![]() Original ebook cover | |
Author | Andy Weir |
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Audio read by | R. C. Bray,Wil Wheaton |
Cover artist | Eric White |
Language | English |
Genre | Science fiction |
Published | September 2011 (self-published); February 2014 (Crown) |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | Print,e-book,audio |
Pages | 369 |
ISBN | 978-0-8041-3902-1 |
OCLC | 890014492 |
813/.6 | |
LC Class | PS3623.E446 M37 2014 |
The Martian is a 2011science fictiondebut novel written byAndy Weir. The book was originallyself-published on Weir's blog, in aserialized format.[1] In 2014, the book was re-released afterCrown Publishing Group purchased the exclusive publishing rights. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone onMars in 2035[2] and must improvise in order to survive.[3][4][5]
A film adaptation,The Martian, directed byRidley Scott and starringMatt Damon, was released in October 2015.[6]
In the year 2035,[7] the crew ofNASA's Ares 3 mission have arrived atAcidalia Planitia for a planned month-long stay on Mars. After only sixsols, an intense dust and wind storm threatens to topple their Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which would trap them on the planet. During the hurried evacuation, an antenna tears loose and impales astronaut Mark Watney, abotanist andengineer, also disabling his spacesuit radio. He is flung out of sight by the wind and presumed dead. As the MAV teeters dangerously, mission commander Melissa Lewis has no choice but to take off without completing the search for Watney.
However, Watney is not dead. His injury proves relatively minor, but with no long-range radio, he cannot communicate with anyone. He must rely on his own resourcefulness to survive. He begins a log of his experiences. His philosophy is to "work the problem", solving each challenge in turn as it confronts him. With food a critical, though not immediate, problem, he begins growingpotatoes in the crew's Martian habitat, the Hab. He uses aniridium catalyst to separatehydrogen gas from surplushydrazine fuel, which he then burns to generate water for the plants.
NASA eventually discovers that Watney is alive whensatellite images of the landing site show evidence of his activities; NASA personnel begin devising ways to rescue him, but withhold the news of his survival from the rest of the Ares 3 crew, on their way back to Earth aboard theHermes spacecraft, so as not to distract them.
Watney plans to drive 3,235 km (2,010 mi) toSchiaparelli crater where the next mission, Ares 4, will land in four years and whose MAV is already pre-positioned. He begins modifying one of therovers for the journey, addingsolar cells and an additionalbattery. He makes a three-week test drive to recover part of thePathfinder lander andSojourner rover and brings it back to the Hab, enabling him to contact NASA. Mitch Henderson, the Ares 3 flight director, convinces NASA Administrator Teddy Sanders to allow him to inform the Ares 3 crew of Watney's survival; they are thrilled, except for Lewis, who is guilt‑stricken at leaving him behind.
The canvas at one of the Habairlocks tears because of Watney's repeated use of the same airlock, which was not designed for frequent and long‑term usage. This results in thedepressurization of the Hab and nearly kills him. He repairs the Hab, but his plants are dead, threatening him again with eventual starvation. Setting aside safety protocols to comply with time constraints, NASA hastily prepares an uncrewedprobe to send Watney supplies, but the rocket disintegrates afterliftoff. A deal with theChina National Space Administration provides a readybooster — planned for use with theTaiyang Shen, an uncrewed solar probe — to try again. With no time to build a probe with a soft-landing system, NASA is faced with the prospect of building acapsule whose cargo can survive crashing into the Martian surface at 300 meters per second (670 mph).
However,astrodynamicist Rich Purnell devises a"slingshot" trajectory around Earth for a gravity assist[8] that could getHermes back to Mars on a much-extended mission to save Watney, using the Chineserocket booster to send a simpler resupply probe toHermes as it passes Earth. Sanders vetoes the "Rich Purnell Maneuver", as it would entail risking the other crewmembers, but Henderson secretly emails the details toHermes. All five of Watney's crewmates approve the plan. Once they begin the maneuver, having disabled the remote overrides, NASA has no choice but to support them. The resupply ship docks withHermes successfully.
Watney resumes modifying the rover because the new rescue plan requires him to lift off from Mars in the Ares 4 MAV. While working on the rover, Watney accidentally shorts out the electronics ofPathfinder, losing the ability to communicate with Earth, except for spelling outMorse code with rocks for a one-way communication.
After Watney leaves for Schiaparelli, NASA discovers that adust storm is approaching his path, but has no way to warn him. The rover's solar cells will be less and less able to recharge, endangering both therendezvous and his immediate survival if there is not enough power to run his life-support equipment. While crossingArabia Terra, Watney becomes aware of the darkening sky and improvises a rough measurement of the storm's shape and direction of movement, enabling him to go around it.
Surviving a roverrollover on his descent into Schiaparelli, Watney reaches the MAV and reestablishes contact with NASA. He receives instructions on the radical modifications necessary to reduce the MAV's weight to enable it to interceptHermes during itsflyby. The modifications include removing the front of the MAV, which Watney has to cover with Habcanvas. After takeoff, the canvas tears, creating extradrag and leaving the MAV too low for the rendezvous.
Lewis hastily improvises a plan to intercept the MAV by firingHermes'attitude thrusters and then blowing a hole in the front airlock with an improvisedsugar-and-liquid-oxygen bomb, using the thrust from the escaping air to reduce speed. Beck, theHermes' EVA specialist, uses aManned Maneuvering Unit, MMU, on a tether to reach Watney and bring him back toHermes. In a final log entry, Watney expresses his joy at being rescued, reflecting on the human instinct to help those in need.
The major characters in the novel are:
Andy Weir, the son of aparticle physicist andelectrical engineer, has a background incomputer science. He began writing the book in 2009, researching related material so that it would be as realistic as possible and based on existing technology.[9] Weir had previously used the concept of humans stranded on Mars in hiswebcomicCasey and Andy.[a] Weir studied orbital mechanics, astronomy, and the history of human spaceflight.[10] He said he knows the exact date of each day in the book.[11] He specifically avoided physically describing the characters when not necessary for the plot.[12]
Having been rebuffed by literary agents when trying to get prior books published, Weir decided to put the book online in serial format one chapter at a time for free at his website. At the request of fans, he made anAmazon Kindle version available at 99 cents (the minimum allowable price he could set).[9] The Kindle edition rose to the top of Amazon's list of best-selling science-fiction titles, selling 35,000 copies in three months, more than had been previously downloaded free.[9][11] This garnered the attention of publishers: Podium Publishing, an audiobook publisher, signed for the audiobook rights in January 2013. Weir sold the print rights toCrown in March 2013 for over US$100,000.[9]
The book debuted on theNew York Times Best Seller list on March 2, 2014, in the hardcover fiction category at twelfth position[13] and remained on this list for four weeks[14] without going above eleventh position.[15] Thetrade paperback edition of the novel debuted onThe New York Times Best Seller list on November 16, 2014, in the paperback trade fiction category at eighth position.[16] It gradually rose to the top position for the week of June 28, 2015,[17] before dropping down to number two for nine weeks, during which it was displaced byE. L. James'Grey, before returning to the top position on September 6, 2015.[18]
The book remained continuously at the number one position for 12 weeks[19] before it was displaced on November 22, 2015, byNora Roberts'Stars of Fortune for two weeks.[20] The trade paperback returned to the top position for the third and final time on December 6, 2015,[21] for six weeks[22] before it was finally replaced on January 24, 2016.[23] The trade paperback's final appearance on the list occurred on April 24, 2016, 76 weeks after its debut in this category.[24] Overall, the trade paperback edition was on the top of itsNew York Times best seller category for a total of 19 out of 76 weeks that the edition was listed.
The Martian was published in print by Crown on February 11, 2014. There are significant textual changes between Weir's original self-published version and the Crown edition: profanity was reduced, spelling and grammatical errors were fixed, there were many minor stylistic changes, scientific errors were corrected, and a 263-word epilogue removed.[25] An audiobook edition, narrated byR. C. Bray and released by Podium Publishing, preceded the print release in March 2013 onAudible.com, and was later followed with an MP3 CD in association withBrilliance Audio. The audiobook was nominated and won anAudie Award (2014) in the Science Fiction category. A Classroom Edition, published by Broadway Books in May 2016, contains educational materials and removes profanity and also made further scientific corrections.[26][27] Audible released a new audiobook edition, narrated byWil Wheaton in January 2020, featuring several additional short tie-in stories written by Weir.[28]
In 2015, Andy Weir wrote a prequel short story toThe Martian, titled "Diary of an AssCan".[29]
A German publication of an interview with Andy Weir and survival tips for living on Mars was published in 2017, titled "Der Mars Survival Guide", tying into the novel and movie.[30]
In 2024, Weir releasedThe Martian: Lost Sols to celebrate 10 years since the first publication.[31]
According toBook Marks, based on five critic reviews, it received three "rave" and two "positive".[32] In a starred review,Publishers Weekly said that "Weir laces the technical details with enough keen wit to satisfy hard science fiction fan and general reader alike."[33]Kirkus Reviews calledThe Martian "Sharp, funny and thrilling, with just the right amount of geekery".[34]The Wall Street Journal called the book "the best pure sci-fi novel in years".[3]Entertainment Weekly gave the novel a grade of "B", describing it as "an impressively geeky debut novel" but saying Weir "stumbles with his secondary characters".[5]
USA Today ratedThe Martian three out of four stars, calling it "terrific stuff, a crackling good read" but noting that "Mark's unflappability, perhaps the book's biggest asset, is also its greatest weakness. He's a wiseacre with a tendency to steer well clear of existential matters."[35]Amazing Stories commented, "Andy Weir'sThe Martian will leave you as breathless as if you'd been dropped on the Martian surface without a suit".[36]
The Martian has been translated to over 45 languages[37] and some of those translations have won major awards. In 2015, the Japanese translation of the novel won theSeiun Award for Best Translated Long Story,[38] the Hebrew translation won theGeffen Award for Best Translated Science Fiction Novel,[39] and the Spanish translation won theIgnotus Awards for Best Foreign Novel.[40]
At the 2016Hugo Awards, Weir won theJohn W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer forThe Martian while the screenplay adapted from the novel additionally wonBest Dramatic Presentation, Long Form at the same event.[41]
Solanum watneyi, a species ofbush tomato from Australia, was named after the fictional botanist.[42][43][44] It is a member of the same genus as the potato,Solanum.
In March 2013, Twentieth Century Fox optioned the film rights, and hired screenwriterDrew Goddard to adapt and direct the film.[9][45] In May 2014, it was reported thatRidley Scott was in negotiations to direct an adaptation that would starMatt Damon as Mark Watney.[46] On September 3, 2014,Jessica Chastain joined the film as Commander Lewis.[47] The ensemble cast also includesKristen Wiig,Jeff Daniels,Michael Peña,Kate Mara,Sean Bean,Sebastian Stan, andChiwetel Ejiofor.[48] The film was released on October 2, 2015,[49] and became the 10th-highest-grossing film of the year.[50] The film has also been nominated for almost 200 awards and has won 40. The Martian was nominated for 9academy awards in 2016, though did not win any. These nominations include “Best Motion Picture,” “Best Adapted Screenplay,” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role.”[51]
On December 5, 2014, theOrion spacecraft took the cover page ofThe Martian script on the first test flight of the uncrewedExploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1). The script was launched atop aDelta IV Heavy on the flight lasting 4 hours and 24 minutes, landing at its target in the Pacific Ocean.[52]
In October 2015, NASA presented a new web tool to follow Watney's trek across Mars,[53] and details of NASA's next steps, as well as ahealth hazards report,[54][55] for a real-worldhuman journey to Mars.[56][57]
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