This was really a case of 'it's not the book's fault, it is mine'. When it comes to sci-fi stories that take place in space, I prefer the type of stories where new civilizations or planets are discovered. Or more general: ALIENS, yes please! 
 To me, this book felt like reading 'How to survive on a deserted planet for experts'. At the beginning a lot of descriptions are given of how many of material/equipment x is needed to perform action y. It reminded me of reading a book on physics in high-school, it was not exciting, nor did I care about the faith of the main -and then only- character. When other characters were introduced, it got a little bit better, and I managed to keep reading it. 
 Another element that bothered me was the use of humor. For me it felt very misplaced. Because the novel reads so much like a diary of someone who would have actually been stranded on Mars, it did not make sense to me that he would make a joke about probably dying over some mistake he had just made. 
 It was just not my cup of tea...