The fear of isolation is ingrained in the human psyche. We are social creatures made to interact with and rely on each other. Alone, everything is infinitely more complex and dangerous. Andy Weir’s The Martian plays into this fear from the first page. The book follows the story of an astronaut who is stranded on Mars after a space exploration mission goes wrong.  He is abandoned  by the rest of the crew because they think he is dead. After being left behind, the main character is forced find ways  to survive on a Mars base only designed to last for about a month.
This book, while technically sci-fi, is primarily a survival story almost like Robinson Crusoe . It’s a man vs. nature novel made exciting by its unique setting. This book kept me on the edge of my seat as I tried to imagine the impossibility of surviving in such a hostile environment. The plot of the book is primarily about human perseverance in the face of extreme adversity. Fans of survival stories will enjoy this book.

The Martian’s energy never flagged and was even extremely funny at times.  The main character was both likeable and believable.  Despite being clearly smarter than an average person was still relatable and entertaining as a result of using humor to cope with life or death situations.

Part of what made The Martian so interesting was the extensive scientific facts throughout the novel. While some elements of the novel were science fiction, many of the details were based on real chemistry, engineering, and even botany. Weir’s writing makes the science extremely believable and detailed. Avid science students will find this book very interesting. It’s easy to see that Weir put tons of research into his novel. One of the things that makes this novel so interesting is that, although it’s set a bit in the future , the science is still very relevant with all of the current interest in Mars exploration.

Despite the way this book highlights the many dangers of space exploration it almost makes me wish I could explore myself. I have never taken a course specifically on astrology or outer space, so it was interesting to read a book which focused so heavily on space exploration. I enjoyed reading a book that  kindled my interest in areas I previously knew little about. Although the story itself was fictional it contained bits of revelavent science and provided a glimpse of what space exploration may resemble in the near future in way that was entertaining without being overly complicated.