The Martian

This was an exceptionally interesting read for me, which I was very happy with considering I'm not one to lean towards science fiction. The Martian was definitely unique and intriguing with its premise, following an astronaut who is mistakingly left behind on Mars, lost in a storm after his fellow crewmates escape in their ship, assuming him to be dead. The whole novel focuses on how the astronaut, Mark Whatney, will find a way to survive in the remains of his base on Mars with limited resources and no way of contacting Earth or even letting anyone know he is alive. The novel really puts its more wild concepts into the realm of possibility, making it seem like something that could potentially happen in the future, especially with current day space exploration and similar true stories, such as the Apollo 13 mission. The novel really keeps the reader engaged with a ton of interesting problems for the protagonist to solve, without losing them in complex scientific language that would confuse the average reader, and theres a decent amount of humor that keeps the reader relaxed in a seemingly tense and delicate situation. The protagonist was enjoyable, and I found myself really rooting for him to succeed and solve all the precarious problems in creative and outlandish ways.

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