Mars

Rating:
Summary: Good Sci-Fi, Bad Ending
Review: This book was not filled with white-knuckle suspense. It wasn't filled with edge-of-your-seat action, either. It was a very deliberate, methodical (sometimes slow) story that was filled with very true-to-life characters.

Jamie Waterman, a geologist, earns a seat on an expedition to the red planet. In doing so, he makes a few 'enemies', but also some strong allies. He starts out as an afterthought, and ends up essentially as the 'leader' of the expedition through sheer will and determination.

The book is filled with navaho folklore, and has an excellent use of description. It also has a lot of current cutting edge scientific knowledge about space exploration and research on possible martian exploration.

The reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is that the ending seemed, well, forced. I kept thinking to myself, there are only X number of pages left, Bova better start wrapping up! When the end finally came, I felt like, "Okay, what just happened?" and "There's no more?"

If you like good, 'real world' sci-fi, stuff that could really happen today or sometime in the near future, read this book.

Rating:
Summary: My Scifi Start
Review: This is the book that got me started on Scifi about 8 years ago. The characters are great. The plot is fast moving and it's a really enjoyable read. Along with Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy this is the book that REALLY makes one want to experience the Red Planet for themselves...in person! The vast majority of Bova's works are great...this book is on the top of the list.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting but predictable
Review: This novel was well researched and well written, but it was missing something. It was rather anti climactic and set itself up a little too well for a sequel. The characters are well developed and the story flows very smoothly. You could skip this one and you would not really miss that much.