Message reads: 'Houston, be advised: Rich Purnell is a steely-eyed missile man. - Andy Weir, The Martian Whether youve seen the film or not and whether you enjoyed it or not, go out, right now, and buy this book. If youre reading a book already, I dont care, throw it away and read this one instead. I say this because I firmly believe every man and his dog would enjoy reading The Martian. That goes double If you like science. Its funny, its sad, its exciting - its quite frankly an emotional roller coaster. Not only that, despite being set on Mars, the constant cycle of ecstasy and devastation that this book contains speaks volumes to anyone here on Earth as well. It turns out that trying to survive on the Martian planet somehow draws some pretty substantial parallels with our everyday lives. But in the context of science, this book shows that the frontier of discovery is still as raw and harsh as it has ever been. Mark Watney, the main protagonist, is in a constant equilibrium between discovery and danger, yet uses knowledge and engineering to keep himself alive. The frontier of science, although portrayed as relatively clinical and clean, is actually brutal and contains the chilly embrace of constant failure. Yet, scientists do it for that hit of discovery and will continue to do so for years to come. Anyway, stop reading this article. Youve got some books to buy.
