The Martian, by Andy Weir

Hey all! 
I just finished reading The Martian, by Andy Weir! 

I know it took me forever to finish a book (sorry!), but I’ve been busy moving into and getting used to my new area and uni in Perth, Australia! I had to put aside reading for a bit, but finally just binge-read yesterday, and managed to finish The Martian! 

I also am already 115 pages into Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! The books is magical, it’s so amazing to go back into the world of Harry Potter! Be warned, though. You really can’t read this if you haven’t seen the books or movies, or if you aren’t interested - it would spoil too much! 

"A mission to Mars.
A freak accident.
One man's struggle to survive.

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 the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive. And even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, Mark 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's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills—and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength–he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.

As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive.

But Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.”


Oof long blurb! 

So for some reason a lot of people think the book was based off the movie.. nah, the movie was based off the book! 
This book is basically about Mark Watney, a botanist, who is left behind on Mars, alone and practically without resources. He uses scientific knowledge, as well as a great sense of humor, to deal with everyday life. 

This book was such a cool read! 

Although you really have to focus to understand some of the pars, it’s totally worth the time and concentration! Mark keeps getting accidents and problems thrown in his face, and he always finds a way to make things better. Well, at least he finds ways to make things bearable. 

Mark is a really unique character, and super cool to read about! He has a unique sense of humor that makes you laugh even in the worst situations. 

[On Earth]: “He turned to Venkat. “I wonder what he’s (Mark) thinking right now.””
[On Mars]: “How come Aquaman can control whales? They’re mammals! Makes no sense.” 

And that’s a part of a chapter! 
Or even when he crashed outside, and broke a piece of his helmet
“It seemed to work well. The seal looked strong and the resin was rock-hard. I did, however, glue my hand to the helmet.” 
And that part just drags on for half a page, it made me laugh so much hahaa! 

The other part of this book consists of people on Earth and in space trying to organize and coordinate a rescue mission for Mark. This part was kinda crazy, in my opinion. You had the whole world rooting for one guy on mars. It really makes you think about all kinds of things...

What I found amazing was that Mark never gave up. He never thought ‘oh, I’m on Mars for over a year and a half, what are the chances of my survival? Oh well”. He always pushed through, and I thought that that was quite exceptional. 

I know my review is quite short, but I have to go and teach myself integration now (uh oh!). 

I’m giving this a 4/5 feathers! 

Have you read The Martian? What did you think? Let me know!