From the Stacks: "The Martian' resurrects stranded-on-Mars thriller

"The Martian" is nothing new. Astronauts land on Mars, something goes wrong, problem must be fixed. Yet, from the start, this book is fresh and different.

Andy Weir's book was initially published online and later in hard print, and this October, it will become a major motion picture starring Matt Damon.

I enjoyed this book because it had all the aspects of hard science fiction. As we learn how our character, Watney, is stranded on Mars in a storm and presumed dead, his crewmates head for the nearest space station. He survives and must use all of his skills to survive. Weir takes mathematical and scientific concepts and weaves them into a tale that makes the reader never want to put the book down. Being a talented botanist and engineer, Watney keeps logs explaining what he must do to survive and whether his ideas worked. His task is daunting. Many chapters with Watney proceed before other characters come into play.

The other characters, astronauts at the space station, think their friend and coworker is dead. Then there are people back on Earth who must decide Watney's fate. Each character plays his part well. Although the technical part of the book is impressive, it is the characters that keep you reading - especially Watney's character, as it is his story. I don't think I would have enjoyed the technical aspect if the characters were not so well written. Weir has written a book that is both entertaining and informative.

Brian Bray is IT specialist at Missouri River Regional Library.