As an English major, usually I don’t have time for reading for pleasure during the school year, but recently a friend of mine told me that I absolutely had to read Andy Weir’s "The Martian." I not only found a paperback copy at Prairie Lights, but had a couple of days without internet in my apartment.
All I can say now is, “Wow, my friend was right!”
"The Martian" is a science-fiction novel set not too far in the future. Six days into a human-manned mission to Mars, the team of astronauts is forced to abort the mission due to a dangerous storm—and in a terrible accident, one astronaut, Mark Watney, is left behind, presumed dead.
The good news is, Mark isn’t dead. (That isn’t a spoiler, you learn it on the first page of the book.) The bad news is, he’s all alone. He has no way of contacting NASA or his teammates. It’ll be at least four years before another mission comes to Mars, and he only has enough food to last one year.
Told mostly from the perspective of Mark’s mission log entries, with occasional glimpses of life back on Earth, "The Martian" is a suspenseful ride. Everything that could go wrong for our man on Mars does go wrong. The best part is, all of Mark’s obstacles—and the way he deals with them—are completely believable. Andy Weir has certainly done his research! While the technology used to get to and survive on Mars is several years ahead of what we have on Earth, the math and science behind it is real. Real chemical reactions are used to make water and rocket fuel. Real physics tracks the satellites around Mars, causes airlock malfunctions, and helps flip a tipped rover. Real agriculture helps expand Mark’s food supplies.
Mark himself is a wise-cracking nerd. His logs drip with sarcasm and dark humor and are full of pop culture references as he tries to keep his spirits up in an impossible situation. His voice is a pleasure to read, and I burst out laughing several times a chapter. He’s the kind of guy I’d love to meet for coffee and chat about how strange and messed up the universe can be.
I haven’t seen the film adaptation of The Martian currently in theatres yet, but I’m very interested after reading the book. I think the film will reimagine the landscape on Mars that this book entices the reader with. I want to hear Mark’s attempts to joke about his bleak situation and his complaints about the entertainment systems that his teammates left behind (disco music and 70’s television). But most of all, I want to see how Hollywood has handled a hero that isn’t the stereotypical male movie protagonist.
Mark Watney is no James Bond or Captain America. He doesn’t succeed because he’s strong, though he his, thanks to his rigorous NASA training, charismatic (though his sense of humor can be quite charming), or especially manly (he’s weepy, sentimental, and spends a large portion of the book admitting how scared he is). He succeeds because he’s smart, determined to live and to take the time and thought necessary to do so, and willing to take a few risks in order to survive. He also has a lot of people behind him, friends and strangers alike, who are willing to put their minds to the seemingly impossible task of bringing him home. Once they know he’s alive, that is. (I’m not going tell you how they find that out, though. That’s a spoiler!)
It's safe to say that everybody in this book is a major geek with a big heart. This novel is an anthem to human brainpower and compassion, a wonderful depiction of how far our cleverness and ability to think outside the box. For all the hardships Mark goes through, this isn’t a gloom-and-doom man-versus-nature kind of story. This is a problem-solving story, a gripping tale of wonderful, ordinary, brilliant people. Once you start reading it, you will not want to put it down.
