The Martian is a science-fiction thriller novel written by Andy Weir. The book describes astronaut Mark Watney's quest to stay alive, after being stranded on Mars during a severe sandstorm. The book gives the reader a unique view of how astronauts live and work in space. Most of the story takes place in Acidalia Planitia(a large plain) on mars, with a few entries amid the Arabia Terra (a valley on mars) region, and quite a few in the Schiaparelli crater (a large crater).
Armed with nothing but a few tools, his ingenuity and his sense of humour, Watney embarks on a quest to stay alive until the next mars mission crew arrives. His rescue comes slowly and painfully, as he solves problem after problem, fixing broken machinery and tending his crops. He recovers a broken probe, and uses it to make contact with NASA. During his time on mars, Watney beats all the odds, fixing broken machinery, and encounters many setbacks, yet he persists, and finally makes it to the Schiaparelli Crater and is rescued by his crew, who disobeyed NASA's orders and returned to mars to pick him up.
Andy Weir delivers an impeccable piece of literature to the reader. Weir made the novel quite funny, by making the protagonist very optimistic. The antagonist in this book is Mars itself, the laws of nature that act upon it, and the protagonist’s own “stupidity”, as stated by Watney. Weir does a great job highlighting the problem solving skills that Watney has, and he does a great job at making the story as realistic as possible. Weir considers various things that would affect the success of Watney’s quest, such as food, water, shelter, pressurization, and transportation. The format of the book was very interesting as well. Rather than the “old fashioned” chapter book, Weir wrote the book in “log entries”, which are just like journal entries. Weir was very creative with the protagonist’s personality. In the book, Watney keeps himself motivated by telling himself again and again about the dreadful situation he is in.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading science fiction. The science in the book is incredibly accurate. The Martian is not only a book that describes an astronaut trying to survive on mars, but it is a book that describes the entire human race helping a man out. It describes the incredible journey of one man, and his persistence to stay alive
Dear Bryan,
ReplyDeleteYou described this book very thoroughly; many details are provided. But would you please explain how Mark Watneys sense of humour aided him throughout the novel? Thank you
Sincerely,
Kyle M.
Dear Kyle,
DeleteGreat Question! Watney's sense of humour played a critical role in his quest to stay alive. Instead of giving up on an insurmountable task, Watney cracks a joke to himself and keeps going. Most of the time, he uses commander Lewis' infinite supply of disco to keep himself motivated.
Bryan
Dear Bryan,
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if in the book, they described Mark Watney's surroundings?
Sincerely,
Jonah
Dear Jonah,
DeleteAs a matter of fact, yes. Weir did describe Watney's surroundings. He described Acidalia Planitia as a "featureless wasteland." As for Arabia Terra, he described it as "crater-filled, pockmarked hell," since Arabia terra has a lot of craters. During his 90-day long road trip from Acidalia Planitia to the Schiaparelli crater, he hits a crater called "Marth," when he was intended to go around it. It makes him stand up on top of the rover and think: "mars is a beautiful but deadly planet." Watney also considers a technicality, by writing in his log: "Mars' famous red colour comes from the iron oxide in the soil, so, techincally, mars is a frozen desert that's so old, it is literally rusting."
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
ReplyDeleteIn your book report, you say that Watney had to care for his crops while on Mars. Could you specify this, please? What kind of crops was he trying to grow? How did he manage to achieve growing plants on such an unforgiving planet? Other than this, your book review was very well written and I enjoyed reading it a lot.
Thanks,
Lilia
Dear Lilia,
DeleteExcellent question. The crops Watney planted and cared for were potatoes. NASA decided that it would be great if they send live potatoes along, so that the astronauts could actually prepare a thanksgiving meal. He made the soil fit for growing crops by recovering the "precious bags of poo" from the unforgiving outdoors, because he knows as a botanist, that "poo" has complex proteins great for plants. Watney also realized that he has a limited supply of water, so he uses the remaining Hydrazine (rocket fuel) in the MAV (mars ascent vehicle) fuel plant / landing stage, and burns it to make water. In the process, he nearly blows the Hab (habitation module) and he gets blasted to the other side of the Hab in an instant, because he forgot to seal the combustion "chamber".
Bryan
Dear Bryan,
ReplyDeleteYour book review was very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. However, you describe how Mark's nerves of steel really increased his chances of survival. Does his determination influence or change the theme of this book? Thanks.
Sincerely,
Aidan
Dear Aidan,
DeleteIt is true that Watney's nerves of steel increased his chances of survival. It does change the theme of the book, though. Watney shows incredible determination by stating that "I will never stop trying to get home alive." He also takes risks like breaching his rover's pressure vessel on purpose, to cut out a section of insulation for his supply of potatoes. His determination also has an effect on his feelings. He states near the end of his cross-planet road trip: "I haven't seen a woman in like, 3 years. More inspiration to stay alive!" He keeps himself motivated by addressing to himself his dangerous situation. Even in the face of starvation, he still cracks jokes. His humour helped him massively, improving his mood, and keeping him motivated.
Bryan
Dear Bryan,
ReplyDeleteIn your second paragraph you said that he was able to grow crops on mars. Is there a formula that said how he did this? Or what kind of crops he was able to grow in the harsh weather of mars?
Sincerely, Connor
Dear Connor,
ReplyDeleteExcellent observations! The crops that Watney grew were potatoes, and indeed there was a method for planting the potatoes. Watney planted the potatoes inside his base, therefore they were protected from the dust, wind and weather of Mars's unforgiving environment. Watney was able to grow the potatoes by recovering the human waste stored in a box outside, which was linked up to the "toilet of doom." He used the waste as fertiliser, giving the crops a head start on growing into healthy potato plants.
Bryan