The Martian

Admittedly, I am late finishing this book. To my credit, I have been going to work twice a week, as well as going to class four times a week. Last weekend was also action-packed with the Super Bowl and my Patriots coming out victorious. I consider finishing my book only a day late a win. Unfortunately, this will be the last free/fun read for a few weeks as the next few will be grad school chosen.

The Martian by Andy Weir

Genre: Science fiction, emphasis on science
Publication date: February 2014
Setting: Mars, in the not-too-distant-future

From the title of the book I figured it would be science fiction. I just didn't realize how much science there could be in a novel. Andy Weir must've been the biggest nerd (his wiki page says he's a CS programmer) because he goes into exhausting detail about everything.

The gist of the story- NASA sends a team of six to Mars, but things go wrong and the team has to leave the red planet ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, Mark Watney is left behind. The story details Watney's solo survival on the alien planet and NASA's attempts to bring him home. Watney has to make his own food and repurpose equipment for him to survive. Watney is an extremely likable and self-deprecating character, and he's also a genius (typical astronaut) so he's able to use his smarts to keep him alive. Weir just goes into sooooo much detail in chemistry, biology, botony, astrophysics. It's quite exhausting and I skipped a lot of the mumbo-jumbo.

This work will be made into a movie by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon. Think Cast Away-Apollo 13-Gravity.

Finished reading Thursday, February 5th

DD's rating: C
If I didn't have an interest in science, I would have abandoned this book after the first few pages. If you are interested in space, ever wanted to be an astronaut, or are an engineer then this book is for you. I am not on that nerd spectrum of science. Male science nerds are the target demographic. I look forward to the movie though.

Next reads: Multiplication is for White People by Lisa Delpit and 36 Children by Herbert Kohl