L'uomo di Marte

I’m stranded on Mars.

I have no way to communicate with Earth.

I’m in a Habitat designed to last 31 days.

If the Oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the Water Reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the Hab breaches, I’ll just kind of explode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death.

So yeah. I’m screwed.

--back cover

Far shorter than I anticipated. A quality read.
I've been a long time fan of the movie. And I have to say this goes on the same tier as Dune and LOTR for a book to film adaptation.

I found the writing style to be so casual in a way that lessened the impact of Watney being in constant, life ending peril. But that is the heart of his character and I came to enjoy the contrast between his POV and the never ending stress of everyone back on earth.

It was so wonderfully human. On every page I saw the truth of what it means to be human. Our hope, our fear, our ingenuity and perseverance.

I also saw a window into how the world functioned over a decade go. Indeparmental cooportation and global support was not a work of fiction, instead it was an unlikely but reasonable expectation. What a contrast to the world we live in now...

Good preliminary read before having to read it for school next semester.