The Martian

How it reads

The Martian is science fiction (hard science fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in the wilderness or at sea, in the future, told in the third person, staying close to one character. Its central concerns are survival and identity. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 369 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's a mega-bestseller — the book everyone seems to have read.