The Martian: The Science Fiction of Next Week

What I found most interesting about The Martian was how it seemed to be one of the most plausible sci-fi books I've ever read. Rather than being set far off in the distant future, the technology of The Martian seems to be set sometime within the next 50 years, veering much closer to speculative fiction than real sci-fi. Discussions of space missions to Mars have been talked about heavily for the past couple years and that seems to be where the next frontier will be for the human race. 

Science Fiction that's more in the range of Star Trek or Star Wars honestly veers a bit more fantasy in the way the science is explained away as being too advance to understand and working much more like magic than anything else. Andy Weir takes the time to try to explain the science. While it's definitely a little fictitious in some areas to explain away things that have not yet been proven to be possible, it is based on a factual foundation of knowledge that gives the story more weight and believability. About a third of the book is focused on explain the science as it pushes the plot forward. The second page is an in depth explanation of the functions behind a space mission to Mars. Mark pushes onward to survive using only his scientific knowledge and whit to MacGyver his survival on Mars such as creating new water using an explosive reaction, or by growing his own food with a small plant sample and botany knowledge. Science is a huge plot mechanism. 

While this book is definitely sci-fi it often reads more like an adventure book. I know the driving intrigue for me and many others rested in watching as Mark got creative to try to insure his survival. It's almost falls more in line with survival shows I remember from the discovery channel or the movie castaway just with a bit more scientific elements thrown in to make it different. It's a introspective character study into how a man is able to overcome the odds and brace himself through intense isolation and hopelessness. After all the format is that of a log journal, leading way for a focus on emotional drama. I think Andy Weirs ability to mix the best of different genres together is what made this book as well as the movie that was eventually made so appealing to so many. I think this was a trait of the modern trend to blur genre lines in favor of making the best work of writing possible. 

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