The movie is getting ready to come out, so be sure you read the book first. It’s not syfy, in the sense of outer space exploration or fighting aliens, but more along the lines of a slow motion Gravity. But, it’s pretty clever in how the guy survives.
Mark Watney wakes up on Mars. Alone. His team has mistaken him for dead in a hurried departure before a major storm hits their exploration party. Worse, he has few supplies, no communication ability, and no way to leave Mars. And it will take a mission from Earth four years to rescue him.
And since no one knows he’s alive, no one on earth even knows to send a rescue mission. The trick of this book is how he survives. Think about it–he’s not on a remote island on earth, where he can eat birds and get drinking water from rain. There will be no rain, and there are no food sources.
Lest you think there’s some magical solution, let me assure you that everything he does makes perfect sense, and you’ll find yourself thinking, “Why didn’t I think of that?”