Book · 2011
The Martian
by Andy Weir
A botanist gets left for dead on Mars and has to grow food on a planet that wants him gone, one duct-taped fix at a time.
What does Reddit think of The Martian?
The Martian carries real weight on r/printSF, 1706 of its 2737 mentions, with r/suggestmeabook adding another 969 and r/Fantasy barely present at 62. When Fantasy does bring it up, it's mostly a Sean Bean joke: "If we look at Sharpe, LOTR, GOT, and The Martian, I think it's quite clear what a successful book to screen adaptation needs" (↑292). suggestmeabook readers fold it into general best-of lists next to A Gentleman in Moscow and Circe, treating it as broadly likable rather than niche hard SF (↑146). The tone gets a real hedge, though: one reader says it "had me crying with laughter in some places" before adding it's "maybe not ideal if you want something which is exclusively funny," since the survival stakes are genuinely serious (↑103). Andy Weir's whole subsequent career now gets summarized by this book alone, one commenter picked up Project Hail Mary knowing only "the guy who wrote the Martian" (↑92). Mentions peaked at 485 in 2021 and have eased since, down to 352 in 2025.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · comedy over real stakes
- · Andy Weir's calling-card book
- · crossover beyond hard SF
- · Sean Bean adaptation joke
Common praise
- + One reader says it 'had me crying with laughter in some places' while still landing the serious survival stuff (↑103, r/suggestmeabook).
- + Andy Weir's reputation now rests on it; one commenter picked up Project Hail Mary knowing nothing except 'the guy who wrote the Martian' (↑92).
- + r/suggestmeabook folds it into general best-of lists next to literary fiction like A Gentleman in Moscow and Circe without friction (↑146).
Common criticism
- − The humor is uneven enough that one reader flags it's 'maybe not ideal if you want something which is exclusively funny' (↑103).
- − r/Fantasy barely touches it, 62 mentions, and when it does, the angle is Sean Bean adaptation trivia, not the novel's prose (↑292).
- − Mentions have been sliding since a 2021 peak of 485 down to 352 in 2025.
Who it's for
Reach for this when you want science fiction that's funny without abandoning real stakes, per the reader who says it had them 'crying with laughter' alongside genuinely serious survival stuff. r/suggestmeabook slots it next to literary fiction like A Gentleman in Moscow, so it travels outside hard-SF circles fine. Skip it if you came in expecting nonstop jokes; the survival math is played straight.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Martian?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“If we look at Sharpe, LOTR, GOT, and The Martian, I think it’s quite clear what a successful book to screen adaptation needs: Sean Bean.
“*Is* science fiction vanishing? If so, this article does a terrible job at evidencing such. The fact 12% of readers read science fiction seems quite healthy, and equivalent to other genres. There's no indication whether this percentage is higher or lower than in the past. The fact that in Dec '2…
“75 - The Echo Wife, by Sarah Gailey 74 - The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal 73 - Redshirts, by John Scalzi 72 - Beautyland, by Marie-Helene Bertino 71 - The Ten Percent Thief, by Lavanya Lakshminarayan 70 - Midnight Robber, by Nalo Hopkinson 69 - Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson 68 …
“**A Gentleman in Moscow** by *Amor Towles* **Circe** by *Madeline Miller* **A Man Called Ove** by *Fredrik Backman* **The Martian** by *Andy Weir* **The Ocean at the End of the Lane** by *Neil Gaimen*
“Speaking of *Six of Crows* specifically, I've heard that Leigh Bardugo originally wrote it as an adult novel, then was pressured by the publisher into making the characters younger, specifically so it could be marketed as Young Adult. So this revision is actually restoring the author's original inte…
“100% ebook. I do arctic exploration. I used to have to choose a single book to take with me, due to bulk and weight. In order to not risk being stuck in a tent on the tundra with a dud, I'd end up rereading things I knew I already liked. I reread Lord of the Rings almost annually because of this. Wi…
“Honestly, the Martian by Andy Weir had me crying with laughter in some places. Obviously there are also serious aspects, so maybe not ideal if you want something which is exclusively funny
“Project Hail Mary. I had zero spoilers or expectations other than "the guy who wrote the Martian" and it took off running.
Convinced? Pick up The Martian
Readers also mention
All books like The Martian →Books that share discussion threads with The Martian — counted from the comments, not curated.
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
A high-school teacher wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of how he got there and one job left: save Earth.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)
Martha Wells
A security robot hacks its own governor module, gains free will, and spends its days streaming soap operas instead of killing anyone.
Children of Time
Adrian Tchaikovsky
A terraforming experiment goes wrong, a nanovirus lands on spiders instead of monkeys, and evolution builds a civilization nobody planned for.
Dune
Frank Herbert
A duke's son survives his family's betrayal on a desert planet and becomes the prophet who leads its people to war.
Hyperion
Dan Simmons
Seven pilgrims journey toward a monster that grants one wish and kills everyone else, and each tells the story of why they came.
Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
A six-year-old is drafted into a war academy that trains him to command a fleet, and he doesn't find out what he actually did until it's over.
The Martian — frequently asked
Is The Martian actually funny?+
Yes, with a caveat. One reader says it 'had me crying with laughter in some places,' but immediately adds it's 'maybe not ideal if you want something which is exclusively funny,' since the survival stakes stay genuinely serious (↑103, r/suggestmeabook). It's comedy layered over real danger, not a straight comedy.
Do you need to read The Martian before Project Hail Mary?+
Not technically, but Reddit treats Weir's reputation as inseparable from it. One commenter picked up Project Hail Mary knowing nothing except 'the guy who wrote the Martian' (↑92) and says that was enough of a recommendation on its own.
Is The Martian popular outside hard science fiction readers?+
Yes, r/suggestmeabook folds it into general best-of lists next to literary fiction like A Gentleman in Moscow and Circe (↑146), and it holds 969 mentions there against 1706 on r/printSF. It crosses over further than r/Fantasy engagement, just 62 mentions, would suggest.
Why do people bring up Sean Bean when talking about The Martian?+
Because of its film adaptation. One r/Fantasy comment lists The Martian alongside Sharpe, Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones to argue 'what a successful book to screen adaptation needs: Sean Bean' (↑292), a joke about his casting track record, not a comment on the novel itself.