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Summary: And the movie, when?
Review: I was afraid, on first picking this book up and trying to decide whether to buy it or not, that I was going to be sorely disappointed; like I was when I read Aldrin's "Encounter with Tiber". I expected a dull, technical, rambling, unexciting and implausible kind of novel. In other words, a boring engineering rationale for going to Mars dressed up as fiction. Boy, was I wrong! This is an exciting, gripping, emotional and self-consistent story about a 5-member crew that lands in Mars in the year 2011, becoming the first humans in history to do so. I say self-consistent because, on reading, and as is the case in many novels, one has to forget what one knows. One has to forget, for example, that it is more probable that a multi-national crew will be the first to go to Mars, instead of a purely American one, given the present state of affairs. One has to forget that NASA would never consent to be left out of the loop of communication and decision-making. Other than that, this novel is as engaging as Back to the Moon by Homer Hickam. My only hope is that this book is someday remembered as having come the closest to predicting our first actual visit to Mars.
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Summary: Exciting, accurate, could not put the book down
Review: I was excited to see that the author of 'Entering Space' and 'The Case for Mars' had written a novel about the first manned mission to Mars. I was not disappointed.
I found this book to be fast-paced, exciting, and scientifically accurate. Zubrin manages to weave a complex tale of survival on Mars together with interesting characters and a plot that left me wondering 'what's next'? About the only short-coming is that the novel is too short. I literally could not put it down.
The most compelling reason to read this novel is to glimpse Zubrin's unbounded vision of humanity's limitless future, also expressed in the non-fiction 'The Case for Mars' and 'Entering Space'. Man's destiny is the stars, and we don't have to wait 100 or 1000 years as naysayers would lead us to believe (like those who would have kept our ancestors living in caves). We can reach for our destiny right now. All it takes is vision and courage.
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Summary: Dismal, boring & shameless
Review: I was pretty excited to get started reading this book after reading the reviews. I am very interested in exploration of Mars, and this book seemed to be a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately I can not say I enjoyed this first attempt at fiction by Mr. Zubrin. The plot is predictable, and shallow. The characters could have been pulled from any number of previous tombs on exploration. At one point there is even a shameless plug for one of Zubrin's non-fiction works. I found this effort to be really lacking in conviction and creatvity, a least two more complete edits were warranted, unfortunately it is the reader who suffers reading through this dribble. About the only positive point I can note is that the suffereing is short-lived, as "First Landing" is quite short, and requires very little in the way of concentration, as the reader is aware of what lurks around every next corner.
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Summary: Dismal, boring & shameless
Review: I was pretty excited to get started reading this book after reading the reviews. I am very interested in exploration of Mars, and this book seemed to be a perfect fit for me. Unfortunately I can not say I enjoyed this first attempt at fiction by Mr. Zubrin. The plot is predictable, and shallow. The characters could have been pulled from any number of previous tombs on exploration. At one point there is even a shameless plug for one of Zubrin's non-fiction works. I found this effort to be really lacking in conviction and creatvity, a least two more complete edits were warranted, unfortunately it is the reader who suffers reading through this dribble. About the only positive point I can note is that the suffereing is short-lived, as "First Landing" is quite short, and requires very little in the way of concentration, as the reader is aware of what lurks around every next corner.
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Summary: Could NOT stop reading!
Review: I'm a terribly slow reader, but simply could NOT stop reading this book. The character development of the Mars "crew" is just astounding, so much so that I found myself crying in some situations and ready to stand up and cheer in others! Most importantly though Dr. Zubrin has TRULY captured the essence of what is and shall surely be the human race's greatest accomplishment. Excellent work!
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Summary: it's no wonder we're still Earthbound
Review: I'm fairly forgiving when it comes to science fiction but this book exceeded my limits. I found myself hoping the entire crew would die a quick and painful death so I wouldn't have to read any more about them. Character development is obviously not one of Zubrin's skill sets. I'd offer that perhaps in time he'd be able to get it right but this one novel was enough of an agony to last me a lifetime. There's no way I'm willing to sit through another attempt in the hopes he'd eventually get it right. Save your money.
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Summary: First Landing Crashes
Review: Imagine NASA puts together a crew for a Mars mission. 5 People will go. Nasa selects Jerry Falwell, Susan Sontag, Alan Dershowitz, a Texan Geologist from the oil industry, and David Hackworth as commander. Thought NASA (or anyone else) would put more thought into crew selection? Me too. This book follows a trend in similar literature that focuses way too much on personal friction between crew members as the most serious problem in a mission like this. It achieves distinction only in how far the author will go in his stereotyping. From a religious fundamentalist continuously quoting the bible to fellow crew members to a Texan literally yelling Yee-Hah!, to a stiff necked military commander that...doesn't take charge? The shame of it is that the author is an acclaimed astronautical engineer that could have made this a very interesting examination of the latest theories in engineering a voyage such as this.
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Summary: Review from the Arctic
Review: It is vision, a discussion of why we should go to Mars, just as much as a novel. It is most enjoyable and surprising reading. When you get into it, you keep turning pages. I read in a perfect setting: In the simulation Mars habitat on Devon Island, where I served as a crew member with Robert Zubrin as the commander of the crew and the magnificent view to the mars-like landscape. I warmly recommend people to read it in other places, too.
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Summary: A Surprisingly Awe Inspiring Epic Set in a Possible Future
Review: One would expect that a first venture by an aerospace engineer into fiction would have a load of neat technical detail, but very little story populated by cardboard charectors. One would be right about the technical detail, but happily wrong about the story and the charectors. Bob Zubrin's First Landing is an awe inspiring epic about the first expedition to Mars, taking place just ten years in our future. He has populated his story with a strong group of all too human charectors, not the least of who are the crew of the Beagal. Driven apart by personality clashes, the members of the crew ultimately pull together to overcome disaster and hardship in a story that made me breathless several times during the reading of it. Dr. Zubrin, besides being a fine story teller, is the visionary engineer who developed the Mars Direct scheme to send humans to Mars and bring them back safely to Earth-depicted quite graphicly in the story. However one feels about a Mars program as the "next logical step" for America's space program, one cannot deny that now in fiction, as he has in countless speaches and in two highly recommended nonfiction books (The Case for Mars and Entering Space), Dr. Zubrin makes a strong case for his point of view. I cannot recommend this story enough.
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Summary: Murphy's Law Crash Lands on Mars
Review: Review by Peter Kokh, Editor of Moon MinersÕ Manifesto Robert Zubrin proves he is a man of Òwhat ifÓ imagination as much as he is a master of Òoutside the boxÓ engineering. As ardent an advocate as he is of manned missions to Mars leading to the opening of the Mars Frontier as a second human homeworld, he is not afraid to bring home to the reader how very difficult the steps may prove to be. ÒFirst LandingÓ might as aptly have been titled, ÒMurphyÕs Law crash lands on Mars.Ó Just about everything that could possibly go wrong soon does. The odds of recovery are slim. Yet, fresh on the heels of his, and the Mars SocietyÕs, brilliant recovery from the crash landing of the fifth of five paradrop payloads of materials and equipment ÒneededÓ to build the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon island in the Canadian Arctic last summer, his crew on the Beagle recovers from one mishap after another from a forced landing to ... Well, I donÕt want to give anything away! Zubrin is a firm believer that of all the tools we need to do a successful venture to Mars, human resourcefulness and determination are the most invaluable. If morale survives, so does possibility. The author is not afraid to tackle some real tough situations. What do you do if someone canÕt return to Earth, or refuses to? What do you do if the public back home doesnÕt want you to return? And what if the Administration doesnÕt have the moral guts to lead the public, but finds it more politically expedient to follow? Most people seem to expect the Mars Program to follow the script of Apollo: a series of stand alone missions, each of them Òsend them and get them back alive.Ó We all know where that led. Sooner or later, after a Òreturn to Earth,Ó there are no more outbound missions. This kind of script may suit NASA and the government and Congress, but it does not suit the goal of the Mars Society to open up Mars to settlers. Zubrin, as does Jeff Landis in his brilliant Mars Crossing, scripts an unplanned end-run. In the end the situation must be forced and can only spring from the unpredictable autonomy of the spirit of the individuals who actually get to go. First Landing is a good yarn and we highly recommend you get your own ÒcanÕt put it downÓ copy. It will leave you determined!
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