Honestly I haven’t read the Martian (just seen the movie) but I think you might have a better time with Hail Mary. The science is defiantly still prominent and robust but we don’t have a single main character which I think sews the science and story together better.
Oo I found a copy of the first one in one of those little libraries a few months back and have been meaning to get to it. I’ll bump it up on my list.