Andy Weir got two things right in this book: 1) the importance of scientific and technical accuracy (or at least plausibility) to the plot; and 2) the well-managed suspense throughout the story.

The book is worth reading for those two reasons. I gave it a four-star rating with great hesitation, because beyond that, this is a pretty flat book.

It amazes me how it is possible for an author to strand a man alone on a distant, alien planet and be so completely uninterested in both the internal existential terror that this man ought to feel as well as the external appearance and environment of the desert-planet of Mars.

Instead, Mark Watney, the main character, is an annoying smart-ass with a sense of humour that tires you after the first few sentences.

Apart from a few token sentences towards the end, Watney has no real emotions, no fear. He has the ironic, sarcastic detachment to his plight of an american sit-com character. The author may well have intended this (there is an aside from a psychologist of how Watney's psychological make-up and sense of humour is why he makes a great astronaut) but it feels like a waste of a great premise for human drama.

Mars, also, is a cardboard character. There are barely any descriptions of the terrain, of the sky, of the environment. Watney might as well be stranded in a vast parking lot. Again, a waste of a great premise.

In short, an enjoyable book - but not a particularly great one.