Wednesday 30 September 2015

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

The MartianThe Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought this novel after seeing the trailer for the film. I haven't read sci-fi in ages and thought it would be a refreshing change amongst the murder mysteries and romance.
From the off I pictured Matt Damon as I knew he was playing the role of Mark Watney. Not that this was a problem. Damon, to me, represents the all-American and he suited the role well.
I really enjoyed the diary-entry format used by Andy Weir. It puts you right in Watney's head. You journey with him, through his despair, through his exhaustion, through his elation. I enjoyed his sense of humour too, several times I laughed out loud. I particularly enjoyed the references to disco music and 70s TV programmes.
The narrative switched between Watney, the crew of the Hermes and the NASA team tracking his every move. It was good to have the variation. I felt like over the course of this book I have actually learnt something about space travel.
The pace of this novel was excellent too. I was hooked from the beginning and I couldn't wait to find out Watney's fate as in no way was it guaranteed that he would survive. Each obstacle he came across was believable and how Watney dealt with it was admirable.
The Martian is such a brilliant novel and I would love to read more of Weir's work.

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