The Martian

[The Martian]

WEIR, Andy

Year:

2011

Type:

Fiction

Public:

Generic

Publisher:

Ballantine Books

Year of publication:

2014

Pages:

384

Moral assessment:

Type: Literature

Nothing inappropriate.

Some morally inappropriate content.

Contains significant sections contrary to faith or morals.

Contains some lurid passages, or presents a general ideological framework that could confuse those without much Christian formation.

Contains several lurid passages, or presents an ideological framework that is contrary or foreign to Christian values.

Explicitly contradicts Catholic faith or morals, or is directed against the Church and its institutions.

Literary quality:

Recommendable:

Transmits values:

Sexual content:

Violent content:

Vulgar or obscene language:

Ideas that contradict Church teaching:

The rating of the different categories comes from the opinion of Delibris' collaborators

"The Martian" is a science fiction novel about Mark Whatney, an american astronaut stranded in Mars after his crew are forced to evacuate their landing site. The novel tells the story of Whatney’s quest for survival and NASA’s plan to bring him back home. It is entertaining, thrilling and action packed. There is substantial coarse language and passing references to the astronaut’s agnosticism. There are also brief references in which the protagonists consider the possibility of euthanasia under extreme circumstances.

J.P.H. (Australia, 2015)

Other review

Moral Assessment:

Robinson Crusoe of the Space Age, or Apollo 13 on Mars. Mark Watney, a NASA astronaut, has been left behind on the red planet, by accident. Thinking he had been killed in a dreadful martian dust storm, his five colleagues abandon their planned stay on the planet, and lift off out of danger, without him. After a while he regains consciousness, and finds out he is alone! The book is a great read, especially if someone is technically inclined. The author maintains a high level of excitement for most of the book with well-timed twists. He aims to make his story appear technically realistic (…). The most positive features of the story are the hope which motivates the main character and the willingness of other people to do all they can to rescue him. The author does briefly hint at the moral issues involved in spending vast amounts of money and delaying scientific research in order to rescue one human person. His conclusion seems to be that this altruism is natural to human beings (…) There is a lot of swearing in this novel (…). In addition there are some sexual references made by the characters; no immoral descriptions, simply banter between the characters. This spoils what otherwise is a well-told story. (…)

F.C. (UK, 2015)