5/3

Okay, I chose a book to write about from Amazon's best of science fiction and fantasy list. Because that's my bread and butter. It's what I'm comfortable with. What did I choose?

The Martian.

This book has been HUGELY popular and the movie staring Matt Damon is coming out soon. What is so fantastic about this book? The details, mainly. Andy Weir is a former particle engineer. He wrote this book in his spare time wondering how a person would be able to survive on Mars on their own with an approximation of today's technology. Weir details how to grow crops in soil that has never grown crops before. One of the more disgusting yet informative pieces of information he gives is about why exactly it is that human waste, while full of the things needed for plant growth, is not generally considered a fertilizer while at the same time explaining that those issues don't matter when you're consuming plants grown with your own manure. Most importantly, Weir make the reader feel for the main character. You bond with Mark Watney as he works to survive and escape Mars so that he can come home. You feel every bump and bruise he takes. And you also feel for those who accidentally left him behind and those who are working around the clock to make sure he comes home. It is a stunning book full of detail, a dangerous and yet not frightening setting, and a main character whose irreverent attitude toward, well, everything, keeps the pace up. The movie has a lot to live up to.
So the question is why does it appeal and to whom? Well there's the human aspect of the story. It is a pretty important aspect. Mark Watney is a man trapped alone on another planet all by himself. If this were to actually happen, he would be the most isolated person ever. Alone with no one to talk to for over a year but himself. And yet, he manages to stay sane. Well, as sane as an astronaut can be. What makes it appealing to virtually everybody is not just how technically correct it is, but also how it makes you think what would happen to you in that situation. Or any situation where you are trapped alone by yourself. How would you cope? The broad appeal comes from the fact that everyone can relate to it, even if they've never been to Mars.