# The Martian



## Learnmegood (Jun 20, 2009)

A couple of buddies have been falling all over themselves, telling me I've got to read a book called The Martian as soon as possible. Has anyone read this book?  Is it as good as they say?

Thanks!


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

I quite liked it. I had a few quibbles with some of the characterizations, but overall definitely glad I read it.


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## Tuttle (Jun 10, 2010)

This has been one of my favorite books I've read in recent history. Was it perfect? No, was it something I'd actively recommend to anyone who's interested in anything of the sort? Absolutely.


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## Susan Alison (Jul 1, 2011)

I read this book all the way through - that's high praise for me. It was cleverly done. It's one of those books that I'm actively glad I've read, as against not bothered if I didn't read, and I'd recommend it to anyone, not just to sci fi fans.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I read it some time ago when it was an inexpensive independently published title. The concept was intriguing but I was not completely sold -- sometimes such books can start with a really great premise, but if there's not been time and effort putting into polishing the diamond, it ends up just a pretty stone. In this case, while not 'perfect', I really really liked it . . . . It's one of those books that had me staying up late to finish it -- which is a rare thing in my world. I rated it as 5 star, because it was definitely better than 4 star; probably really more accurate to call it about 4.8.


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## Linjeakel (Mar 17, 2010)

It's definitely one of the best books I've read over the last year. It started off pretty slow for me and I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I'm glad I didn't let that put me off. The more I read, the more I became invested in the main character's survival.

I enjoyed the more 'sci-fi' technical aspects of it, as well as his sense of humour. The part where he's in the


Spoiler



damaged air lock and he accidentally glues his gloved hand to his helmet


 had me weeping tears of laughter - much to the amusement (and curiosity) of my fellow commuters.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I agree with Linda . . . I think one of the things that made it so interesting is, the guy basically is pretty sure he's not going to make it, and that probably nobody will, ever, really see/hear any of what he's recording -- or, if they do, it'll be years and years from now. So from the very beginning he's not writing it with a purpose of putting himself in the best light or making himself out to be some kind of hero. He's just trying to stay sane and stay alive as long as possible on the off chance someone will come find him. Hence you get details of everything he tries, whether it ends up working or an epic fail -- even when it makes him look like a bit of an idiot. 


Spoiler



And when the narrative switches to earth POV for some chapters, which become more frequent as you go, you begin to really really wonder: did they get him, or is his diary really all that's left?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

anyone want to give a girl a clue as to the author of the book or maybe do an amazon link?


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## deckard (Jan 13, 2011)

telracs said:


> anyone want to give a girl a clue as to the author of the book or maybe do an amazon link?


Try this:



Deckard


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

Read it, loved it


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## ReginaM (Jul 26, 2015)

I loved The Martian. I have no idea how the science would work, as I will never be an astrophysicist, but it kept me entertained. I really liked the main character and the sense of humor that was woven throughout the storyline. One of the best books I have read in a long time.


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## jlee745 (Jul 27, 2010)

I loved the audiobook!!!


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## WHDean (Nov 2, 2011)

Read and enjoyed. It's not space opera or your typical SF novel. Any fans of Robinson Crusoe will enjoy The Martian because it owes more to that book than it does to any of the SF subgenres.


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Read it & loved it! Can't wait for the movie, it will be out in theaters Oct 2015.


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## going going gone (Jun 4, 2013)

Really liked it. It took me a few pages to get into it (I didn't quite believe the voice--seemed too teenagey) but once I did, I was riveted.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I read, and liked it. Some useful intro to science. The RTG generator that he used there is similar to the one the Pluto mission just used, it was powered by an RTG where the radioactive material generates heat which is converted to about 30 watts of electrical energy to power the probe (less than an average light bulb)


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## etexlady (May 27, 2009)

Read it.  Did not enjoy it.  Page after page after page of technical stuff which I found very boring.  I probably skipped thru half the book.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

etexlady said:


> Read it. Did not enjoy it. Page after page after page of technical stuff which I found very boring. I probably skipped thru half the book.


See, and that's what I found fascinating. I didn't feel like it was too jargonny technical -- just enough to let you know it wasn't as easy as one might have thought!


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## Joel Ansel (Oct 17, 2013)

I got this book as an Audible for my Dad. I would hear bits of it as he listened, which got me intrigued, so I got the kindle version and devoured it that night. 

It is a bit technical, but if you like hard science fiction, Martian is a good read or listen. My Father and I both have science backgrounds and neither of us could find much that wasn't at least plausible.


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## Gibson Morales (May 24, 2015)

Read it. Overall give it 2/5. The first 6-7 chapters involve tons of space travel jargon, repetitive mini-crises, exposition, and fairly inconsequential plot. After that it speeds up a little bit then proceeds to jog along for a while.... 

Someone once said the great thing about "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was that you could start it, fall asleep for an hour, wake up, and have missed nothing important. Without spoiling it, the same concept applies to this story. I skimmed through every other page and still understand the plot/story without a problem. 

The book tends to use a lot of gimmicks. Chapters start/end with either "I'm f***ed. I'm going to die!" or "I've survived today. Things are okay. I might just make it." Likewise, sentences include lots of micro-provocative expressions ie "The outside temperature isn't that hot. About 500 degrees F" (I made this one up, but there are others like it). It's a cheap trick. Spielberg uses it in a lot of his films too albeit in a situational sense, not at a sentence/dialogue level. The formula is something like: Give a statement or observation then make the exact opposite occur (no matter how contrived).

Despite all the unnecessary astronaut jargon (the author probably could've made it up on the spot and 99% of readers would never have noticed lol), these gimmicks really made me feel the author was writing down to his readers. I think with some editing, the book could've been a lot more entertaining (for me at least, obviously lots of people liked the book as is).

One last note that really made the book dull as a bag of napkins-next to zero character development for the main character. Side characters had their mini-arcs and that was fine. Very little emotional depth or growth for the MC though.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

I hear that critique a lot and I just can't understand it, this is a story of an adult, highly trained scientist marooned alone for several months, what character and emotional growth is he supposed to show? Have I had character develoment and emotional growth over the past year? Probably a little, but not enough someone writing about me could show it. Most of your character and emotional development is pretty flat by 30 years old. It would be a wierd book for me if he showed massive character and emotional change. Its not a coming of age story.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I guess I don't see it as a 'character driven' novel . . . except to the extent that he's got to be a guy you feel like you can root for. So 'character development' isn't as important to me.

Plus . . . he's basically got no one to interact with . . . he could sit around contemplating his navel, or he could figure out how to survive. The former would be a really boring book, the the latter I found to be very interesting . . . . . 

OTOH, I suppose if he did spend the whole novel not trying to stay alive but just contemplating the meaning of life and death . . . . well, that would probably appeal to some as well. Not me, though.


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## Gibson Morales (May 24, 2015)

Chad Winters said:


> I hear that critique a lot and I just can't understand it, this is a story of an adult, highly trained scientist marooned alone for several months, what character and emotional growth is he supposed to show? Have I had character develoment and emotional growth over the past year? Probably a little, but not enough someone writing about me could show it. Most of your character and emotional development is pretty flat by 30 years old. It would be a wierd book for me if he showed massive character and emotional change. Its not a coming of age story.


Basically it makes it harder for me as a reader to care about him. Yes, physically/externally he's trapped on Mars, but to me its meaningless unless there's something at stake. His life? Okay, but why? Why not the life of a starving child in Ethopia? The story sort of gives us the why-that he sacrificed himself for his fellow astronauts to get off Mars (I think-not clear on this-it could've been emphasized more). Doesn't delve deep enough though imo.

Speaking from product evaluation standpoint if I'm offered The Martian or a similar book where the protagonist has more at stake emotionally or has some character flaw he might improve on, I'm going to read that novel instead. Because in a nutshell, I can relate more to someone with a wider range of emotions or psychological depth than of the character offered in The Martian. Otherwise, Mark Watney might as well have been an advanced robot-a robot that was very important to NASA and knew how to tell jokes.



Ann in Arlington said:


> I guess I don't see it as a 'character driven' novel . . . except to the extent that he's got to be a guy you feel like you can root for. So 'character development' isn't as important to me.
> 
> Plus . . . he's basically got no one to interact with . . . he could sit around contemplating his navel, or he could figure out how to survive. The former would be a really boring book, the the latter I found to be very interesting . . . . .
> 
> OTOH, I suppose if he did spend the whole novel not trying to stay alive but just contemplating the meaning of life and death . . . . well, that would probably appeal to some as well. Not me, though.


Why couldn't he have had some emotional/character backstory? All I got from the story was that he is clever, funny, resilient, had some minor insecurities about being a botanist, had parents, and didn't necessarily have a strong lovelife on Earth. I've listed a lot, but it actually amounts to superficial fluff in comparison to other comparable novels. Take a book like Station 11-there's a good amount of external survival conflict, but also emotional conflict and character background that rounds out the story. Or consider Hugh Howey's Wool-that's a slower story and more about the character's thoughts for sure, but compare the main characters' backstories.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Gibson Morales said:


> Basically it makes it harder for me as a reader to care about him. Yes, physically/externally he's trapped on Mars, but to me its meaningless unless there's something at stake. His life? Okay, but why? Why not the life of a starving child in Ethopia? The story sort of gives us the why-that he sacrificed himself for his fellow astronauts to get off Mars (I think-not clear on this-it could've been emphasized more). Doesn't delve deep enough though imo.
> 
> Speaking from product evaluation standpoint if I'm offered The Martian or a similar book where the protagonist has more at stake emotionally or has some character flaw he might improve on, I'm going to read that novel instead. Because in a nutshell, I can relate more to someone with a wider range of emotions or psychological depth than of the character offered in The Martian. Otherwise, Mark Watney might as well have been an advanced robot-a robot that was very important to NASA and knew how to tell jokes.
> 
> Why couldn't he have had some emotional/character backstory? All I got from the story was that he is clever, funny, resilient, had some minor insecurities about being a botanist, had parents, and didn't necessarily have a strong lovelife on Earth. I've listed a lot, but it actually amounts to superficial fluff in comparison to other comparable novels. Take a book like Station 11-there's a good amount of external survival conflict, but also emotional conflict and character background that rounds out the story. Or consider Hugh Howey's Wool-that's a slower story and more about the character's thoughts for sure, but compare the main characters' backstories.


I guess people just like different things. I don't always want 'deep and meaningful' . . . sometimes I just want something that keeps me reading. Clever, funny, and resiliant in an extremely hostile environment worked for me.

And, for the record, while I thought the first story of _Wool_ was o.k. . . . . it wasn't anything that made me want to read further. Nice "O Henry" type twist at the end of it, but as far as I was concerned that was all I wanted to experience of that world.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

A really great, exciting read. I think it stumbled a little for me whenever we weren't with the main character, but a really gripping story.


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## Natasha Holme (May 26, 2012)

Favourite book of last year. LOVED.


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## EC Sheedy (Feb 24, 2011)

I am late to the party for this book. I started it today and I'm really, really enjoying it. And considering science is not my thing, that's saying something.   Definitely a modern day Robinson Crusoe story.


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## cagnes (Oct 13, 2009)

Gibson Morales said:


> Basically it makes it harder for me as a reader to care about him. Yes, physically/externally he's trapped on Mars, but to me its meaningless unless there's something at stake. His life? Okay, but why? Why not the life of a starving child in Ethopia? The story sort of gives us the why-that he sacrificed himself for his fellow astronauts to get off Mars (I think-not clear on this-it could've been emphasized more). Doesn't delve deep enough though imo.


Huh, I don't get it?  So, his life is meaningless because he's not a starving child in Ethiopia? He's a normal person like me (only much smarter) or you. The book is about a man stranded on Mars, I don't get why you made that comparison. Why aren't all your books about starving children in Ethiopia? There are many amazing books out there with good entertaining stories that aren't deep or meaningful. IMO that isn't a requirement for a good book. There are lots of good books where the characters aren't even likable. I'd rather have a good compelling story than worry about character growth.


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## Matthew Stott (Oct 22, 2014)

Gibson Morales said:


> The story sort of gives us the why-that he sacrificed himself for his fellow astronauts to get off Mars (I think-not clear on this-it could've been emphasized more). Doesn't delve deep enough though imo.


He didn't sacrifice himself. The others thought he was dead and left him behind as they had to get off Mars before the storm stranded them.


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## CRL (Nov 8, 2013)

Currently $1.99.

I assume the clock is ticking.......


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## Geoff Jones (Jun 20, 2014)

A recommendation: Don't watch the trailer for the film. It gives away too much.

A question: When the book was picked up by Crown, did it change much? 

I read it back when it first came out (self-published) and loved it. Great fun!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Geoff Jones said:


> A recommendation: Don't watch the trailer for the film. It gives away too much.
> 
> A question: When the book was picked up by Crown, did it change much?
> 
> I read it back when it first came out (self-published) and loved it. Great fun!


Seems to me about all the trailer gives away is that he didn't actually die. Which, of course, you find out at the very beginning. I guess it does kind of spoil


Spoiler



the reveal that the people on EARTH also realize he didn't die.


 But I don't see that as huge.

I got the kindle book a bit over a year ago . . . cost me $5.99. I guess that is the 'big pub' edition because when I go to what's currently offered (for only $1.99!) it says I already bought it.


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

Some of the characters were flat, there were a few errors in the science, and it had some pacing issues. But all and all, it was an enjoyable read. Fun story. I'm really looking forward to the movie.


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## Grace Elliot (Mar 14, 2011)

Saw the movie posters and bought the book. 
Can't wait to read the book. 
Determined to read the book BEFORE seeing the movie. 
Are you a reader of books made into movies...in which case book first of film?


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## Anna Drake (Sep 22, 2014)

I think the movie is going to shake us in our seats during the many disasters. Plus, it looked like they may have given him a family, which I think will go a long way to warming his character. I noticed that the book had failed to mention strong ties to people, which bothered me somewhat. And in a book that was so right on most science, I was stunned to think I'd missed the fact that potatoes can't be grown in three or four inches of soil. They're a root crop. It takes a minimum of a foot of soil and preferably more for the roots to grow down into the dirt and develop tubers.

Still I think it was a good book, and it looks like the movie's going to take it to a whole new level of wow.


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## Mark E. Cooper (May 29, 2011)

Loved the audio book.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

I thought the book was good, being part of the 'space survival story' subgenre along the lines of Apollo 13 and Gravity. If you've seen them, you should have a pretty good sense of what to expect. I skimmed a lot of the SCIENCE throughout the book and was mildly disappointed that Watney was never really ever threatened (genre convention, most likely) but I kept flipping pages, so the author did something right.


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## Chad Winters (Oct 28, 2008)

Jim Johnson said:


> I thought the book was good, being part of the 'space survival story' subgenre along the lines of Apollo 13 and Gravity. If you've seen them, you should have a pretty good sense of what to expect. I skimmed a lot of the SCIENCE throughout the book and was mildly disappointed that Watney was never really ever threatened (genre convention, most likely) but I kept flipping pages, so the author did something right.


Interesting, I felt he was threatened, but I liked that it was an impending, I have to make plans and actions based on science so I don't die in one month kind of threat, not an immediate bullet dodging kind of threat. the implication being put any one less prepared in the same situation and they would have ate their rations, used their air and sat and died within a month


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## Patricia (Dec 30, 2008)

It was a little "techy" for me, but I asked Alexa a lot of questions.  : )  I would have liked an Epilogue.  I almost thought there was going to be something between him and Mindy when he got back.  You know... Mark and Mindy.


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## A.C Louis (Sep 28, 2015)

It's one of the biggest contributions to modern science fiction. The Martian, and movies like Interstellar, have revamped the hype for the genre (not young adult sci-fi, mind you) for a lot of years to come. 

I agree with others when they say that characterization was kinda shallow, but the real deal with that book is the science on it. Like the classic sci-fi books, the plot is what makes the book.


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## LSBurton (Jan 31, 2014)

A.C Louis said:


> It's one of the biggest contributions to modern science fiction. The Martian, and movies like Interstellar, have revamped the hype for the genre (not young adult sci-fi, mind you) for a lot of years to come.
> 
> I agree with others when they say that characterization was kinda shallow, but the real deal with that book is the science on it. Like the classic sci-fi books, the plot is what makes the book.


I concur. I read The Martian in a day or so, and it's not very often I do that these days. The pacing was great, the story was exciting; though it was about science it never got too esoteric. For the fact that it's been made into a hugely successful Ridley Scott movie, I find it very surprising that there's not much more discussion about it here. It was by far one of the best books I've read in years, and it started out as a self-published piece.


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## Jon Lee Clay (Nov 24, 2015)

Like the book but loved the movie at lot more. Usually the other way around...the ^&%$ morons screwed up a good book


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## 75845 (Jan 1, 1970)

For those regretting not buying The Martian as a cheap indie book its back to £1.99 today on Kindle Kobo etc, just got my copy. Only read the About this Book so far as I'm half through the Book Thief.


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## geoffnelder (Feb 3, 2016)

I offer my review of both book and film. Short answer I enjoyed it even with the quibbles.
Like many science fiction readers and writers, I am fascinated by all things Mars. We read and watch every Mars-related item we can. It doesn’t make us experts because the more we know, the more we realise how little we know.
The book’s main theme is survival on both an engineering / science level and as a human. On a Mars mission, a stronger-than-expected dust storm blows satellite dishes into Mark Watney who is impaled on an antenna and knocked into a dune. His bio signs report flat-lining because of the antenna but his congealing / freezing blood and his falling on top of his suit tear, saves his life although the crew believe him dead. If they spent time to check on him, the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) would tip completely over and possibly damaged beyond repair so the crew takes off.
Mark survives, returns to the HAB and finds life support is fine. He is an engineer and botanist so is very capable of repairs and applies ingenuity in improvised DIY. The novel expertly takes the reader on his Mars road trips and although danger is ubiquitous in the near-vacuum atmosphere with its lack of magnetosphere enabling solar radiation to be lethal, he uses his graveside humour to get by.

Best quote: “My asshole is doing as much to keep me alive as my brain.”

I enjoyed this Martian set of road trips but while liking Mark I found I was increasingly annoyed by his jolly, clappyhands attitude to everything. Other silly annoyances are his habit of saying ‘Yay’ too often, making the narrative a bit too supercilious. He hasn’t realized that the telescopes on the many satellites in orbit have seen he’s survived, which is unlikely for someone so clever. He dismissed using the seeds for growing grass, beans and peas and concentrated solely on potatoes, which need much deeper soil. The legumes could have been grown in just water and he should have known that. His use of the Pathfinder probe for comms is ingenious but used in other books and films. His knowledge and the existence around him of more electronic parts than a Maplin superstore should have enabled him to make radio contact with a satellite / Hermes or Earth. The final use of a MAV that had to be stripped and go up to rendezvous with a recovery vehicle was done in the film The Red Planet (2006). Naturally, I am disappointed he found no Martian life, even underground / primitive / ghosts. The book read a bit like a survival guide, fun, adventurous and commended but might have benefited from being more a complete story form if there had been two people or one and an AI so as to create more conflict and resolution in arguments, etc. In spite of these minor points I enjoyed The Martian and could have read it at twice the length.

Comparison notes with the film of The Martian (2015) directed by Ridley Scott and with Mark Watney played by Matt Damon.

Watching a film about Mars is the nearest thing any of us can get to being there. The film does a convincing job. With the benefit of actual Mars landers, film makers are able to draw on real-colour images and video to show what the landscape and sky looks like. All Ridley Scott had to do then was to take the camera crew and actors to Jordan and apply filters.
I enjoyed the film partly because Matt Damon played down the “Yay”s of the character in the book and more was made of the tension back in America and on Hermes so that the focus wasn’t so much on just Mark Watney as in the book. Having said that, we need the juxtaposition of loneliness and exhilaration of being the only person on a whole planet that the book does rather better than the film. Why?
Because the film has to convey the story in just over two hours while the book has 369 pages. For example there is no mention in the film of the HAB’s inventory of stuff Mark could use such as the legumes and why he chose the potatoes instead.

Ironically for both the book and the film the critical windstorm at the beginning would not have been anything like as powerful in reality. The atmosphere on Mars is only 1% the density of the air on the surface of Earth. Yes there are winds, and the delightfully playful sand devils—harmless vortices of sand and grit, but the Martian windstorms are of higher velocity, on average. Even so you would only just feel the wind. It wouldn’t blow a lander over nor knock a satellite dish into Mark Watney.

Neither the book nor the film demonstrated the relatively low gravity on Mars, which is greater than the moon’s but less than half that of Earth. Mark would have hopped around more. Mars has no magnetosphere as Earth has (hence us seeing the Northern Lights) so solar radiation is much more intense there in spite of its distance. Impressive then that Mark survived over 500 days (sols, which are just longer than Earth days) with only a space suit to protect him on his days out of the HAB. Hopefully, NASA has solved that issue before astronauts are really sent there.
I had to laugh at the impression given that gravity assist slingshots around planets was invented by an intern at NASA in the future when it’s already been done many times.

Mark Watney was wrong, there was another human on his own on Mars – ever see the film Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)?
I can recommend you see the film The Martian, but the book is better.


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