Matt Nixson
SCIENCE-FICTION writer Andy Weir, whose debut novel The Martian sold five million copies and became a hit movie starring Matt Damon, is trying to explain particle physics to me when he breaks into song: “Just remember that you’re standing on a planet that’s evolving, and revolving at 900 miles an hour, that’s orbiting at 19 miles a second, so it’s reckoned, a sun that is the source of all our power…”
It’s not that Weir’s explanation of the universe as an ever-inflating balloon with a diameter of 93 billion light years is hard to follow – it is, despite his best efforts. It’s that channelling Eric Idle from Monty Python’s iconic Meaning Of Life movie is actually the perfect way of summing up his brilliantly entertaining, humorous and meticulouslyresearched books.
Weir has been at the forefront of bringing the traditionally niche genre of sci-fi to a mainstream audience in recent years.
“It’s one thing to read a murder mystery and think, ‘This could happen and here’s this clever detective’, it’s another thing to have a fantastical world,” he explains. “It takes a little more suspension of disbelief to enjoy science fiction and fantasy.”
Now the self-proclaimed science geek has revisited his best-selling mix of physics, maths, chemistry and seat-of-your pants adventure for a new novel, Project Hail Mary, already optioned for the big screen starring Ryan Gosling.
Out this week, and already set for bestseller status, it’s a “what-if” thriller based around the premise the sun is dimming, putting life on earth at risk of extinction.
Despite the existential threat to humanity imagined by Weir, it’s gloriously optimistic, darkly humorous and packed to the brim with real science.
WEIR, who grew up reading Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and Arthur C Clarke, does not believe the future is the dystopian, fascist dictatorship envisioned by many writers. “Usually sci-fi is action or thriller, that’s what it’s come to be known as,” says the likeable 48-yearold from the home he shares with wife Keri, their dog, Cocoa, and cats, JoJo and Demi, in Saratoga, California.
“I do feel like sci-fi has been hijacked by these stories about bleak, fascist dystopias of the future and only teenagers doing weird s*** can save the day.
“You don’t have to explain a lot to the reader, they immediately get that concept. I’m an optimist, a bit of a Pollyanna even, but it seems clear the future is always better than the past. If you look at earth’s history, we’re constantly making the world a better place for humans to live in.
“Pick any year in history and imagine that year and the year 100 years prior to that, which one would you rather live in?
“While I think we can agree that 2020 kind of sucked, I’d rather live through 2020 again than 1920.”
Born in California, Weir clearly had science in his blood, the only child of a physicist father and an electrical engineer mother.
He studied computer science and, having tried and failed to write in his 20s, settled down to life as a computer programmer.
Then, in 2009, he began posting chapters from what would eventually become The Martian online, going on to sell 35,000 copies via Kindle in a few months before finally signing lucrative traditional publishing and movie contracts.
The resulting Ridley Scott film, featuring Matt Damon as Mark Watney, an astronaut stranded on Mars with only his own ingenuity and some cobbled together technology to rely on for survival, was a major box office hit and was nominated for seven Oscars.
Much of the story’s joy came from Watney’s never-say-die optimism and unerring ability to find credible solutions to lifeor-death challenges without resorting to make-believe.
Weir scrupulously researched everything from oxygen consumption, space biology and how many daily calories his protagonist would require to stay alive. So does he find that easy? After all, just thinking about quantum physics, space travel and Einstein’s theory of relativity is enough to give most of us a headache. “I have to work at it but my favourite part of writing is research,” he laughs. “I have seven different Excel spreadsheets open and five internet pages looking for what I need to figure something out.
“I just love that stuff. I put in about five per cent of what I learn into the book; maybe someone reading for fun doesn’t need a detailed explanation for how quantum tunnelling works.”
In part as a result of its factual accuracy, The Martian quickly became required reading at Nasa and fans include Tesla and SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, though Weir modestly insists: “I’m sure they enjoyed it,