The Martian by Andy Weir has got to be one of the best books I've read (or rather listened to) in a while. It follows a crew of astronauts who go on a mission to Mars. Whilst on Mars, a storm hits and they have to go back to Earth early. Whilst all of this was taking place, one of the crew members got in an accident and everyone thought he had died (I won't talk about those things because I don't want to spoil anything). So the crew left without him, and thus begins the story of survival of this lucky son of a gun because by some miracle, he survived even though he shouldn't have. 

When you think about the scenario that this book is based around, you'd think that the story would be quite dark and sad at times, but this is where you're in for a surprise. The main character has such a brilliant and remarkable sense of humour, I'm not even kidding I laughed out loud a number of times. In a situation like the one he is in, to be able to joke about things and just in general remain calm and collected would be insanely hard, yet he did it so naturally. I'm in awe of this guy for the fact that he remained sane (because I sure as hell wouldn't have). 

This book is incredibly well researched and detailed. There is a lot of technical stuff that our main character explains, but he talked about them in a very simplified way so that everyone would be able to understand, without making it too simple. I wouldn't have wanted to be treated as if I'm, the reader, am stupid. That was very nice, and bravo to Mr Weir because that is a very fine line, and he balanced it very well. 

Also, I would like to add that listening to all of that science and technical stuff is probably a lot easier than having to actually read it yourself, because I can imagine it becoming hard to read all of that information as there is a lot of it. Also our narrator, R. C. Bray, is perfect for bringing this book to life. 

If you think this is something you'd be interested in, I highly recommend you give this one a go. You won't regret it. 

Five out of five stars. 

Em