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 while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive. Even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.
But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next.
Why this is a must-have for your library:
The Ultimate Survival Story: It’s Cast Away meets Apollo 13. Watney has to solve complex problems involving chemistry, botany, and orbital mechanics just to live another day.
Hard Science Fiction: Weir famously programmed his own orbital trajectory software to ensure the space travel dates were accurate. This is as real as it gets.
Laugh-Out-Loud Funny: Despite the grim circumstances, Watney’s log entries are filled with sarcasm, wit, and disco jokes.
🔭 From the Desk of Paul Bracken: "This is the book that proved you can make math and botany thrilling. I love it because it treats Mars not just as a setting, but as an antagonist. Every time I look at Mars through the telescope now, I think about Watney driving that rover. It’s a celebration of human problem-solving and duct tape."
