|
The Martian by Andy Weir
Astronaut Mark Watney, left for dead on Mars following an accident during a dust storm, which forced the abandonment of his six-man mission, miraculously survives and must figure out a way to stay alive until he can be rescued. If you’ve seen the film of the book, you will know this involves lots of ‘pooh-tatoes’ and ’sciencing the shit’ out of everything.
The author gives us a really likeable character in Watney, with his sarcasm and humorous quips, and the reader will soon find themselves rooting for him when things inevitably go wrong (which they often do). The supporting characters, though not as fleshed out as Watney, are believably written and do a good job of expanding the story from just Watney’s life on Mars to what’s going on back on Earth, and in space, where his crewmates are unaware of his survival. Andy Weir has given us a real page-turner of a debut novel with The Martian, and you can fully understand why Hollywood came knocking. Highly recommended. |
SciFiMike Rating ★ ★ ★ ★ ★