Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 1/2/2016 + 1182 more book reviews

A really engrossing sci-fi thriller. Mark Watney is left for dead on Mars and must use his wits and knowledge to survive for close to 500 days. Watney is a botanist and engineer and is faced with starvation, lack of water, and must eventually travel over 3,000 km to the site of the next Mars landing to survive. He is faced with every mishap imaginable but manages to overcome these. This included making the Mars soil viable for growing potatoes using his own excrement and every inch of space available in his HAB on Mars. He must convert rocket fuel into water, modify his Mars rover to travel great distances, and use plutonium for heat. There are hazards at every turn and Mark faces these with humor and smarts! Also, he is stuck listening to disco music and 70's TV shows for entertainment (these were left by his crew mates). Overall, a really enjoyable read; however, I probably could have skipped a lot of the technical information on how he was able to survive. I haven't seen the movie version with Matt Damon but am looking forward to it.

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