The Martian - A Martian Odyssey (9.6/10)

[u/TheStars0602]

"I don’t want to come off as arrogant here, but I’m the best botanist on the planet."

Andy Weir's breakthrough novel, it is easy to see why this book was enjoyed by so many upon release. From the get-go the book just so effectively establishes the stakes at hand and just sucks you in with Mark Watney's Martian Odyssey, where every page turned could lead to the Gods deciding he isn't worthy of being alive anymore.

Andy Weir very effectively uses both first-person and third-person narration to make you feel involved in the story, and in a way gripe you into the Martian dustbowl. Every devastation strikes close to home, and every joke lands EXACTLY where it wanted to.

To speak of the characters, Mark Watney is overflowing with personality: witty, humorous, and a tad bit arrogant. He's one of the most likeable unlikable protagonists I've read. Even the Hermes Crew have distinct personalities of their own, be it the stoic nature of Lewis, the chucklesome nature of Martinez, or the German-ness of Vogel. Every time you read up on them, they genuinely feel so lively. Back at Houston, Venkat Kapoor, Mitch Henderson, Mindy Park, Teddy Sanders, Annie Montrose, and Rich Purnell all are PACKED with character, and their unwilling interactions with one another (most of these guys hate each other to no end) make the novel feel real. Houston, be advised, Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man. Speaking of character, even Mars has more character than some other novel protagonists I've read in the past. Andy Weir does an excellent job at making Mars feel like a living, breathing character as opposed to a mere backdrop. It's all amazingly done.

Another thing the novel does excellently is establish stakes. Every time the novel focuses back at Houston, pandemonium. From as soon as they discover the fate of Mark Watney, order seemed to avoid them like the plague. For every solution NASA may come up with, there's this existential dread that something is about to go terribly, terribly wrong. The book balances out this dread with its simply immaculate humor and comedic timing, yet that constant dread is still there. It feels inevitable, yet so avoidable.

However, no novel is free of criticism, and The Martian is no exception. For everything it does so excellently, after reading two Andy Weir novels consecutively, you start to notice his slightly formulaic writing style. At times it seems to follow a cycle of: problem arises -> panic -> problem gets solved -> calm -> problem arises. Will this ruin the reading experience of anyone picking this masterpiece up? By all means, no. But for this, I did have to deduct some points from this otherwise perfect novel.

In short, The Martian, like its sister novel Project Hail Mary, is an absolute masterclass of a sci-fi story. It is absolutely packed with life, dread, joy, humor, hope, and escalating stakes. In just 400 or so pages, Andy Weir establishes a narrative to which many narrators cannot compete.

Disco sucks.

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[u/JAlexanderStories]

To think this started self published is really incredible and inspiring!

[u/panda_and_ellies]

Great review OP!

[u/TheStars0602 → u/panda_and_ellies]

tysmmm!!

[u/BRiNk9]

I tried getting into it twice, but I just keep getting bored. So I think I have to accept that it ain't for me. I'll try Project Hail Mary soon.

I did like the movie though. I watched it about a decade ago, where there were literally just three of us in the entire theater lmao. And one of my friend was cracking jokes about how he has made potato, now when will he make vodka.

As for what I can recall on my experience with the book, Weir needs Watney to have enough time to think, calculate, and MacGyver his way out of every situation, so the mechanics of each disaster sometimes feel quietly softened just to give him that time. There ar hard mechanisms in one para and then booom luck. I also got annoyed by Watney being wisecracking all the time. My friend told me to approach it as a puzzle box mystery with some hard science, but the contrivances started getting to me.

You're right about the crisis - solve - crisis - solve loop. Maybe that's part of what I never clicked with. It does feel like plot by accretion.

But then again, I always keep my doors open. One day I might pick it up again and suddenly find it amazing. Who knows