The Martian
When a sudden Martian dust storm forces an early evacuation of NASA's Ares 3 surface mission, botanist and mechanical engineer Mark Watney is struck by debris and presumed dead. His crewmates lift off without him. He wakes up alone on the surface of Mars, with a punctured suit, a damaged habitat, and four years to fill before the next mission could possibly reach him. Working through the problem one disaster at a time, Watney begins to grow potatoes in human waste, hack a lander's communications package to reach Earth, and drive a rover thousands of kilometers across the Martian surface toward salvage. Andy Weir's debut novel, originally self-published in 2011 chapter by chapter on his blog, mixes hard engineering detail with a profane, persistently funny first-person voice. Cut between Watney's logs, NASA's frantic response in Houston, and the crew of the Hermes deciding whether to turn around, the book became one of the defining hard science fiction novels of the decade.
Where The Martian keeps showing up
Three of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Also by Andy Weir
Books in conversation with The Martian
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about The Martian
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
When a sudden dust storm forces NASA's Ares III crew off Mars, botanist and engineer Mark Watney is hit by debris and presumed dead. He wakes up alone in the habitat with a punctured suit, broken comms, and food for a fraction of the years until the next mission. He starts solving problems.
Yes. The Martian was adapted into a 2015 film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor, and it follows the book's plot closely.
No. The Martian is entirely fictional. However, the science is grounded in real planetary research, and Andy Weir consulted NASA and engineering literature to keep the technical details plausible. No human has yet been to Mars.
The Martian is written in a casual, conversational first-person voice through Mark Watney's log entries. Despite the dense science content, Weir explains everything as it comes up, making the book accessible to general readers.
No. Andy Weir has not written a direct sequel to The Martian. He has written two later standalone novels, Artemis and Project Hail Mary, both of which deal with related space and survival themes but are unconnected to Mark Watney's story.
The Martian was written by Andy Weir, published in 2011 by B.
The Martian is 407 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Martian takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
The Martian is a standalone novel by Andy Weir, not part of a series.
The Martian is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
