The Martian by Andy Weir is the Nars Bollocks!
NASA astronaut Mark Watney is left for dead on the surface of Mars after a fierce dust storm threatens to topple the crew’s Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV). The mission is scrubbed due to the storm, and Watney is left behind after he is impaled by a flying antenna, carried off by the wind, and his suit’s bio readouts make his crew mates believe he is dead. Well, he is not dead and with the rest of the Mars crew buggered out, it’s time for Survivor – Mar’s style.
“Actually, I was the very lowest ranked member of the crew. I would only be “in command” if I were the only remaining person.” What do you know? I’m in command” ~ Andy Weir, The Martian
I love the practical approach taken in the novel. James Cameron’s film “Avatar” was “Dances with Wolves” in Space. The Martian, as many reviewers have already stated, is more akin to Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Watney is marooned on the red planet with a limited amount of resources and must find a way to survive using the materials at hand and pure unadulterated science, and the science is beautiful! It’s enough to start the flow of mucus, water and oil from my eyes. Hard science Sci-Fi fans are sure to rejoice as they wrap their minds around all the technical details painstakingly worked out in the novel.
So what is my rating? As a fan of hard SF, it is a definite four out of five stars. The Martian compels the reader to shun sleep, food intake, and social contact. Not until every last word of the book is absorbed, can the reader rest their eyes, clogged with Martian dust. Only after finishing this tome can the reader pass out from exhaustion, fully satiated with a hard science fiction book that certainly delivers the goods.
Is it all multi-colored twelve foot squirrel bunnies dancing on rainbows in a land where dreams come true? Well, that depends. If you like your science fiction served with a healthy dose of cyberpunk, time travel, space opera and other such science fiction sub-genres, you might not like this book as much. There is no insect race to fell as you get in Ender’s Game. No transferring the conscious minds of geriatrics into green genetically modified super soldiers as fleashed out in John Scalzi’s Old Mans War. What you get is a man left behind on Mars fighting for survival. Aficionados of technically accurate SF will love the novel. Fans of science fiction in the game for a more speculative take on mankind’s future may find the novel boring and without soul.
The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publication date: 2/11/2014
Photo Credit: “Mars – We are coming!!!!!” by Cyril Rana is licensed under CC BY 2.0