Menu
shadow
SF CORE Best Lists
SF ERA Best Lists
SF GENRE Best Lists
OTHER Best Lists

The Martian

The Martian

Author: Andy Weir

On the first manned mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is stranded following an intense storm. Knowing it will be years before the next mission is liable to reach Mars, Watney has to improvise ways to survive until he can be rescued. But even though mission control back on earth become aware that he is still alive, a series of disasters put seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the way of his survival. Although the science might be questioned – the Martian air pressure is so low that no storm such as the one at the beginning of the book would be possible – the careful attention to technological detail, and the inventive way of improvising with current technology have made this a highly popular and successful work.   The success of both the book and the film that has been based upon it means that The Martian is leading the current revival of interest in Mars.

Books in Animorphs Series (47)

Buy on Amazon

Similar Recommendations

For some specific Mars book recommendations, read our Best Mars Novels list on our blog.

If you love this story of survival against the odds on Mars, then you should seek out No Man Friday by Rex Gordon. This is also a story of an expedition to Mars gone wrong. An accident on the ship midway to Mars kills all the crew except for one, who happens to be in his spacesuit at the time. Crash landing on Mars he has to find ways to produce oxygen and water, but the difference from Weir's story is that there are giant Martians in this story, and the planet has its own plant life.

And for stories about problem solving at NASA, you really can't beat Voyage by Stephen Baxter. Set in an alternate history in which Kennedy was not assassinated, it tells the story of the determination to send a manned mission to Mars. Baxter provides a carefully worked out account of the moon missions that are cut back to divert resources to the Mars programme, and the unmanned probes that are never sent; he also describes the technical innovations that are made and the problems that need to be solved before NASA can send an astronaut to set foot on Mars.