The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir
Over the past several years, several personalities
have taken us on their adventures on television. They get dropped off in remote places with little
or nothing to survive except their wits and resourcefulness. One such personality that I particularly
enjoy is Les Stroud; his show, Survivor Man.
The thing is he always makes it out with a chopper awaiting him at the
end of seven to ten day trips. He knows
when and where he will be retrieved at the end of his ordeal.
Now, imagine yourself as the lone and unintended inhabitant
on another planet such as Mars. Everything is against you. It’s extremely cold, you cannot grow food,
the water is frozen under the surface, the air is unbreathable, and the list
goes on. Space is a dangerous place.
Andy Weir explores this scenario brilliantly in
his novel.
Ares 3, the third manned mission to Mars is in its
sixth SOL, or its sixth Martian day on the surface. A day on Mars is about a half hour longer
than a day on Earth. The crew of six
astronauts are going about their business on the surface of the planet when they
receive a warning from NASA that there is a storm approaching their
location. At first, it is determined
that this storm doesn’t seem to be a threat to the mission. The storm rapidly intensifies and the crew is
ordered to abort their mission and get off the surface. A communications dish is then blown off of
the Hab (Habitat) and hits astronaut Mark Watney and the wind carries him a
long distance from the site. With very
little time left, the mission commander tries to locate Mark, but the ever
worsening conditions make it impossible to find any trace. Another member of the crew saw Mark hit by
the dish. Mark is presumed dead and the
five remining crew members launch.
Mark awakens, surprised that he is alive. His suit has been breached, but the breach
was sealed with his own blood. With a
lot of effort, he manages to return to the landing site and finds that he is
now all alone. The single inhabitant of
a planet stranded without communications and facing impossible odds, but he is
determined to survive somehow.
Other than the communications, the Hab is in good
shape, he has two rovers, equipment, and supplies that were intended to keep
six people alive on Mars for a month.
The only possibility of rescue that he knows of is four years away when
the Ares 4 mission is due to arrive 3200 kilometers from his present location.
Everyone has given up Mark for dead. Back on Earth, all of the usual ceremonies
are taking place. Speeches commemorating
Mark as a hero are made and speculation begins about the efficacy of future
missions to Mars.
Meanwhile, back on Mars, Mark goes about the
business of surviving in an environment that seems to be trying to kill him at
almost every turn. He figures out how to
stay alive with the equipment he has on hand, and even figures out how to
extend his food supply for a long time.
He even has entertainment, but in the form of 1970’s television shows and
disco music (much to his chagrin). He
also has his training, his education, and most importantly, his sense of humor,
and he refuses to lose.
Thanks to the observations of a sharp-eyed tech at
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it is soon learned that Mark did indeed survive
and efforts to reestablish communications and plans for rescue ensue.
I enjoyed this story so much, I read it in only
four days, reading every spare minute that I could find. Almost every page had me on edge wondering
what was going to happen next to pose a threat to Mark. But the most impressive thing about The
Martian was how seemingly accurate it is.
While I am no expert on NASA protocols involving survival on hostile
planets, everything that Mark did to seemed plausible to me, from how he was
able to make oxygen by splitting water atoms apart, to how he used his own
waste and Martian soil to make a potato farm to help extend his food supply.
Another aspect of this book was the sense of humor
that Weir injected into the story. The
hero definitely has a great sense of humor.
He pokes fun at himself and the situation he finds himself in.
I did almost put this book down though. Mark’s account of his time on Mars was in the
form of log entries that chronicle his activities. The first five chapters of the book follow
this format, by the end of the first chapter it was getting a bit tedious
reading “today I did this” and “I am planning to do that” and so on. I did consider setting it aside. In chapter 6 though, the NASA part of the
story was introduced and from there it was a nonstop solid science/scifi story
that any fan of the space program, or reality based science fiction fan should
enjoy. I am glad I stayed with it. The author really did his homework for this one.
I give this novel my highest recommendations as
one of the best stories of its kind that I have ever read.
Now, if only someone would pick this one up and make a film.
Well, there it is…
QaplaH’!
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