Review: The Martian

Andy Weir, The Martian (2014, this edition Ballantine Books 2014)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18007564-the-martian?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=CJG9KsLXxn&rank=1

A nail-biting techno-thriller and story of Man’s triumph over Nature

Over Christmas I watched the 2015 Matt Damon-starring film The Martian with my sister’s family. My nephews said, ‘You know that bit in Apollo 13 (after ‘Houston we have a problem’) where they dump everything out on the table? They made a whole movie out of that.’ A whole movie about finding ingenious techy solutions to life-threatening situations in outer space. My niece gave me the book for Christmas, which my sister says is one of her favourites. According to her, the science in the story is all accurate, and she should know, as she has been nicknamed ‘the Science Lady’.
Botanist and engineer Mark Watney is accidently left behind on the planet when a NASA mission to Mars has to abort due to a severe sandstorm. Though his shipmates think he’s dead, he is very much alive and manages to survive in a hugely hostile environment thanks to high-tech equipment left behind by NASA missions to the planet and a series of MacGyver-type ‘tinfoil and gum’ solutions. The science behind each new strategy is explained.
He has to reinvent the wheel in order to eat (he manufactures his own H2O and soil culture in order to grow potatoes), communicate with Earth (he spells out messages in rocks for the satellite cameras to see) and get around (NASA has left extra spacesuits and transport vehicles, and he gets his energy from previously erected solar panels).
But it’s not just the science. Watney’s survival has as much to do with his strength of character, his sense of humour and his sheer chutzpah as it has to do with his engineering knowledge. This makes it not just a techno-thriller, but also a story about human fortitude and the triumph of Man over Nature.
Unlike Cast Away, it is not boring at all. It’s full of nail-biting suspense. Many of the chapters begin ‘I’m f***ed’, before proceeding to outline some new ingenious fix. It is peppered with scraps of Watney’s humour, to which his shipmates also attribute his survival.
Would be loved by Science Ladies (and gentlemen and nieces and nephews) and everyone else, too.