[BOOK REVIEW] The Martian by Andy Weir

Title:  The Martian

Authors:  Andy Weir

Genre:  Science Fiction 

Year Published: 2011

Number of Pages: 435 pages 

Date Read: 1/29/2018 

Series: The Martian #1  

Publisher: Broadway Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Strong Language)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

“I guess you could call it a "failure", but I prefer the term "learning experience.”

Finally!  I got the chance to read Andy Weir’s bestselling classic (now turned into a movie) “The Martian” and now I am seriously kicking myself for not reading this book sooner!  Who would have thought that I would be reading a science fiction novel that is full of adventure, drama and humor?

The book starts off with a space crew going on Mars to explore the red planet when suddenly, a dust storm shows up and the space crew is forced to leave the red planet to survive.  Unfortunately, they accidentally left behind Mark Watney, who was one of the astronauts going on the mission! Now that Mark is stranded on Mars, he will have to use his skills in botany and engineering, along with having a good sense of humor, to survive Mars’ dangerous atmosphere until he is rescued.

 Wow…just wow… Who would have thought that I would read a science fiction novel that dealt with trying to survive on another planet, while also being humorous about the whole situation at the same time?  Well, Andy Weir managed to balance all of that perfectly as I found myself being so intrigued with Mark Watney’s situation about being stranded on Mars and trying to figure out ways to survive in Mars until help arrives.  I loved the way that Andy Weir inserted information about how physics and science work in outer space into this novel as not only was this the first time I was actually interested in how physics and science works, but it made the narrative extremely unique to read through as it is rare that I read books that try to educate the reader about how science and botany works in a general scale.   But, probably my favorite part of this novel was seeing the situation from Mark Watney’s point of view.  I loved the way that Andy Weir wrote Mark Watney’s character as Mark is shown to be an extremely intelligent character who can easily adapt to Mars’ dangerous environment due to being knowledgeable in both engineering and botany and I loved the fact that Mark uses his expertise in these subjects to study Mars’ environment and try to survive in such an environment.   What I loved the most about Mark Watney himself is that he manages to crack jokes and remain optimistic despite his whole ordeal as it made me really love his character and also manages to relieve some of the tension about being trapped in an environment that could potentially kill you

For anyone who does not like strong language, there is some strong language in this novel, with the “s” word and the “f” words being used quite frequently and some readers might want to skim over these words if they do not like strong language.  Also, the idea about being trapped on another planet might be too scary for some readers (even I found the idea about being trapped on Mars to be pretty scary).  Luckily, Mark’s sense of humor can relieve some of that tension.

Overall, “The Martian” is a truly fantastic book that anyone who loves reading science fiction novels or loves reading books about space will definitely enjoy for many years!

* 2014 Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction & Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author
* 2015 John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Novel
* 2015 Audie Award for Science Fiction
* 2015 ALA Alex Award
* 2015 Seiun Award 星雲賞 for Best Foreign Novel
* 2015 本屋大賞  Nominee for Translated Fiction
* 2016 Green Mountain Book Award Nominee

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