First Landing

June 18, 2001
Having won plaudits from the likes of Carl Sagan and Arthur C. Clarke for his nonfiction (The Case for Mars, etc.), Zubrin delivers a debut hard SF thriller that balances technical detail with political back-stabbing and intrigue. The crew of the Mars-bound Beagle
is the usual oil-and-water mix of stereotypes. Mission Commander Townsend, the quintessential "bomber-jacket-clad ex-fighter jockey," has his hands full keeping rein on his unlikely team: Major Guenevere Llewellyn, no-nonsense coal-miner's daughter and flight mechanic; laid-back Texan Luke Johnson, mission geologist; Dr. Rebecca Sherman, the chief scientist with "the mind of Einstein in the body of the young Kelly McGillis"; and dark horse Kevin McGee, a journalist with the political ties to buy a slot as mission historian. An equipment malfunction—possibly sabotage—forces a dangerously off-course landing on Mars. Then Dr. Sherman's discovery of primitive bacteria leads to rioting back on Earth as pseudoscience supporters prime a gullible public with fears of alien contamination. As the president and his cronies scramble to avoid the fallout, further sabotage empties the fuel tanks on the Beagle's return vessel. Will the political climate allow for the sending of a resupply ship? Despite a crew seemingly chosen by Hollywood rather than rigorous psychological and scientific processes, and despite the mission's apparent lack of predetermined priorities and research schedules, among other logical inconsistencies, the action quotient is high enough to keep not-too-fussy readers entertained. (July 10)Forecast:With blurbs from Kevin J. Anderson, Kim Stanley Robinson and Gregory Benford, plus a fan base for Zubrin's nonfiction, this first novel is almost guaranteed a successful launching.

January 1, 2002
Adult/High School-An entertaining, fast-moving, and thought-provoking tale of the first Earthlings on Mars. They don't have an easy time of it-but not because of flaws in the expedition plan itself. They are sabotaged by politics back home and even subverted, for a time, by their own lack of cohesiveness as a team. Beginning with a spectacularly bumpy landing, the entire mission is plagued by a series of inexplicable mishaps and thrilling escapes. At first, pursuing a scientific mission, the astronauts make some significant geological and biological discoveries. But soon the extent of the sabotage becomes apparent and they must direct all their talents and energies toward survival, growing food and creating fuel from Martian resources. To complicate matters, the two women and three men are highly individualistic people whose personal, religious, and scientific values are in many ways incompatible-scientist and military commander, hillbilly and preppy, intellectual and religious fundamentalist. But despite (and eventually because of) their differences, they don't just survive but far exceed the original vision for the mission. The author is known for his leadership in the cause of Mars exploration (his The Case for Mars [S & S, 1996] detailed a realistic plan for an expedition in the near future-a blueprint actually adopted by NASA). Readers might expect "harder" SF from such a writer in his first fiction outing but though its science is indeed interesting, First Landing is chiefly a story about people and their vision for the future, a utopian adventure that many teens should enjoy.-Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2001
The creator of the Mars Direct concept for manned flight to the planet here presents his concept in a novel. In 2011, five Mars-bound astronauts experience malfunctions that force them to land. They promptly start arguing over whether to look for interesting geology or for signs of life. Meanwhile, on Earth, demagogues play on fears of interplanetary contamination until sabotage and political cowardice threaten to prevent the astronauts from returning. The resourceful astronauts extend their food supply in a greenhouse and refuel their return vehicle from Martian water sources. At last three lift off, leaving the others and a newborn to begin colonization. On Earth the political opposition then crumbles like dry wedding cake. Zubrin apparently expects the message to carry the book, but he handles hardware, the declarative sentence, and characterization well enough that he could have given himself more room to develop some of the more gripping scenes. Space advocates, especially, will warm to it, but Greg Bear's, Geoffrey Landis', and, above all, Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars novels make more satisfying reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)