- Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Weir again builds an urgent survival story around practical science, improvised solutions, and an isolated astronaut.
- The Martian by Andy Weir
This is the seed work itself, so it is excluded from the recommendations.
- Artemis by Andy Weir
Weir brings detailed lunar-worldbuilding and hands-on technical problem-solving to a fast-moving science-fiction caper.
- The dog stars by Peter Heller
It trades Mars for a sparsely populated Earth but shares the focus on practical survival and persistence.
- by Kim Stanley Robinson
Its careful attention to Mars settlement and the practical demands of living there makes it a strong planetary-survival match.
- The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Bradbury’s linked stories share the Martian setting while offering a more literary, imaginative take on humanity’s arrival there.
- Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey
The first Expanse novel pairs grounded spaceflight and technical detail with a tense mystery across the solar system.
- by Marlen Haushofer
This quiet, psychologically attentive survival novel offers a stark terrestrial counterpart to isolation in space.
- by Neal Stephenson
Its high-stakes effort to preserve human life in space foregrounds engineering, logistics, and survival under extreme pressure.
- The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Crichton turns scientific investigation and methodical troubleshooting into a tightly paced survival thriller.
- The moon is a harsh mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Its lunar colony setting and attention to the physical constraints of life on the Moon connect well with grounded space fiction.
- by Yann Martel
Its resourceful castaway and life-or-death isolation create a memorable survival parallel in a very different setting.
- The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven
This first-contact novel appeals to readers who enjoy science-minded exploration and careful attention to unfamiliar environments.
- Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
Clarke’s expedition into a mysterious alien vessel offers meticulous exploration and scientific curiosity in place of terrestrial survival.
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells
This compact first installment combines a stranded, resourceful protagonist with tense action and dry humor.
- by Peter Heller
This wilderness thriller exchanges orbital hazards for a remote river, while keeping attention on practical decisions under pressure.
- The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Its astronaut-centered story gives scientific and technical challenges a prominent role in a grounded alternate history.
- The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
Haldeman’s novel pairs the bodily and practical hazards of space travel with a sharply observed account of military life.
- by Kim Stanley Robinson
Its generation-ship setting makes the material and biological limits of long-term human survival central to the story.
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Its solitary struggle against a demanding environment offers a concise, literary take on endurance and resourcefulness.
- by David Wellington
A mission into deep space drives this tense astronaut story, though its atmosphere leans more toward horror than Weir’s.
- by Caitlin Starling
Its isolated explorer must rely on equipment and ingenuity in a hostile environment, with a notably darker psychological tone.
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
Readers drawn to the science-fiction setting may appreciate its thoughtful examination of how societies adapt to demanding worlds.
- by Jon Krakauer
This nonfiction account connects through its close attention to survival decisions and the hazards of an unforgiving environment.