The Martian
The Martian by Andy Weirby Andy Weir
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 22 of 179 science fiction novels by recommenders
Gripping, humorous survival story about an astronaut stranded on Mars, with careful science that people say is well done. Critics find the technical detail makes parts dry.
Gripping, humorous survival story about an astronaut stranded on Mars, with careful science that people say is well done. Critics find the technical detail makes parts dry.
23 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 11 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good, enjoyable read
“The Martian was a very good read in my 12th grade.”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Books mentioned on Hacker News in 2025” “I've had good success with The Martian.”
Comment from 18 Mar 2026 in “Rob Pike's 5 Rules of Programming” “it was sooo good in the book!”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “The mysterious black fungus from Chernobyl that may eat radiation” Detailed, interesting science and technology
“because I believe the technology and culture depicted in the setting is interesting”
Comment from 19 Mar 2026 in “Warranty Void If Regenerated” “The Martian was well adapted as the story has an attention to scientific details”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “The mysterious black fungus from Chernobyl that may eat radiation” Fans compare it to Project Hail Mary
“I second Ender's Game, The Martian, and Project Hail Mary.”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “Isaac Asimov: The Last Question” “honestly The Martian and Project Hail Mary were tempting”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “DeepSeek-V4-Flash Update”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Technical detail makes it dry
“I heard the Martian is extremely dry because it's all technical descriptions”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” “turns into a technical manual”
Comment from 24 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Books mentioned on Hacker News in 2025”
Other science fiction novels people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Project Hail Maryby Andy Weir | 117 | 24 | 83% | 12 | — | Approved |
| There Is No Antimemetics Divisionby qntm | 98 | 34 | 74% | 9 | 1.5 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| Blindsightby Peter Watts | 96 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Duneby Frank Herbert | 82 | 25 | 77% | 12 | — | Approved |
| The Martianby Andy WeirThis page | 21 | 2 | 91% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
20 of the 25 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“There's been a resurgence of that in contemporary big budget SF.”
“The Martian also had a 2nd disk with great special features”
“There's humor, problem solving, blowing up historic space hardware with a short circuit.”
“I heard the Martian is extremely dry because it's all technical descriptions”
“I was hoping for more The Martian. I might just read The Martian again instead”
“the whole plot in "The Martian" about these esoteric things he had to do to just get water was just based on ignorance”
“honestly The Martian and Project Hail Mary were tempting”
“I enjoyed the books more than than the movies”
“almost captured these but not quite”
“I second Ender's Game, The Martian, and Project Hail Mary.”
“because I believe the technology and culture depicted in the setting is interesting”
“I've had good success with The Martian.”
“turns into a technical manual”
“The Martian was a very good read in my 12th grade.”
“the Martian to be this in a good way”
“some of the book associations are wrong”
“It’s obvious from the first chapter why it was picked up for a movie.”
“They are still out there though.”
“The Martian was well adapted as the story has an attention to scientific details”
“it was sooo good in the book!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.