Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.
Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive - and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills - and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit - he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this. It's pretty geeky in parts but also fascinating, and even the scientific bits were understandable enough to keep my interest. It was also an entertaining and suspenseful adventure story, even if milked for all it was worth in terms of things going wrong and challenges to surmount. I enjoyed the sections set on earth and onboard Hermes as much or more than those on Mars, as there are a number of interesting characters in the cast - it's not all about Mark. The look into both individual and group psychology was also well depicted. So it's not just all about the nerdy scientific stuff. Running along constantly beneath the day to day happenings is a solid depiction of determination, realistic optimism and resourcefulness.

Welcome to BookCrossing!


Hello and congratulations!  You have not only found yourself a good book, but a whole community of booklovers dedicated to sharing books with each other and the world at large.  I hope you'll stick around a bit and get to know BookCrossing - maybe even make a journal entry on this book.  You may choose to remain anonymous or to join (it's free!)  And if you do choose to join, I hope you'll tell them that crimson-tide referred you.  Feel free to read and keep this book, or to pass it on to a friend, or even set it free out "in the wild" for someone else to find like you did.  If you do choose to join, then you can watch the book as it travels - you'll be alerted by email each time someone makes another journal entry.  It's all completely confidential (you're known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your email address), free, and spam-free. 

I hope you enjoy BookCrossing as much as I do. Happy reading!