The Martian

Andy Weir's debut novel follows Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded alone on Mars after a storm forces his crew to abandon him. The narrative is driven by Watney's first-person voice, which blends dry, self-deprecating humor with a relentless, technical focus on survival. Rather than relying on dramatic action, the story unfolds through the protagonist's detailed application of engineering, botany, and chemistry to solve immediate life-support problems, from growing potatoes to repairing his habitat.

Description adapted from Open Library ↗.