THE MARTIAN Book Review

The Martian¹ by Andy Weir, audiobook, 10h 59m

Synopsis from Audible: Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills - and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit - he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Wil Wheaton, who has lent his voice to sci-fi blockbusters like Ready Player One and Redshirts, breathes new life (and plenty of sarcasm) into the iconic character of Mark Watney, making this edition a must-listen for both longtime fans of The Martian and new listeners alike.

BOOK REVIEW: I was all ready to read this book. It was a prize I won (the eBook) from a trivia contest several months ago but after finding myself overwhelmed with life, I ended up using one of my credits to get the audiobook. One of the biggest reasons I opted to listen is because I love Wil Wheaton. I have always loved Wil Wheaton and I think him being the narrator is a big part of why I enjoyed this book so much. I had not seen the movie until after I finished the book either so I didn't really cast the book in my head so I wouldn't be disappointed when watching the movie.

I absolutely loved the sarcasm that Wil Wheaton brought to all the characters, not just Mark Watney. All of his communications and log entries were hilarious. I do agree with my mom on one thing though. If I had been reading this book instead of listening to it, I don't know how far I would have made it simply for the fact that having to listen to close to an hour of audio about how he was going to grow potatoes out of poop was really starting to wear on me...reading all of that would probably have made me put the book away forever!

That said, this audiobook gets a 5 star from me. It might be biased because I love Wil Wheaton (did I mention that?) but he really did bring the story to life for me. All the technical jargon would have been partially lost on me if I had read it but I think I would have pushed on. This may have been a book that would have taken me a bit to get into because of all the poo talk but the narration was amazing. He gave life to all the characters and I loved it! If you don't know who Wil Wheaton is, check him out because if you're looking to get into the Sci-fi genre, it might be easier when it's a narrator who you already know. I know moving forward, any book that I see he narrates I'm likely to listen to!

5/5 Stars

2025 Reading Challenge: 20/50 complete ¹This is an affiliate link through Bookshop.org which supports independent bookstores nationwide. Pick from a local to you bookshop or order the book you want and it will be sent from the nearest bookstore to you that has it in stock!