WEEK NINE: The Martian by Andrew Weir (5 )

 I honestly enjoyed reading The Martian. Part of it is because I like science fiction and all the exploration, explanation and how I learn more about science through these books. Another reason why this was a good read for me is that there was not that much romance in it that distracts from the plot. And finally, the character development. I grew fond of Mark Watney because Andy Weir makes the reader spend days with Mark on Mars and walks through every step. Right before I thought the meticulous attention to the detail will make the book boring Mark’s sense of humor and introduction to his personality changed that thought. Mark is the main protagonist and focus of the book, although there are other characters but they almost blur in the crowd as Mark takes most of the “screen time”. 

The only person left behind on Mars is a botanist, and I think that if any other member of the crew was left behind they could not survive. First, there is an impression that Mark will survive on the food they had for the crew and there is no hope after that. Although the area is packed with technology but there is no good from it if he starves to death.  However, being a botanist and engineer, Mark overcomes these challenges and starts inventing new ways to get food and water while recording logs at the same time and walking through the process and failures. As the story progresses the idea of a return to the Earth becomes more and more plausible and Mark grows as a character as well. Mark also becomes appealing due to his qualities, such as, never giving up and always putting the plank higher and keep going by ignoring the failures and learning from them.  Although even Mark does not blame his crew members, deep in my heart I blamed them for leaving him there and thinking he was dead without even seeing the body. Hopefully, they become the ones that save him. The story starts with a very calm tone and as it develops it intensifies into climax it becomes more tense and breathtaking as the life of Mark is at stake. Overall it was an interesting read and I would have enjoyed it more if everything would not have reminded me of the SpaceX contract with Turkey we are fighting to cancel that may have disastrous consequences.