Rating: 
Summary: Technically excellent, but overwhelmed by back story
Review: Stephen Baxter's VOYAGE takes place in an alternate past: What if John F. Kennedy had survived assassination and lobbied for NASA to send astronauts to Mars in the 1980s, instead of building the space shuttle? It's a fascinating premise and certainly one worthy of a unique Mars novel.
Baxter himself holds a doctorate in engineering, so it's no surprise that he really knows his way around the technical stuff of spaceflight. He's quite knowledgeable in space history, as well. He presents an impressive amount of authentic detail, far more than I've seen in any other novel of its kind. Perhaps too much, in fact, because many spaceflight scenes repeat events and dialogue from real-life missions almost verbatim. On the whole, VOYAGE feels quite faithful to the era described, even if it's somewhat too faithful. It's also interesting to catch him using a few historic dates in spaceflight -- July 1976, April 1981, January 1986 -- so we can contemplate the differences in his alternate past.
Geologist Natalie York is VOYAGE's most reliable protagonist; she comes across as determined but not easy to root for. Baxter makes a few generalizations based on astronaut mythology, and he rarely hides his disdain for NASA's old "pilot vs. scientist" culture. One veteran astronaut is so surly that in the real space program he would have been permanently shelved from flight status (a la Wally Schirra). Nonetheless, Baxter avoids many of the stilted stereotypes of Ben Bova's Mars novels, so at least these characters are more subtle and level-headed. For the most part, he steers clear of the soap-opera style plotting that cripples most Mars books, and that alone is commendable.
VOYAGE's "major malfunction" is that Baxter spends far too much time laying the groundwork for going to Mars, and it dominates the pace of the novel. Almost nine tenths of this book is back story. The launch of the Mars flight opens the book, but by page 200 we're only up to Day 3 and we've barely left the earth behind us. At page 466, we've reached Day 171 of the flight, yet we've only arrived at the swingby of Venus, and we're still almost seven months away from the red planet!
While the author deserves praise for presenting a credible rationale for going to Mars, you can only go so far with a book about a Mars flight without actually describing the flight. I kept pleading for Baxter to get away from the project's early days and get to the damn point, but it practically never happens. Once I figured out how diminished the Mars flight was, it took me ages to finish reading. Because it is so dominated by background, this 772-page story unfolds in almost geologic time.
Even with my complaints, VOYAGE is easily the most technically accomplished and reasonable Mars novel I've ever read, and I've read a great many of them. It is frequently interesting and packed with details, but I just wish Baxter had spent more effort flying the mission instead of building his case. It is a solid four-star novel if not for the heavy reliance on background.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book, using historical facts in many spots
Review: There is little I can say to add to the praise already available about this book. It's a great read, and a detailed look at the challenges of space exploration with existing technology. But readers who enjoyed it as thoroughly as I did may be interested in knowing that Baxter drew a great deal of his information from a 1989 non-fiction book, "Apollo: The Race for the Moon," by Charles Murray. Some of Baxter's characters are clearly based on some of the real engineers and technicians that Murray mentions in his study of the Apollo program. In some cases, Baxter's fictional character is little changed from the historical figure: for example, Tim Seger, who is in charge of supervising the Ares technology in the novel, is almost a carbon copy of the real-life Joe Shea, who did the same job for the real Apollo technology. Murray's book, based on interviews with hundreds of people who worked in the Apollo program, and on NASA archives, is also very well written. So if you enjoyed Baxter, you'd probably enjoy reading Murray's account of what really happened between 1957 and 1973.
Rating:
Summary: Plausible, riveting, and he knows his technology
Review: This could have happened. My father-in-law worked on the Saturn V first stage design/construction and *he* was impressed with this book. On every point that I could check, this book is spot on with the technical points. The fact that it was so plausible made it a fascinating read. The part I liked the best is that in this alternate history, going to Mars was NOT free. Without giving away the plotline, there were several projects that NASA did which had to be scrapped because all the money was sucked into the manned Mars project. So, with minor lapses, I thought this book was politically accurate, as well as technically accurate. I recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful addition to any NASA buff's collection!
Review: This great "what could have happened" novel follows NASA through Baxter's version of the 1970's and 80's and, eventually to a manned Mars landing. Characters are realistic and interesting, subject matter is techinical, but not too much for non-techinical readers.
Rating:
Summary: Great build-up to the big ending, and fizzz
Review: This is an interesting book about how NASA might have gotten a manned mission to Mars by now. The story revolves around one very dedicated geologist, and her issuance into the boys club of astronauts. The book starts well, but about half way through, Baxter gets bogged down--as so many books about NASA and US space missions seem to--in the details of the mission. The book loses touch with human elements, and is a bit boring.But, again following previous themes, disaster wakes the plotline up, and Voyage runs with good inertia to the end. The plotline is well conceived and interesting, but any of you that are interested in the alternative history (which I have read only one other book about), Baxter may disappoint you. There is very little in Voyage of any political or historical consequence (well, other than NASA getting a manned mission to Mars). Real figures in history (such as JFK) take a very big back seat, and add almost nothing to this book. I found this lack of tie-in disappointing (especially with the teaser on the back cover mentioning JFK). And finally, I was dismayed with the last four pages of this book. Baxter builds everything up nicely for the finale, and completely misses. The ending is completely out-of-character, and performs a jump back to "NASA mission mode" (i.e., downplayed and disappointing). Too bad, as otherwise, Voyage was an interesting read. 3 of 5 stars
Rating:
Summary: Great build-up to the big ending, and fizzz
Review: This is an interesting book about how NASA might have gotten a manned mission to Mars by now. The story revolves around one very dedicated geologist, and her issuance into the boys club of astronauts. The book starts well, but about half way through, Baxter gets bogged down--as so many books about NASA and US space missions seem to--in the details of the mission. The book loses touch with human elements, and is a bit boring. But, again following previous themes, disaster wakes the plotline up, and Voyage runs with good inertia to the end. The plotline is well conceived and interesting, but any of you that are interested in the alternative history (which I have read only one other book about), Baxter may disappoint you. There is very little in Voyage of any political or historical consequence (well, other than NASA getting a manned mission to Mars). Real figures in history (such as JFK) take a very big back seat, and add almost nothing to this book. I found this lack of tie-in disappointing (especially with the teaser on the back cover mentioning JFK). And finally, I was dismayed with the last four pages of this book. Baxter builds everything up nicely for the finale, and completely misses. The ending is completely out-of-character, and performs a jump back to "NASA mission mode" (i.e., downplayed and disappointing). Too bad, as otherwise, Voyage was an interesting read. 3 of 5 stars
Rating:
Summary: An excellent piece of Realistic Science Fiction
Review: Voyage has depth of characters, real life dilemmas and hope and dream, combined into one novel.
Rating:
Summary: Has its feet firmply planted here
Review: Voyage is partly a sci-fi novel using alternative history "what-if" we had decided to follow-up Apollo with an even greater leap to Mars? Kennedy lives, the space program never loses the momentum of Apollo, and all the energies that we expended on the shuttles and the un-manned probes of 'The Grand Tour' (like the Voyagers) are instead concentrated on a single manned mission to another planet. As years pass, Presidents come and go, progress is made, and controversies develop, but the mission approaches launch. Baxter jumps between his narrative ' the story opens with the mission's launch, but spends most of its time jumping back to the story of the plan's painful genesis (the development and failure of a nuclear engine; the technical clash between a tyrannical Von Braun figure and a Holocaust survivor; a contractor's ambitious stab at winning the contract for the Mars lander). This was a disappointing book. Baxter grounds his story on the technical details of the real space program, but doesn't boldly go farther than that. All novels are built on a question ' the more brave the question, the more rewarding the answer. In 'Voyage', the question is 'could we have gone to Mars?' which ensures that the novel will contain more than anything else the technical details that would answer the question as yes or no. Since Baxter's knowledge of spaceflight springs from an obvious enthusiasm for it, it's unsurprising that these details will firmly resolve the question with a 'yes'. A braver story (and one that would read more like a novel than something you'd watch on 'A&E' or 'The Discovery Channel) would instead ask 'should we even try?' given that Baxter's Mars mission had no demonstrable goal (at least one that really requires that it be manned), poses myriads threats to a human crew and sucks up NASA's minds and budgets. For Baxter, Mars is like Everest ' only instead of 'because it's there' he gives us 'because the design evolution of the Saturn core booster, when allied to gravity-assist makes it possible'. Even Baxter's technical picture seems fuzzy ' the lunar landings capped off an era of spaceflight that included numerous dress-rehearsals in space (rendezvous in Earth and lunar orbit and various other flights, the penultimate moment being Apollo-8's circumlunar navigation) and probes having been launched to the moon. Baxter's program posits a single expensive mission to a planet that is almost totally unknown to NASA, and has barely been explored by unmanned probes ' with only earth-orbit test flights ' and absolutely no way to return home early if something should go wrong. That means that NASA, contrary to form, would use the final flight as the test flight (remember how Apollo-13 couldn't simply turn around, but had to loop around the moon as if on a normal flight profile? That was just a few days ' Mars is much farther). With nothing to show for Apollo, Baxter never explains how NASA managed to sell anybody on Mars. I read 'Voyage' years ago, about the time of the Pathfinder missions. Man's history of successful Mars landings has been pretty spotty, and that was using machines. Several missions hope to change the trend by the beginning of next year, but that will still show a staggering lack of success over nearly 30 years, so the idea of kicking things off with a manned Mars-shot seems even fuzzier. Baxter's enthusiasm for spaceflight also blinds him to how quickly the world tired of Apollo's exploits (remember 'Capricorn One' when they pre-empted re-runs of 'Lucy' to cut to brief story of Apollo 14, and people complained to the networks? That was for re-runs!). Even the idea of framing the story as an alternative history undermines its realism ' Apollo resulted from a more optimistic moment in our history, while the Mars mission had to co-exist with post-Vietnam fatigue, Watergate, stagflation, the oil crunch, the Reagan days of the cold war and the cattle mutilation craze. (Baxter was lucky to stage the mission when he had - it would have been impossible to envision a Mars mission during the S&L bailout.) The sense of alternate history isn't that strong anyway ' at one point a character describes watching Jason Robards, whom he hates, in something about nuclear war. Why the character has any opinion of Jason Robards is irrelevant ' it's obviously just something to remind us that Baxter's alternate history has reached the mid-1980's, when prime-time America took in 'The Day After' (it's also the only sign that there was a cold-war ' couldn't Baxter at least have given us the idea of a Russian rival program?). Above all, 'Voyage' fails because there's no tension, little to remind us that the mission isn't challenged by technology or by simple practical skepticism. 'We could have, and should have' Baxter seems to say, so there's no doubt that we will, and nothing to keep me turning his pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Voyage Defines What Science Fiction Should Be
Review: Voyage provides a benchmark for what true science fiction should be...Taking what is known about science and playing 'what if'...And in this case, Stephen Baxter adds a twist by changing the course of history... Anyone who knows the stories of Project Apollo and the post-lunar Apollo Applications Program, which included Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz, will feel right at home with Voyage...This book makes me proud because of its technical accuracy and attention to detail...Even more stunning and exciting is that someone had the gumption to take one of our greatest 'what ifs' and making it come to life... And although the inter-center rivalry that plays out in the story (Langley vs. Marshall) seems like a dramatic touch, it really isn't...That rivalry has been documented in a number of non-fiction works in the past... The book isn't perfect, though...I really could've done without the broken-romance angle that poor Natalie York is plagued with, and the seemingly one-note performance by Ralph Gershon...But the other elements are there, straight from America's proud spacefaring legacy... At one point, we may yet reach Mars...Much like our missions to the moon, it will be a journey requiring all the resources and talent the United States can muster...
Rating:
Summary: Baxter's Best.
Review: VOYAGE was the second book by Stephen Baxter that I've read, but it's the best one. I have to say it--Baxter's got stones--big ones. He tackles an alternate history's journey to Mars in 1986 with ease. Everything is researched to the letter and feels real, from the inner workings of NASA to the tragedy of a nuclear-powered Apollo flight (shades of the Challenger disaster) to the characters themselves. Here is a writer who actually gives a damn about the characters he creates, and does not give them the short strift just to lavish everything on the technology. True, I wished there could have been more on the astronauts' exploration on Mars, but that was not Baxter's point. It's _how_ we get to the Red Planet and _why_ we should go that's important. He also shows the scientific cost--no space shuttle, no Voyager or Viking missions... To put everything in simple terms--if you like science fiction, if you are interested in the space program, or if you just like books that are damned good--read VOYAGE.
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