Best for: Anyone who needs an audiobook to hook them in the first ten minutes.
The Martian is written as a series of log entries, and in print that can feel like a stack of lab notes. Bray reads them like a man talking to himself to stay sane, which is exactly what they are. Mark Watney's sarcasm lands because Bray never oversells it: the jokes arrive in a flat, tired voice that makes them funnier.
The chapters back on Earth and aboard the Hermes are where narration usually stumbles. Bray keeps the NASA staff distinct with small changes in pitch and pace rather than broad accents, so the switch between Mars and Houston is always clear without a single sound effect.
The science is dense. Long stretches about oxygen, water and potato yield could lose a listener, but Bray paces the arithmetic with real momentum. You may not follow every calculation, but you always know whether it went well or badly.
Production is straightforward and clean. There is no music and none is needed. At just under eleven hours, it is an ideal length for a week of commutes.
What we loved
- ✓Narrator and character are a perfect match
- ✓Science stays gripping, never dry
- ✓Funny out loud, even on repeat listens
Worth knowing
- –Earth chapters slightly less vivid than Mars
- –Frequent mild profanity, not for young kids
The verdict
One of the best performed audiobooks of the last decade. If you liked the film, the audio is better.
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