similar to Honor Harrington for the most part. Andy Weir has written a brilliant Mars survival book that is exciting and technically flawless. This is real space survival with real and accurate space science. Andy is a very intelligent writer and has a lot of info on the space program. The tale is totally upbeat in spite of the impossible odds against Mark, who has a great sense of humor about it all and is thankfully a friggin genius. This is a real page turner with no slow parts at all. Highly recommended for sci-fi fans and space program fans and fans of survival stories. I will be watching for anything that Andy Weir writes.

It is clear that the author really knows his science and physics and this book is filled with it, which is an essential part of the narrative. The central character Mark Watney is witty and amusing and I was laughing out loud frequently while reading this book. I particularly enjoyed candid contemporary language that gave the entire narrative a gritty credible reality. It is unusual to find a book where all of the characters swear and curse just like normal people do and it adds a delightful layer of verisimilitude. I only have one very minor pet peeve where the author got some of his science wrong. There is a situation where the Chinese supply ship is docking with the American interplanetary craft, and the supply ship is approaching at 2 meters per second from 60 meter range. In final approach it is still going at .9 m/s. This would be an absolute disaster for two multiple ton spacecraft! I think he got his speeds off by three decimal places! Somehow this glaring error really sticks out in my memory despite all the other excellent science and humor.

I thought this novel was fantastic! We picked it for our book club and I was wondering what I would think of it since we don't read a lot of sci fi. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don't even know if I'd call it sci fi. It was just a story...a very well written story...about a rescue attempt and the better virtues of mankind...just happened to take place in space. I fell in love with the characters; they were very well developed. Andy Weir was very knowledgeable about the technical parts in this novel (there were many) and that made the novel believable. Can't say enough good things about it. I read this on my kindle but I'm buying the hard copy to keep in my ''favorites'' library. It's hard to make my ''favorites'' library..I'm very picky. Only warning is there is some language in the novel that may be offensive if you are bothered by that sort of thing (use of the four letter word). I however, am not offended by language and felt that it added to the personality of the main character..who made me laugh. Great novel!