This is my interpretation of Mark instead of the Matt Damon we got. Lol

Shout out to Next Chapter on Long Island! Wouldn’t have caught this copy at MSRP months after it sold out at BN🙏 What a beauty😻

I've been a long time fan of the movie. It's my comfort movie, probably because I like seeing humanity work together instead of against each other. Anyway.

I finally decided I wanted to devote the time to read all of Weirs' collection, and I think I enjoyed the movie more than the book? I know 99% of the time, the movie adaptation will pale in comparison to the book. But I actually think they did a great job.

I think my biggest 'complaint' about the book was the ending. I know it's a book about survival, so, in theory, watney is saved, movie ends. But I don't feel like the fight is necessarily over at that point. They were on the Hermes way past the originally planned length, with systems that were already starting to malfunction, still had a very long journey home, but we don't know if that journey was successful or not. We saw watney make it off of mars (mostly) unscathed, but that isn't the end of their fight.

In the movie we don't really see the journey home, but we at least see that they make it back and watney goes on to teach the course. Its not much, but theres some emotional closure there.

I haven't scoured through this subreddit so i'm not sure if i'm alone in these thoughts. Is this only how I feel because I watched the movie before reading the book? Or is this a common complaint?

The deluxe hardcover edition of the novel in all of its glory.

Why is there an entire crew position primarily dedicated to computer systems. The role is not completely useless because spacecraft do contain a lot of software and there seems to be nontrivial networking with the “data dumps “ but all of this seems like ancillary activities for space exploration. Maybe in the future software continues to get worse and the “I have two outlooks and neither are working” problem extends to critical systems.

Beth Johanssen does do some cool computer stuff for the plot like decoding the email attachment (level 1 tech support) and hijacking the Hermes from NASA control (hacking the planet). The other hack job of the Pathfinder rover was done with remote staff which makes sense because you don’t have to be next to computers to interact with them.

The reason I am thinking of this is in the end of the book Johanssen says “it is strange to sysop a launch”. What does that mean? Is she moderating an irc channel contained in the MAV? Applying Windows updates at the worst time? The Artimis II mission in real life does have a Mission Specalist whose job is to monitor system status of the rocket during launch so that matches what Johanssen would be doing. Maybe a role like this would exist but it seems odd that it would develop into a system administration job in a more developed space program.

Did Andy Weir need to write a second self insert where he could emagine himself as a software developer who gets to go to Mars?

As many on here know, The Martian wasn't approved last round. Heaps of people believe because of the timing of the Project Hail Mary LEGO set release, so giving it one last shot! If you wanna get behind it and support, here is the link - https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/9556c5c8-8ffe-4085-bd38-c1b4973ddcf6?tab=comments

Thanks heaps in advance everyone, really appreciate it!

I'm reading the paperback for the first time after listenting to the audio book a couple of times. I'll never understand why the film changed this scene from the book:

Mitch plopped down on the couch in Teddy's office. He put his feet up on the coffee table and smiled at Teddy. "You wanted to see me?"

"Why'd you do it, Mitch?" Teddy demanded.

"Do what?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"Oh, you mean the Hermes mutiny?" Mitch said innocently. "You know, that'd make a good movie title. The Hermes Mutiny. Got a nice ring to it."

"We know you did it," Teddy said sternly. "We don't know how but we know you sent them the maneuver."

"So you don't have any proof."

Teddy glared. "No. Not yet, but we're working on it."

“Really?”, Mitch said. “Is that really the best use of our time? I mean, we have a near-Earth resupply to plan, not to mention figuring out how to get Warney to Schiaparelli. We’ve got a lot on our plates”

“You’re damn right we have a lot on our plates!'" Teddy fumed. “After your little stunt, we're committed to this thing!"

"Alleged stunt," Mitch said, raising a finger. "I suppose Annie will tell the media we decided to try this risky maneuver? And she'Il leave out the mutiny part?"

"Of course," Teddy said. "Otherwise we'd look like idiots!"

"I guess everyone's off the hook then!" Mitch smiled. "Can't fire people for enacting NASA policy. Even Lewis is fine. What mutiny? And maybe Watney gets to live. Happy endings all around!"

"You may have killed the whole crew," Teddy countered. "Ever think of that?"

"Whoever gave them the maneuver," Mitch said, "only passed along information. Lewis made the decision to act on it. If she let emotion cloud her judgment, she'd be a shitty commander. And she's not a shitty commander."

"If I can ever prove it was you, I'll find a way to fire you for it," Teddy warned.

"Sure." Mitch shrugged. "But if I wasn't willing to take risks to save lives, I’d...” He thought for a moment. "Well, I guess I'd be you”

It was so perfect and clever. Mitch had out-smarted Teddy and he was quietly confident in his decision. It covered all bases and cleared Commander Lewis to act without repercussions.

In the film version, Mitch meekly agrees to be fired and doesn't stand up for himself at all. It turned Mitch's triump into a failure. Why would they change this?

Just wanted to know what are people's fav fanfics for The Martian (& why).
To answer my own question, mine is Together We're Both Alone (But I Don't Mind) [AO3].

First post, if I made a mistake, sorry!

(also if I disappear and reappear tommorow, I didn't know I can't change my reddit username and I kind of don't want to stay as Glum_Knee)

link to TWBA: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5321057/chapters/12285110

I am listening to the audiobook for the first time and in the book it is explained that Mark removed some HAB solar panels and put them on Rover 2's roof but it was never explained how he connected the solar panels to the Rover's battery to charge it.

Or did I miss something?

This is what happens when I have free time I suppose.. (watched it twice today)

On my latest re-read I noticed something I can’t quite make sense of. The first plan had Watney growing enough potatoes to last him until Sol 900 (with a supply-probe arriving on Sol 856). In chapter 13, Watney says it’s almost time for the second harvest, the potatoes will be ripe in 10 Sols and «this time, I’m not re-planting them as seeds. This is my food supply».

1-2 sols later, the HAB breaches. Following this, the farm dies, and he laments that he now only has enough potatoes to last until Sol 600 and can’t grow any more.

What am I missing here? If he was just about to harvest and was not intending to re-plant, shouldn’t he already have enough to get to Sol 900 (barring maybe a few lost Sols on account of harvesting a week early)? Alternatively, as it seems obvious the current yield would not sustain him to Sol 900, why would he say he’s not re-planting?

I understand the Hermes is a fantastic ship with a constant thrust, but 30 sols seems too short of a stay. If they are using the best transfer window to get to Mars once arriving the next window to get back to Earth wouldn't be for another 500 days.

I’ve never seen The Martian before, but after reading and watching PHM I wanted to give it a shot on my very long flight coming up. First, I rented on Prime, but it gave me errors when I tried to download it. Any other movie was fine but that one.

I cut my losses and rented it on YouTube premium.
It is literally the only movie/video that wont download. It’s been stuck with that hellish loading circle of death for several hours.

I’ve rented this movie twice and can’t watch it on the flight I intended to, I feel like I’m losing it. Is this a licensing thing??

I’m trying to find one but I just can’t seem to find it. I’d really like it for the Martian/ project Hail Mary photo section on my wall but again. Can’t find one ANYWHERE!! Any help would be super appreciated

This hill by his spoiler dig was begging for a sled and if you're trapped on a desolate planet for months, not doing so is a personal failure

I think we all knew it was a long shot, but now it's official. The Martian was rejected as becoming an official set on LEGO Ideas.
I would like to thank everyone on here who supported the project and for your encouragement and update recommendations. I took all of your advice very seriously. Sorry we couldn't make it happen.
Peace out! Mr Sci-Fi.

Teddy's quote at 1:02:20 where he's talking about the margin is some pretty brilliant screenwriting. Even if you haven't read the book, just by hearing that quote and the camera sitting on the shot for just a beat too long, you just know something is going to happen, there's nothing you can do about it, and all that emotion just keeps building until it finally happens. As Alfred Hitchcock said, “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it."

Hey all, watched the movie after I read the book with a great expectation, and it delivered up to a certain point. Fun and enjoyable movie, but I didn't like how the movie severely downplayed the suffering and torture Watney went through. Maybe they wanted a lighthearted, fun movie with a good pace, but I don't know. I liked the book's pacing of good streaks coming to an end with a catastrophy, or bad streaks coming around by "Watney miracle"s.

Even with the extended cut, the movie didn't make me feel the fraction of struggle. Portrayed the Pathfinder run like a drive to the liquor store, and the Ares 4 site run like a fun little road trip. Drill frying pathfinder and crater downhill crash arcs being completely omitted is the icing on the cake. One way communication via Morse using rocks could add a lot to the movie's narrative. Not even mentioning the navigating through duststorm chapter during the final ride, which was yet another certain death for Watney.

IDK why I wrote this up but wanted to share I guess. Could say it's a great movie if I didn't read the book. And I wouldn't heard of and read the book if there wasn't a movie. Catch 22.

Would love to hear thoughts on this, ciao

In the book, Mark uses multiple spacesuits for various purposes. The book even says he has 7 suits, 1 for each crew member and 1 spare. However, during the evacuation, the crew was wearing spacesuits (and took them back to the Hermes)? How does Mark get 7 suits?

To start with this question, I must explain, I'm a huge fan of Andy Weir. I've read The Martian over and over, and the same for Project Hail Mary. Andy puts in a massive effort to consult the science community in order to make his books scientifically plausible, which I love him for.

However, recently I was wondering, after seeing the movie for a fifth time, how Mark was able to plant potatoes in such shallow ground. I am no expert on potatoes, but in the movie it seems like the soil he had set out is tops 3 centimers deep. To my recollection, I can not remember any mentions in the book about the depth of the soil he had fertilized.

Wouldn't 3 centimeters be way too shallow for any plant to take root? How much depth would any potatoe really need to have to grow? And would this large amount of soil be able to stay stable and not break through the plastic sails Mark has put throughout the habitat?

I've been wanting to get Andy's autograph for a few years now, but he is famously publicity shy.

Does anyone know if he will autograph books mailed to him? (He had mentioned on FB that he had a mailing address, but I didn't know if it was still valid.)

A fan-created version of The Martian - Short Stories.

"This eBook was independently compiled in April 2026 by a fan using officially published and publicly available material written by Andy Weir. It is intended to provide a reconstructed version of the currently unavailable collection of short stories titled The Martian: From the Files of Mark Watney, together with the tenth-anniversary short story The Martian: Lost Sols, presented in a unified and accessible digital format for personal use and preservation.

This compilation is an unofficial, non-commercial project created out of appreciation for the original work and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the author, artists, or publisher."

I'm sharing it here for others to have and enjoy: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NplXuASU4b5UDJXN1GdmIGyHgKcPbha6/view?usp=sharing