{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260414T161624Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553418025?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0553418025","authors":["Andy Weir"],"book_id":"9780553418026","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780553418026","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780553418026.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","description":"#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE A mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” ( Chicago Tribune ). “Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”— The Wall Street Journal Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him? NAMED ONE OF PASTE ’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE “As gripping as they come . . . You’ll be rooting for Watney the whole way, groaning at every setback and laughing at his pitchblack humor. Utterly nail-biting and memorable.” — Financial Times","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780553418026","publication_date":"20141028","publisher":"Random House Publishing Group","slug":"the-martian","subtitle":"A Novel","title":"The Martian"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"FIC028130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Space Exploration Fiction","score":0.7488,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Hard Sci-Fi","score":0.7414,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028070","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic","score":0.7348,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"FIC028130","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Space Exploration Fiction","score":0.7488,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Hard Sci-Fi","score":0.7414,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028070","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic","score":0.7348,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"FIC028010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Sci-Fi Adventure","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"FIC028020","confidence_band":"high","label":"Hard Sci-Fi","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"FIC030000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Suspense","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Space Exploration Fiction","score":0.7488,"slug":"space-exploration-fiction"},{"label":"Hard Sci-Fi","score":0.7414,"slug":"hard-sci-fi"},{"label":"Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic","score":0.7348,"slug":"apocalyptic-post-apocalyptic"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in survival stories and human ingenuity","Good for fans of realistic science fiction and space exploration"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Andy Weir"],"book_id":"9780553448146","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780553448146.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":20.0323,"title":"Artemis","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780553448146"},{"authors":["Andy Weir"],"book_id":"9780593135228","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780593135228.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":18.8575,"title":"Project Hail Mary","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780593135228"},{"authors":["Kim Stanley Robinson","Jennifer Fitzgerald","Fajer Al-Kaisi","Ramon de Ocampo"],"book_id":"9780316300148","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780316300148.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":16.3609,"title":"The Ministry for the Future","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780316300148"},{"authors":["Frank Herbert"],"book_id":"9781625589019","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781625589019.jpg?v=20260414T161624Z%3A2026-04-14T16%3A16%3A24Z","score":15.8675,"title":"Operation Haystack","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781625589019"},{"authors":["Arthur C. 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