Originally self published in 2012, Andy Weir‘s The Martian was picked up by Crown publishing (a Random House subsidiary) and was released just a few months ago. The story is about Mark Whatney, an American Astronaut on a Mars expedition. There is nothing particularly historic about this mission, it is not the first and there are already more planned. What makes this a special situation is that Whatney is left behind when his crew leaves the planet and he is presumed dead. The botanist/engineer has to figure out how to survive on a dead planet with nothing but a couple of months worth of supplies.

I was fairly backlogged at the time this was released (or re-released rather), but I am very glad that I finally got around to reading it. I have to say that while I like and support self-published authors, I do find myself sticking mainly to major SF/F publishers (and almost exclusively reviewing them) as those publishers are more experienced and have a good idea of what works. Some self published stories are amazing (Wool anyone?), but the questionable content can be difficult to sort through. It is for this reason that I am thankful to Crown. Had they not found The Martian, I may never have either and this book was too good to miss.

I loved this book. You can stop here and go read it, I’ll wait. I really cannot find any way of just objectively describing the book, I can only tell you that it was one of the best Sci Fi books I have read in a long time. Mark Whatney is a humorous, sarcastic smart-ass, who talks like a real person, not some stereotypical scientific genius. My kind of person. If there was a situation where my reaction would have been “Holy Shit!” you can bet that is exactly what the character said. From the first page to the last sentence that character does not disappoint. Looking at the SciFi angle, there is really tons of science in it. Much of the book seemed plausible when you see of all of the science, engineering, calculations and modern actual technology. The reader is taken through all of this and can really feel the amount of thought and work that must have been put into writing it. There was no trace of impossible technology from the distant future, most of this could be done right now. Even the peek in to NASA’s internal workings felt authentic, though I am sure any actual NASA staff might not agree. It was funny, well written, rarely predictable and continually fun and enjoyable. It was as perfect a SciFi book as I could ask for.

I easily give this 5 a full 5 stars and recommend this to any Science Fiction fan. I also really look forward to reading whatever comes next from Andy Weir. I cannot say enough good things about this book. If you read it and hate it, well, first stop listening to me, I may not be your best barometer. Second start reading another genre.

Check out Any Weir’s Website and The Martian Page for more.