REVIEW: The Martian by Andy Weir

This is the book from which the film starring Matt Damon was made. Since many of you probably saw it, I will keep this review short.

The premise is that of a team of Nasa explorers, on Mars as the first human expedition, have to evacuate the planet because of a severe storm. One of the scientists is hit by flying debris and lost. His suit transmits no life signs. So the rest of the leave rather than risk them all to find his body. Except that he survived. With no way to communicate, he must find a way to survive, alone, on a hostile planet.

It is an excellent idea for a story, a classic man-against-nature (Martian nature!). Andy Weir is a software engineer and professed nerd for relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. This is his first novel, and it is superb as a science-fiction thriller. While it contains a lot of science, the style of writing does not make it pedantic or dry. Even when Mark Watney (the astronaut) is working through math problems, Wier keeps it short and embedded in Mark’s fight for survival. The plot has twists and turns, of course, failures and successes. It is a page-turner.

The style of the novel is mostly in the words of Mark Watney, as a log. Using his voice also keeps it from being too science-heavy—he’s a character come to life, with human fears, foibles, and emotions. Weir occasionally changes the point of view to scenes back on earth and back in the spaceship, but these work well as a break from the journal entries and giving the reader some backstory (or side story) as the plot progresses.

I was quite surprised at how well the film tracked the book. This is not usually the case, and it makes me wonder if Weir didn’t write it with a film in mind. There are more details, of course, and a few additional scenes, but not many departures. I was also surprised at how easy of a read it is. Weir has really made this science fiction story accessible. It is not a literary work, of course, but it is a well-written, entertaining, and exciting novel.

If you enjoyed the movie, you will almost assuredly enjoy this as much or more.