Rating: 
Summary: A fun a fast read for the Mars fan........
Review: "First Landing" is a quick reading no-brakes story (I devoured the 262 pages in a couple of sittings) about humankind's first landing on Mars that packs a shocker of an ending to boot. "First Landing" is the tale of a team of five Americans (three men and two women) that make the long the and perilous journey to Mars only to find themselves stranded by the vagaries of public opinion and a few nasty surprises. As a result they are forced to rely on themselves if they are to survive.Wasting very little time with exposition Robert Zubrin (president of the Mars Society) jumps right into this story and never slows down until the end. His detailing is quite effective if somewhat limited. Despite the speed with which the story unfolds his characterization is sufficient for me to have rapidly made an emotional connection with main actors. In an interesting addendum the books epilogue is Zubrin's contention that the type of mission he details in "First Land" is what he sees as a blue print for real manned mission to Mars by 2011. In that limited space he makes a convincing case for a more ambitious Mars program than the one currently being undertaken. On the down side, I wished there were a bit more to this book. I would have liked to have spent more time getting to know these characters. Further, the swiftness with which things unfold leaves a few holes in the motivations of certain key actors that a longer novel could have addressed. However, if you are fan of Mars fiction you will find "First Landing" a fun and fast read. It's not as detailed or plot heavy as Kim Stanley Robinson's "Red Mars", "Green Mars" and "Blue Mars" trilogy. But it definitely put a smile on my face when I finished
Rating: 
Summary: Unpolished, sappy...but fun
Review: "First Landing" is Mars Society founder and rocket pioneer Robert Zubrin's first work of fiction, and it shows. His characters have the depth of cardboard, the dialogue is often hilariously stilted, and the prose is riddled with cliches and irrepressible sentimentality. But I really liked this book. For its failings, it has a page-turning premise and a taut, charged plot; I read "First Landing" in two sittings and enjoyed every moment of it. Zubrin's tale of a near-future mission to Mars contains some satisfying moments (including a believably cynical portrait of Washington politics) and not a little genuine excitement. "First Landing" isn't the sleekest Mars novel to roll out of the hangar, but it tells a good story, and Zubrin's enthusiasm is infectious.
Rating: 
Summary: Hard To Put Down
Review: A great first effort at fiction! Dr. Zubrin has put together a book that is hard to put down. The hard science of going to Mars and what might happen when we arrive. Buy It!!
Rating:
Summary: An exciting sf adventure novel
Review: After a year in space, the five-person team on board the Beagle are getting ready to land on Mars. The landing, like everything else that follows, does not go smoothly but it does get the astronauts there in one piece. Within the first few weeks there, they have found a gemstone that is harder than a diamond and microorganisms that prove there is life on the red planet. The astronauts are elated by their discovery of life on Mars but on Earth, hysteria sets in, fanned by a popular writer and a televangelist. They fear that the astronauts will bring back some pandemic disease to earth. A fuel line leakage leaves them stranded on Mars and the president, who is up for reelection, is not pushing a rescue mission. This means that the five stranded Americans will have to find a way to get themselves off planet or die when their air and food runs out. Robert Zubrin has written a science fiction that measures up to the works of Author C Clarke and Robert Heinlein. The politics that are involved in a space mission are astounding to behold and the interactions of the five stranded people who have been cooped up together for three years ring true (ever share a house with another generation?). FIRST LANDING is a work of hope, written by a visionary who sees the possibilities in the not too distant future. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Spreading Life to Mars
Review: After the excellent but technical "Case for Mars" Zubrin positions himself as a great fiction writer with "First Landing". The people in "First Landing" are real, with their flaws and quirks. This is not Star trek, there are no warp drives and teleporters. Life on Mars is hard and dirty, but eventually the people prevail due to their own strength and ingenuity. Going to Mars is not a frivolous idea. Mars is within reach, and it must be done. If we shy from this challenge, ignorance and terrorists will prevail over America, over that country which in distant past landed its people on the Moon.
Rating:
Summary: Being there
Review: As I read this book and thought about the other books I have read by Robert Zubrin, I realized that this it was as if Albert Einstein had written a book of fiction on relativity. Dr. Zubrin breadth of knowledge regarding Mars is so vast that he can make us "feel, breath, and smell" Mars. It should (and probably already is) required reading for NASA astronauts and scientists interested in Mars. Dr. Zubrin gives us a template for understanding what to expect when we get there. Laced in the story I read was the well thought out method to get to Mars, including the production of artificial gravity. In addition, the selection of crew was well thought out as well. As with his other books, I felt closer to really understanding the challenges of a voyage to Mars. Finally, I believe after reading this book, that we should listen and learn from Robert Zubrin and look forward to the habitation of Mars.
Rating: 
Summary: The science may be good, but the story's a dud
Review: Author Robert Zubrin obviously has great scientific credentials. He must be brilliant. His non-fiction book, A Case for Mars, added valuable insight and understanding to the body of thought on this subject and generated kudos from the likes of Buzz Aldrin, Carl Sagan, and the revered Arthur C. Clarke.
Unfortunately, however, this novel about man's first voyage to the red planet is idiotic. It supposes that five incompatible personalities travel to Mars for a years-long mission, about which they have no clear sense of what they're supposed to accomplish. Laughably, having arrived, they can't agree on why they're there, as if NASA sent them with simply"take a look around and let us know." Even the earthbound scientists directing the mission are yet arguing about what they should be about on the martian surface. Then there's a rediculous scenario about a phony "expert" riling up the entire country with the idea that the crew, having been contaminated, shouldn't be allowed to return to earth, as if NASA hadn't considered beforehand what exposure to the martian envoirnment might entail. I gave it a good try, but halfway through the book I could suspend my disbelief no longer; NASA just couldn't be that inept. This story appears to be the result of someone saying, "You know so much about this stuff; you ought to write a novel," and our scientific and technological genius rising to his level of incompetence. So, in my opinion, this book is a waste of time. A successful science fiction novel must, I believe, not only have good, or at least feasible, science, but also believable characters and a story line that makes sense. Zubrin's characters are believable as people, I suppose, but not in this nonsensical scenario. Were Arther C. Clarke or Orson Scott Card to write a similar tale, there would surely be no suspension of disbelief problems nor confusion about who the reader would be pulling for.. Come to think of it, they already have!
Rating:
Summary: The science may be good, but the story's a dud
Review: Author Robert Zubrin obviously has great scientific credentials. He must be brilliant. His non-fiction book, A Case for Mars, added valuable insight and understanding to the body of thought on this subject and generated kudos from the likes of Buzz Aldrin, Carl Sagan, and the revered Arthur C. Clarke.
Unfortunately, however, this novel about man's first voyage to the red planet is idiotic. It supposes that five incompatible personalities travel to Mars for a years-long mission, about which they have no clear sense of what they're supposed to accomplish. Laughably, having arrived, they can't agree on why they're there, as if NASA sent them with simply"take a look around and let us know." Even the earthbound scientists directing the mission are yet arguing about what they should be about on the martian surface. Then there's a rediculous scenario about a phony "expert" riling up the entire country with the idea that the crew, having been contaminated, shouldn't be allowed to return to earth, as if NASA hadn't considered beforehand what exposure to the martian envoirnment might entail. I gave it a good try, but halfway through the book I could suspend my disbelief no longer; NASA just couldn't be that inept. This story appears to be the result of someone saying, "You know so much about this stuff; you ought to write a novel," and our scientific and technological genius rising to his level of incompetence. So, in my opinion, this book is a waste of time. A successful science fiction novel must, I believe, not only have good, or at least feasible, science, but also believable characters and a story line that makes sense. Zubrin's characters are believable as people, I suppose, but not in this nonsensical scenario. Were Arther C. Clarke or Orson Scott Card to write a similar tale, there would surely be no suspension of disbelief problems nor confusion about who the reader would be pulling for.. Come to think of it, they already have!
Rating: 
Summary: Nice try, Dr Zubrin, but please stick to non-fiction
Review: Bob Zubrin is a brilliant and original thinker and a lucid, thought-provoking writer when it comes to technical matters. But if he wanted to delve into fiction, he should have partnered with someone like James Hogan or Alan Steele. Based on the mostly raving reviews that this book garnered in Amazon, I rushed out to buy it, expecting to relish Zubrin's talents as a novelist. I was disappointed. The characters are cliches, the dialog is wooden, and the plot is mediocre and lacks inventiveness. Praise for this novel can only be the result of two things: Either Zubrin's well-deserved respect and admiration for his technical vision has undeservedly spilled over into his fiction (the "halo effect"), or standards for hard sci-fi have fallen even lower than I had feared. Or maybe both. Is there a Federal Law that requires all fictitious accounts of space voyages to have a crew that consists of: 1. One arrogant, cocky, smirking, (but competent) right-stuff ex-military fighter-jockey, 2. One drop-dead gorgeous, brilliant, independent-minded, no-nonsense female scientist who is sensual and yet confident and her own woman, 3. One philosopher poet (preferably with goatee and liberal politics) riddled with qualms and self-doubt, and 4. One competent nice guy (or maybe two because one will surely sacrifice himself to save the crew, to the wailing anguish of his lover). And is there another law that says all conflicts between astronauts must be ego-based? What a dusty old stereotype. There are so many other sources of rich, provocative character conflict. For those who seek a well crafted hard sci-fi novel with memorable, original characters, try The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Many of the ideas may seem unoriginal, but that's only because they've been copied so many times since RH wrote this yarn over 40 years ago. What do I like to see in hard sci-fi, particularly space exploration? Give me a new world, with new rules and a new lingo, crafted with disciplined imagination. Look, I don't know what type of words or phrases astronauts of the future will use, but they will NOT sound like Apollo or shuttle crews. Gone will be "Houston" and "mission control" and "roger that, commander". Invent new, believable, interesting lingo, words, methods and chatter that flesh out the world of the story. That's what makes sci-fi so much fun and sets it apart from more mundane genres. At least, that's the way it once was. Harsh Mistress paints a fascinating social system based in part on the moon's high ratio of men to women. It's believable, adds more depth and substance to the story, and best of all, it transports the reader into another world that does not exist. RH could have populated his moon with a bunch of cardboard Air Force cadets mouthing military cliches at each other - that would have been the easy thing to do. Instead, he gave us something different - something worthy of the title hard sci-fi. So, you say that First Landing is no worse than a lot of the other stuff gracing the sci-fi shelves at your local Borders Bookshop. Exactly my point. Readers have been steadily lowering their standards over the past 25 to 30 years. Publishers know that if they splash the right pics on the cover and the right keywords in the blurb (aliens, another dimension, captain, mission, after the eco-catastrophe, etc) the public will buy the stuff up, no matter how low quality and derivative the story. With a few exceptions, the state of the genre is pretty dismal and getting worse. Dr Zubrin, I eagerly await your next non-fiction work.
Rating:
Summary: Great Idea!
Review: Doc Zubrin has taken from his 'The Case For Mars' and turned it into an interesting and entertaining format of plausible science fiction. The novel was just a bit more than a short story, making a fast easy read, and an enjoyable one. Not what I expected from this guy, but the unexpected is what his plans are all about. The book also contains some separate data from his first 'Case for Mars' mission plan, to help define the feasibility of this barely fictional mission. This should draw more than just pure Mars fans! Well done! Ronald Reed Jackson
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