Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir (2011)


 A man-vs-nature book set slightly in the future and on a different planet to boot, The Martian excels at something very particular: Making math relevant and accessible. Mathematical skills have never been my strong suit, but reading about an unintentionally stranded astronaut fighting to stay alive by having to do numerous calculations (that the story walks you through!) captivated me. Given our protagonist is a mechanical engineer and botanist with an everyman's sense of humor made astronaut Watney a character to root for when there are really no other characters to be found, not until more than a quarter of the way through the book. None of those characters are fleshed out, mind you, as this serves to keep the focus on 'the Martian' and this is a bit distracting as it makes the team at NASA working to save Watney caricatures. So, there is that flaw, while the eventual rescue attempt seem a bit rushed (yet thrilling nonetheless) and the book begins switching narrative perspectives too often once new characters are introduced. Ultimately, these all add up to minor complaints because the story is so realistic (well, except for the aid the Chinese give at one point) and you really want Watney to live. It's a sci-fi story but the most realistic one you'll probably ever read, one where this time, we're the aliens. 

Final score: 8/10

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