#5 in Science fiction
The Martian
- 408
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 40 weeks on the list, peaked at #1
- Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel
- Seiun Award for Best Translated Long Work
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Our view
A survival story told almost entirely through problem-solving: every crisis Mark Watney faces on Mars is answered with chemistry, botany and plenty of arithmetic, explained clearly enough for a lay reader. The jokey narration divides readers, and some find little inner life behind the wisecracks. It suits anyone who enjoys watching a clever plan come together; those who want character depth may tire of the numbers.
Worth knowing Andy Weir, then a software engineer, posted it chapter by chapter on his website, and readers wrote in to check his orbital mechanics and chemistry; he then sold it on Kindle for 99 cents before a major publisher picked it up. Mark Watney’s log entries are full of swearing, and a classroom edition without it exists for schools. Ridley Scott’s 2015 film with Matt Damon follows it closely.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Martian is a 2011 science fiction debut novel written by Andy Weir. The book was originally self-published on Weir's blog as a serial. In 2014, the book was re-released after Crown Publishing Group purchased the exclusive publishing rights. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in 2035 and must improvise in order to survive.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.9 across 6,086 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 98% of the weight and the score stays at 8.8 — the Science fiction average of 7.8 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.8 | 337 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.9 | 5.7K | 95% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Martian?
It has 408 pages — shorter than 60% of the ranked books in Science fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Science fiction — with scores between 8.8 and 8.9, closest to this book.
