This was a spectacular and captivating book for anyone who enjoys survivals (me) and classic sci fi (me!). 

A fully believable and empty world with the mundane tasks of one person trying not to die. Mark makes for a very compelling and relatable protagonist in an unusual situation. 

I've read this book once, a long time ago, about the time when the movie came out, and I really, really liked it. I decided to pick it up again after coming upon it at my local bookstore, and re-reading it was just as easy and fun as I remembered. The Martian is an insanely quick read that keeps you entertained and invested from start to finish, even when you know how it all plays out. Weir's writing style is also excellent in this, both in the first-person POV chapters (Log Entries), and in the third-person observations of what happens on Earth parallel. I recommend this to anyone looking to get into reading Sci-Fi, since The Martian keeps its Sci-Fi pretty grounded and believable, or to anyone that is just looking to get (back) into reading.  Some things in the book rubbed me the wrong way and perhaps aged a bit poorly, but it's generally such a fun read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

The audiobook read by Wil Wheaton is fantastic, he is so evocative and involved in his reading. His reading legitimately adds to the experience of this book. 

Great book, reread it every once in a while. Bit of nostalgia in the rating, but I have a lot of good memories reading this for the first time during a difficult time in my life. Inspiring, helps you to look for solutions to problems. Definitely not for everyone, the humor and technical jargon can put some people off, but if you vibe with it you'll have a good time.

Shines in the 1st person chapters, which are realistic, easy to read and laugh-out-loud funny. In comparison the 3rd person sections come out oddly detached and occasionally clunky, though I'm not sure whether that's a deliberate attempt at scientific diction or a symptom of this being the author's first novel.