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I don't think I've ever written an Amazon review in my life, but after finishing this book I feel like I'd have to take out my frustrations somewhere.  To his immense credit, Andy Weir has re-invented Daniel Defoe's terrifically popular 1719 novel "Robinson Crusoe": a modern day "shipwrecked" explorer with limited resources but lots of ingenuity and technical know-how, fighting for survival in a dangerous environment. At first glance, it reminded me of Robert A. Heinlein's hard scifi stories, so I was pretty excited about reading it. 

At the beginning it was very enjoyable, and I really wanted to keep enjoying it. I thought Watney's sense of humor was refreshing.  But as time went on, it was just more of the same over and over and over and over again. As many others have pointed out, there was zero character development; Watney's attitude and writing style seemed to be the same on day 1 as on day 450!  Also, given that he & his crewmates lived together in a spaceship for months on end, seems he'd have something interesting to relate about them (and himself). Instead, the reader hears who is The Hot One, who is The Religious One, who loves disco and who hates it.  As I got further along in the book I realized I couldn't distinguish between Watney and the other characters. My first reaction was to go back and try to figure out who was who in the fictional version of NASA, but then I realized it didn't matter. Anyone could've been saying any of the lines. 

The scientific solutions to his problems were interesting at first, but grew tiring later on as it just seemed like more of the same. I found my eyes glazing over and skimming parts, and I'm someone who really enjoys the science part of science fiction.

What finally ruined the book for me is the author's sloppy approach to writing dialogue, particularly Watney's. As a protagonist, he's inventive, intelligent and persistent.  Unfortunately, the author writes such clumsy dialogue that Watney often sounds annoying if not outright obnoxious.