The Martian (Weir novel)
2011 science fiction novel by Andy Weir
The Martian is a 2011 science fiction debut novel written by Andy Weir. The book was originally self-published on Weir's blog as a serial. In 2014, the book was re-released after Crown Publishing Group purchased the exclusive publishing rights. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in 2035 and must improvise in order to survive.
A film adaptation, The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, was released in October 2015.
Plot summary
In the year 2035, the crew of NASA's Ares 3 mission have arrived at Acidalia Planitia for a month-long stay on Mars. After only six sols, a wind storm threatens to topple their Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV), which would trap them on the planet. During the evacuation, an antenna tears loose and impales astronaut Mark Watney, a botanist and engineer, also disabling his spacesuit radio and life signs monitoring system. He is flung out of sight by the wind and presumed dead. As the MAV teeters dangerously, mission commander Melissa Lewis has no choice but to take off without completing the search for Watney.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Martian (Weir novel)” as 2011 science fiction novel by Andy Weir. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 2011 science fiction novel by Andy Weir. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q17111624. VIAF identifies the subject as 314763606. 1 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2011, 2014, 2035 and 2015.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “The Martian (Weir novel)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.