It started with the dust storm that holed his suit and nearly killed him, and that forced his crew to leave him behind, sure he was already dead. Now he's stranded millions of miles from the nearest human being, with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his food would be gone years before a rescue mission 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 get 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. But will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?
Hey Here's my review.
The science fiction bit is just the fact that people are travelling to Mars, which hasn't happened yet. It's not all about little green men. There is a fair bit of scientific talk, but it is generally summarised in layman's terms - you don't need to understand all the scientific concepts to enjoy the book. The science fiction is the setting but it is the suspense that drives the story.
My favourite aspect of the book was all the sarcastic humour - mostly from Mark. I laughed so many times. Some of my favourite quotes:
“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”It is being made into a movie starring Matt Damon, due to be released later this year.
“They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially ‘colonised’ it. So technically, I colonised Mars.
In your face, Neil Armstrong!”
“The screen went black before I was out of the airlock. Turns out the “L” in “LCD” stands for “Liquid.” I guess it either froze or boiled off. Maybe I’ll post a consumer review. “Brought product to surface of Mars. It stopped working. 0/10.”
★★★★★
- Where: Local library
- Format: paperback
| 