Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
Andy Weir built a two-decade career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full-time. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of such subjects as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail. He lives in California.
Andy Weir's website
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So it seems you're a bit of a science geek. You list space travel, orbital dynamics, relativistic physics, astronomy, and the history of manned spaceflight among your interests. How did you incorporate these passions into your debut novel The Martian?
Those interests allowed me to come up with the story in the first place. I love reading up on current space research. At some point I came up with the idea of an astronaut stranded on Mars. The more I worked on it, the more I realized I had accidentally spent my life researching for this story. Early on, I decided that I would be as scientifically accurate as possible. To a nerd like me, working out all the math and physics for Mark's problems and solutions was fun.
In one sentence, tell us what your novel is all about.
It's the story of an astronaut trying to survive after being accidentally left behind on Mars.
Explain how the science in The Martian is true to life.
The basic structure of the Mars program in the book is very similar to a plan called "Mars Direct" (though I made changes here and there). It's the most likely way that we will have our first Mars mission in real life. All the facts about Mars are accurate, as well as the physics of ...
Caroline Alexander was born in Florida, of British parents and has lived in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean. She studied philosophy and theology at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar and has a doctorate in classics from Columbia ... (more)
If you enjoyed:
The Martian
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The Endurance
by Caroline Alexander
Poul Anderson (1926-2001) was born in Pennsylvania of Scandanavian lineage. He received a degree in physics from the University of Minnesota in 1948, and his solid grasp of physics and science lent his books more credibility... (more)
If you enjoyed:
Project Hail Mary
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Starfarers
by Poul Anderson
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