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Rated The Martian 10/10

In recommending this book, my friend Emily described it as "basically the blog I would keep if I was stranded on Mars and knew more about mechanical engineering." I shot back with "Nerd. Would the title of the blog be a David Bowie or an Elton John reference."

Not surprisingly, the protagonist Mark Watney makes the same joke towards the end of the book. It was low hanging fruit, so I shouldn't be too proud of myself, but nevertheless, I was amused. The book is more or less exactly as described, and while that doesn't sound overly exciting as a description, it's actually gripping. Left for dead on Mars by the rest of the his crew after a dust storm caused a mission abort, Watney has figure out how to survive in an environment which is actively trying to kill him, stretch his minimal resources until NASA can figure out he's still alive and rescue him, and stave off the deadly loneliness of it all.

A book like this runs the risk of becoming too serious, too technical and dry, or indulging in too much navel gazing. Fortunately, Watney's character is tempered by an irreverent sense of humor and moments of fatalism are tempered by his competence. Eventually NASA and the rest of his crew come into play, so while the novel is centered on his efforts to stay alive, you're never left with a book centered on the heroics of one unrealistically competent man. The story as a whole less that of an individual struggle for survival than a paean to what can be accomplished via teamwork, collaboration, and sacrifice.

I listened to the audiobook, and much has to be said about R.C. Bray's excellent narration. I'd recommend this book in either print or audio form.

#book

Published 2026-04-03 22:29 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere