Plot or Premise

A surface storm hits a manned mission to Mars, leading to the apparent death of one of the astronauts. After the group of astronauts does an emergency ascent and departure, some of the people monitoring things back on Earth realize the dead astronaut is still alive but in danger of starving to death if they can’t figure out a way to save him.

What I Liked

I didn’t know what to expect from the book, even though there was lots of noise about the movie way back during various award seasons. I vaguely remembered that the movie has Matt Damon on Mars by himself but not any of the details. The book gets to the heart of the crisis right away. Chapter 1, Mark Watney is stranded on Mars. Chapters 2+? Mostly about Mark figuring out how to a) stay alive for more than a year if anyone is to save him and b) communicate with NASA. Most of the book is in Mark’s own head, which makes for not a lot of dialogue, until the 15% point and then the 40% point again as the story expands. Yet the “find the problem, work the problem, solve the problem” approach to everything makes it surprisingly understandable and relatable.

What I Didn’t Like

I could quibble about some of the writing being a bit basic in places, particularly for the politics stuff back on Earth, but it isn’t enough to take away from the superb story.

The Bottom Line

Once you get your butt to Mars, then what?