Andy Weir’s novel, “The Martian,” is a survivor’s tale which begins with a series of expletives. Witty and heartfelt, the book draws you in with a bang and doesn’t leave you until the final, stirring pages. It’s a solid science-fiction work, well worth the merit of five out of five stars.

It starts like this: Mark Watney, the main character and chronicler of the story, in his words will, “…surely die here.” And as if the words of prophecy, he was right. Mark, botanist extraordinaire and a member of the NASA Ares 3 mission has been accidentally left for dead by his crew on Mars. But that’s not all—due to a space suit malfunction, the crew on Earth isn’t even aware that he’s alive.

Thus, his journey begins. Mourned by his family and friends on Earth, and forgotten on Mars, he has nothing but his wits and the little equipment he could scrounge up to survive. With impossible odds in mind, he creates a goal. To make it out alive, he must hold out until the next Mars mission arrives. Easy, right? Just sit and wait. But, sadly everything isn’t so simple—that next mission? It’s four years away. And Mark doesn’t have the food or water he needs to last.

Supplies aren’t the only thing he needs to worry about, Mars itself seemingly wants to kill him. With its thin atmosphere, pervasive radiation, and the troubling lack of communication with Earth, there are numerous ways for him to meet his end. If he runs out of food, he’ll starve. Run out of water? Die of dehydration. Take off his helmet? No oxygen.

So, like the famous Greek hero Odysseus, our windswept narrator must find a way home as the primeval forces of sun and earth threaten to end his journey, once and for all. At last—as he defies all conventional logic and decides to leave his only shelter—he perceives his task. It’s a straightforward one, really.

All he has to do is get in contact with NASA, travel the 3200 kilometers distance across the harsh terrain that makes up the red planet between him and rescue, and finally, cross an ocean of stars to the green planet which contains his whole world. As uncomplicated as it can be! Well, if you can ignore the planet-spanning sand storms, the lack of good transport, and the ever-looming food problem, that is.

“The Martian” is definitely a book that I can suggest to anyone looking for a short, funny read that’s full of memorable characters. The novel brings you in and really perches you next to Mark on that desolate wasteland of Mars and makes you think…what would I do? That reflective part of it is one of the things that made me love this story and give it the five out five stars that I did.