Hardcover, 369 pages
English language
Published Feb. 11, 2014 by Crown.
A mission to Mars.
A freak accident.
One man's struggle to survive.
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone. with no way to signal Earth that he's alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, Mark won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills—and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest …
A mission to Mars.
A freak accident.
One man's struggle to survive.
Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone. with no way to signal Earth that he's alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, Mark won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills—and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength—he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth. As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive. But Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet. Grounded in real, present-day science from the first page to the last, yet propelled by a brilliantly ingenious plot that surprises the reader again and again, The Martian is a truly remarkable thriller: an impossible-to-put-down suspense novel that manages tc read like a real-life survival tale.
I started this book on the subway home from work, continued reading over dinner, and finished it that night in bed. It's griping, the science is solid, and it's about as close to "hard sci-fi" as you can get. The movie is also quite enjoyable.
Divertido e nerdy, adorei!
读完这本书是几年以前的事了，我记得我是在Kindle上读的，也记得读到(.Y.)时的大笑不止。主角乐观幽默的性格让整个旅程都相当有趣。
Yeah, this was a great romp. Good story, well told, and left me dreaming of space travel.
It's really rare to find a good science-fiction book that relies on good science, but it sure is a pleasure when it happens, and it's done right. The Martian is really special in this regard, but that alone wasn't what made it work so well for me. I also really enjoyed Watney and the others on the crew. Yeah, I agree that we didn't get to see everyone fleshed out as much as I'd like, but the concentration of the book is on the individual vs (lack of) nature conflict, not issues of individual vs government bureaucracy or individual vs individual (though those both came into play at some point).
It's always a bit tricky to talk about books without giving spoilers, and, of course, there is a movie with Matt Damon that …
Yeah, this was a great romp. Good story, well told, and left me dreaming of space travel.
It's really rare to find a good science-fiction book that relies on good science, but it sure is a pleasure when it happens, and it's done right. The Martian is really special in this regard, but that alone wasn't what made it work so well for me. I also really enjoyed Watney and the others on the crew. Yeah, I agree that we didn't get to see everyone fleshed out as much as I'd like, but the concentration of the book is on the individual vs (lack of) nature conflict, not issues of individual vs government bureaucracy or individual vs individual (though those both came into play at some point).
It's always a bit tricky to talk about books without giving spoilers, and, of course, there is a movie with Matt Damon that is out October 1, so everyone will know the plot anyhow, but there is enough to say about style, humor, and the most compelling thing of all (Mark's resourcefulness) without giving things away. There are also some important lessons and I can talk about all this without giving away much at all.
First off, the story is mostly told (at least the main part of the tale) from log entries of my favorite Martian, Mark Watney, who was left behind and needs to survive. I have to admit this was pretty dry for me until and the writing felt barren because, well, they're log entries and Mark is alone. We don't really know much about him at first, but as the story progresses, the log becomes a window into his soul, and what we find there, through his childish humor [12:15] WATNEY: Look! A pair of boobs! -> (.Y.) and general geekiness (including comments about how hard it is for a botanist/mechanical engineer to get dates), is a plucky fellow who uses his optimism to find his way through impossible challenges.
It's never predictable and it's never that farfetched. (Ok, there are some things you shouldn't try at home though) In fact, one of the strengths of the novel, to me, who enjoys "reality-based" science-fiction, is the practical nature of the space mission. I get an optimistic feeling that something like this could actually be pulled off, maybe even in my lifetime (which I know is absurd, but still...)
I want to say two more things before I'm done here. One is the way the book left me feeling about humanity, in that, if something like the response and collaboration resulted from a disaster like this, it would probably be worth it. The conflicts of the world are deep and we are all very divided. Maybe a Watney event would even be beneficial no matter how it turned out.
The last thing, and what MOST impressed me, is the realization (I already knew this but it was sledgehammered into my head) that everything that we bring from Earth is a resource on the other world. Mark Watney uses his urine and feces to great effect to FEED himself!!! LOL and cannabilizes the equipment over and over again. All along my mouth hangs open and my hand in a steady clap.
You can't really help but cheer for him and in doing so, it feels like you're cheering for us all.
