The Martian

5.0

BEST FUCKING SPACE NOVEL I'VE EVER READ. HARD SCI-FI FOR THE WIN!!!!! 100 EMOJIFIRE EMOJICLAPPING EMOJI *HANDS UP EMOJI

I have been a science fiction fan since I can remember. The problem nowadays is that everything is just the same old thing. That is why when I run across something that is new and well written, I have to quickly comment on it.

This is hard science fiction in its purest form. An astronaut has been left behind on Mars when the members of his expedition think he is dead. Now he has to figure out how to survive and communicate with Earth. Finally he has to cross thousands of klicks of open Martian surface to a spot where he might possibly be rescued. Meanwhile officials on Earth agonize over how to help the castaway. This is a very refreshing book. While a lot of stories today mash in so much manufactured action just to fill space, this book kept everything just as intense without cheating with added fluff.

Mr. Weir does a great job of inserting real science into this novel. I believe he must have been an astronaut prior to becoming an author with the detail he put behind the technology and strategies of a life on Mars, the return trip and all of the trials and dilemmas that the main character faces in his time alone on Mars. If this was written by an average author, he could not have pulled this book off to the degree that Mr. Weir did.

I'm giving this book a strong 5 stars. If only I could give more than 5, I would've. I just love this book! The story is plausible and based heavily on science, but it is a presented in a way that a layman can understand and become invested in. This is really the best hard science fiction I have read in a very long time, an absolute masterpiece. Just read it. This is not some space fantasy to be ignored. READ IT, GODDAMMIT!