• The Martian

  • By: Andy Weir
  • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
  • Length: 10 hrs and 59 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (35,724 ratings)

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The Martian  By  cover art

The Martian

By: Andy Weir
Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
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Go Behind the Scenes of The Martian

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Publisher's 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.

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What listeners say about The Martian

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    5 out of 5 stars

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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1,377 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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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639 people found this helpful

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

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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635 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

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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598 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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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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    1 out of 5 stars
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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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    2 out of 5 stars
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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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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

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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353 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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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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280 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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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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