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  • The Martian

  • By: Andy Weir
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (5,871 ratings)

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The Martian cover art

The Martian

By: Andy Weir
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Summary

A brand-new production of Andy Weir’s modern sci-fi classic, narrated by the incomparable Wil Wheaton, and featuring bonus content from the writings of Mark Watney.

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?

Wil Wheaton, who has lent his voice to sci-fi blockbusters like Ready Player One and Redshirts, breathes new life (and plenty of sarcasm) into the iconic character of Mark Watney, making this edition a must-listen for both longtime fans of The Martian and new listeners alike.

BONUS MATERIAL: This edition includes the following extras:

  • “Diary of an AssCan” - Mark Watney, new astronaut
  • “I Made It!” - A happy letter to Mom
  • “Car Trouble” - A somewhat sad letter to Mom
  • “The Earthling” - A postscript. *Available for the first time in this recording
©2011, 2014, 2019 by Andy Weir (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Martian

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Just not as dynamic as the original release.

Whilst I've thoroughly enjoyed Wil Wheaton's narrations for other titles (Redshirts, Ready Player One, Armada) I felt this story didn't quite work. It felt like Wil Wheaton reading the story, and to me didn't have the depth of performance that R. C. Bray has in his performance.

If you haven't heard the original, then this will be fantastic... Its just not quite as good as the R. C. Bray performance

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140 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Bring back RC Bray

This book is one of my favourite however this version isn't anywhere close as good to the original. Do yourself a favour and get the RC Bray narrated version. Its immeasurably better in every way.

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134 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Oh, dear . . .

I'm a huge fan of The Martian, in any form, but this is a "no" from me.

I have nothing against Wil W, but what's the deal? He reads it like a robot. Hard to follow when he can't even be bothered to change the pitch of his voice between characters. There's no way to differentiate. He doesn't put any humanity into a very human story. I expected so much more from a pro actor.

This was a mistake. They should tried harder negotiating with RC Bray. Does that mean this version for 7 years now?

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70 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wil Wheaton Ruins The Martian

The Martian is one of my all time favourite books. I’ve read it a number of times and listened even more to the old version (that RC Bray narrated which used to be available on Audible).

I’ve enjoyed other books narrated by Wil Wheaton (eg Ready Player One) so when I saw that he’d worked his magic on The Martian, I couldn’t wait to hear it.

I really wish I hadn’t bothered as Wil clearly wasn’t. He sounds bored throughout and makes little effort to voice the characters or add emotion to the story.

After a couple of hours I had to give up. It’s an incredible book ruined by lazy narrating.

Listen to the RC Bray version instead. He really brings the book to life and does a great story justice in his performance.

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62 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Thank god they changed the performer

I always wanted to read this book but I could not stand the performer of the last version on Audible. Perfectly & brilliantly performed by Wil Wheaton really brings the characters to life. Going to buy some more books he has read.

If you loved the film you will find the book A LOT better & funnier with a more explanation that the movie left out!

Don’t hesitate you won’t regret it!

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Detailed. The story never drags.

Some reviews have said they didn't enjoy Wil Wheaton's performance but I have to disagree. Granted, I never heard the R.C. Bray version but I think Wil can portray plenty of sarcasm and sass, which really suited Watney while also performing strongly in more serious moments.

You don't need to read my review to know how great the story is, but I'll tell you anyway. The story is freaking GREAT!

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Epic book, read exceptionally well

Loved this. One of my favourite books, read brilliantly by Wil Wheaton. Watney's irony is almost tangible. Highly amusing.

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13 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • r
  • 16-08-20

Wil Wheaton Kills the Dynamic Nature of This

I bought this version to complement my copy of the original audiobook. It doesn't complement anything: Wheaton's lazy performance insults us, the listener and the author's source material. Monotonous and lacklustre.

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10 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Totally loved it

Such a good book. Rarely do I find one I want to keep listening to at all times. Wil Wheatons reading was great and really fit the character.
Really really loved it. Thank you.
Also smallest son loved the snippets he caught so just bought him the swearing free kids book.

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9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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very good.

loved the book and the way it was read. as an audible book it was brilliant.

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8 people found this helpful

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  • L. Newman
  • 11-01-20

I love Wil Wheaton but why not R. C. Bray?

Hey, Audible! You had a perfect version of this already recorded by R. C. Bray. I like Wheaton, but frankly his reading pales in comparison to Bray. And now we can't even buy that version. :(

Seriously, folks. Find a CD of Bray's reading. It is awesome.

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1,365 people found this helpful

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  • Alexander
  • 14-01-20

Sorry Wil

Sorry Wil, I’m a big fan but this ain’t it. Wil struggles to vocally differentiate characters, and his accent for Vogel is terrible. It’s a great book and I enjoyed the movie. But now I think I have to listen to the original recording to get Wil’s version out of my head

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637 people found this helpful

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  • Gigi
  • 19-01-20

Wrong Narrator for this book

I hate to say it but Wheaton is the wrong narrator for this book Do not misunderstand I love Wheaton as a narrator in general. His narration of ready player one was spot on. His voice in my opinion is too young for the character in this book. RC Bray's voice was much better suited. Also, I really had a hard time deciphering one character from the other. Wheaton's characters all sound pretty much the same throughout the book

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  • Joel Cagle
  • 07-01-20

What a slap to R.C. Bray's face!

I will start by saying I tend to like Will Wheaton. I listen to RPO at least once a month, not to mention all the John Scalzi books I listen to, that he has narrated. That being said, this performance was awful. He reads the book at you, he does not perform it. To me, it is like when Alexa reads me a book (try it, ask Alexa to read an ebook you bought from Amazon.....I dare you!). The story is an AMAZING one. Andy Weir knocked this book out of the park! I can't say enough about this AS A BOOK, but I feel like the people raving about this version have never heard an audiobook before. I can't see how anyone can prefer this version, when compared to the job R.C. Bray did. If I were him I would be livid! Turns out he's a better man than I am. the truth is, this disaster of a recording came about because of money. The audio rights with Podium Publishing ended (audio rights usually last 7 years), and it turns out that Audible bought the audio rights to the book, but not the performance commissioned by Podium. So they would need to re-record it. To be fair Audible did ask Bray to record the book again, but apparently weren't willing to pay him what he is worth. So now, not only do we have a lesser product, we can't even get our hands on the original anymore. Audible really dropped the ball on this one, and all because of a couple bucks.

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  • James Cannady
  • 17-01-20

Wil Wheaton phones it in

The previous narrator was much better. Why re-record this? Because they got Wil Wheaton? He doesn’t even attempt to create different voices for different characters. It’s like listening to Wil Wheaton read the book in his head. The book is better than the movie but both are better than this audio book. Very disappointing

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  • daniel
  • 25-02-20

Bring back RC Bray

Wil Wheaton fails at this narration! I loved Wil in Ready Player One and Redshirts but Wil struggles in this book. I listened to The Martian on CD years ago and it was one of my favorite audiobooks but now I am disappointed. I will admit that Wils narration breathes a bit more sarcasm into Watney but his overall tone fails to capture the struggle that Watney goes though. On top of that, Wil's ethnic accents are terrible and he does not clearly differentiate other characters, throughout the entire narration I had difficultly identifying which character was supposed to be talking. The Martian is a great scify book and i would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the exploration of our universe, but this audiobook is a husk of what it used to be.

I actually want a refund because when i purchased this audiobook i thought i was getting the RC Bray version that i used to have on CD. Please audible, at least bring back the RC Bray version to let the listeners choose.

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  • Chelsea
  • 23-01-20

Horrible performance

I literally downloaded this app so I could listen to this audio of one of my favorite books. I listened to half of it but Wil Wheaton's performance is so painfully bad that I am giving up. He doesn't even try to change his voice. In the chapters with multiple characters it is a hot mess.

I found a copy with the original narrator online that I am going to steam instead. It'll be a hassle but at least it will be worth listening to.

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407 people found this helpful

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  • Technical_User
  • 29-01-20

Wil Wheaton ruins this book.

I've never read the book and decided to listen to it on my drive to work. The narration is so unpleasant to listen to, and ruins what is probably an enteraining story.

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  • Andrew Hillyer
  • 07-01-20

I'm really disappointed with this new addition

I have never listen to a Wil Wheaton before but I have heard good things and "Ready player one" has a sample that makes him sound really good. I was pretty excited to get this book because the original with R.C. Bray was phenomenal. I listen to that book proble 5 times now. I was looking for a new experience but what I got was a great book turned dull with the monotone and the lack of character voice changes. I really hope this book gets better. I'm even considering returning the $5 book so far. I hope the bonus material is worth it. Who'm I kidding. Andy Weir won't disappoint.

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278 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Eric W Hollomon
  • 18-01-20

Why a new version?

Wil is awesome but R.C. Bray’s version is sop darn good. I am not clear why a new narrator was needed.

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