Pretty much every review of this book mentions MacGyver, Robinson Crusoe, Gravity or Apollo 13, preferably in some sort of combination. You can probably throw in Castaway for good measure. But it makes sense, for Watney has the smarts of MacGyver, in a situation like Crusoe, only in a setting like those space movies. There's something about stories where the character has to use what he has available, and manages to do so in a clever way. It really makes you root for the character, and look forward to what he'll think of next. I don't really know much about all the science and techonlogical stuff in the novel, but it's presented in a way that makes it all really believable, and one can make enough sense out of it to understand the peril of the situation Watney is in. Watney's personality is also a great part of the book, as it is at times quite unexpected, but very believable.