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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 just finished reading “The Martian” by Andy Weir, and it is great!

Told mostly in the first person in the form of daily logs, “The Martian” is a story of survival on the red planet. Six days into a 31 day mission on the surface, a dust storm forces the crew of the Ares 3 to abort and evacuate, unknowingly leaving a single crew-member behind, thinking him dead. Botanist and engineer Mark Watney is stranded, alone, on Mars … no one knows he’s still alive, he has no way of contacting Earth, and the next manned mission won’t arrive for four years. He has food, water, shelter … 6 persons’ worth for 31 sols. How will he last over 1,400 sols until Ares 4 arrives?

Take some Mars SF novels (like “Red Mars“), mix in a healthy dose of Mark’s irreverent personality and snarky sense of humor, throw in a little MacGyver, “Survivor,” “Cast Away,” and “Apollo 13,” some chemistry and astrophysics and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what a fun read “The Martian” is. Considering his dire situation, Mark always seems to be in good spirits and some of his one-liners made me laugh out loud.

As I was reading it I was constantly thinking “this would be a great movie.” Well, of course there’s going to be … next year. Ridley Scott and Matt Damon. Hope it’s as good as the book.