Rating: 
Summary: Some Interesting Twists In A First Landing Book
Review: Robert Zubrin knows what he's talking about when it comes to Mars. Any NASA/world mission to Mars in the next few decades will probably borrow heavily from Zubrin's ideas. None of this guarantees that his fiction will be excellent, but Zubrin lands this novel and brings it back to Earth despite a few glitches. The technical details of the story are excellent. The twists in the plot make this landing on Mars different enough from other Mars books to keep the reader's attention. Most of the problems with the book reside with his characters. Unfortunately, the book is populated with astronauts, ground crew, and politicians that are too cartoonish for my taste. The conflict between Luke Johnson and Dr. Sherman might happen on Earth, but they probably wouldn't get to take it to Mars. And the conflict between Gwen and Dr. Sherman should have been left out entirely; Zubrin could have had his ending without it. Ranting aside, I enjoyed reading the book and would give it 4.4 stars if I could.
Rating:
Summary: Some Interesting Twists In A First Landing Book
Review: Robert Zubrin knows what he's talking about when it comes to Mars. Any NASA/world mission to Mars in the next few decades will probably borrow heavily from Zubrin's ideas. None of this guarantees that his fiction will be excellent, but Zubrin lands this novel and brings it back to Earth despite a few glitches. The technical details of the story are excellent. The twists in the plot make this landing on Mars different enough from other Mars books to keep the reader's attention. Most of the problems with the book reside with his characters. Unfortunately, the book is populated with astronauts, ground crew, and politicians that are too cartoonish for my taste. The conflict between Luke Johnson and Dr. Sherman might happen on Earth, but they probably wouldn't get to take it to Mars. And the conflict between Gwen and Dr. Sherman should have been left out entirely; Zubrin could have had his ending without it. Ranting aside, I enjoyed reading the book and would give it 4.4 stars if I could.
Rating: 
Summary: A real page-turner!
Review: Robert Zubrin's First Landing is a definite page-turner. This action packed novel leaves nothing out in terms of both technical and interpersonal problems that could possibly be encountered during a human mission to Mars. Each crewmember rises to the occasion in their own way to overcome personal differences with other crew members, difficulties in dealing with missions support, and solving technical problems that come about during the mission. This is a story of human strength and heroism, as this crew becomes the pioneers of a new world
Rating: 
Summary: Three for effort and scientific accuracy
Review: There is nothing in First Landing that you could not have gotten from watching the film Mission to Mars (which Zubrin helped create). The plot is boring and the characters are one dimensional. Zubrin cops out by using lots of verbalized thoughts, and it is distracting. At the end Zubrin gives us a revised version of the Turner Thesis (which he does excellently in Entering Space), but it comes out poorly.This is definitely NOT worth reading. But if he keeps trying, he'll get fiction right eventually. Give Zubrin two more books, and they'll start to get good!
Rating:
Summary: Three for effort and scientific accuracy
Review: There is nothing in First Landing that you could not have gotten from watching the film Mission to Mars (which Zubrin helped create). The plot is boring and the characters are one dimensional. Zubrin cops out by using lots of verbalized thoughts, and it is distracting. At the end Zubrin gives us a revised version of the Turner Thesis (which he does excellently in Entering Space), but it comes out poorly. This is definitely NOT worth reading. But if he keeps trying, he'll get fiction right eventually. Give Zubrin two more books, and they'll start to get good!
Rating: 
Summary: The Science Isn't Improbable, The Story Is
Review: This first novel by Mars enthusiast, Robert Zubrin, follows hard on several much more successfully realized works by Ben Bova, Gregory Benford, Geoffrey Landis, and others. It is ironic and disappointing that one of the leading voices on behalf of Mars exploration should turn in such a half-hearted effort. What's missing here are the very minutiae that writers such as Bova and Stephen Baxter excell at detailing. Zubrin fails to make his story as much about the expedition and the planet on which it is set as it is about the people, all of whom remain mere thumbnail sketches, caricatures. That any space agency would group these five disparate souls together for the first expedition to Mars is not only unlikely, but completely improbable. Among them number Rebecca the empiricist, Gwen the religious zealot, Luke the good ole Texas boy, and so on. Didn't NASA conduct any psyche profiles before selecting this crew? And how unlikely is it that NASA would ever select historian/chronicler McGee for such a mission? Wishful thinking on Zubrin's part. NASA, furthermore, is reknowned for exercising control over virtually every detail of an expedition such as that depicted in the novel. It borders on the ludicrous then that upon arrival, the crew and Mission Control suddenly debate the priorities of the expedition: geology or biology. Like other recent novels, Mars Crossing and The Martian Race, First Landing is as much about suspense and thrills as it is about science and planetary exploration. It succeeds slightly better on this score, I think, through a series of improbable but exciting mishaps. What's missing, however, is the wonder of walking on the Martian surface, of walking on a new, unexplored world. The author hurries through the science unneccessarily, as if his audience would somehow be bored by the very things that made them, certainly me, pick up the book in the first place. I don't doubt that Zubrin has a better Mars novel in him; he needs, however, to trust his reader's enthusiasm as much as his own.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Read
Review: This is a classic read for the Mars enthusiast, spec fiction / sci /fi fan. Zubrin brings to life the close reality of a Mars Mission in human as well as technological terms. His imagination makes the story as real as it can get...until we can get to Mars ourselves. A true page turner and great Summer read.
Rating:
Summary: Just get it !
Review: This is a MUST have for SERIOUS sci-fi and space fans. I have read a many sci-fi publications but reading one produced by the specialist in the field is a very different experience all together. Backing story with solid facts makes this book very believable. I found movies Mission to Mars, Red Planed and Escape from Mars not that interesting as they have too much FX and not so much human insides. This book together with Red/Green/Blue Mars, Mars [Bova] and Mars Crossing is a lot more realistic and entertaining.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Novel, Just The Right Length!
Review: This is great stuff, Zubrin is one cool dude and writes fiction with the best of them. The story entranced me and drew me in and I could not stop myself from reading. If you wonder how it may be like to explore and survive on the planet Mars in the first expedition (circa 2011) read this book, I bet when we finally reach Mars with a human crew it will be very much as depicted by Zubrin here in this novel.
The mission Zubrin describes here is beset with many technical hurdles, some may be from sabotage, and political intrigue exists as well. Mars is a beautiful planet in it's own unique way and Zubrin conveys with success that beauty and wonder to the reader. I thought the resourcefulness of the crew, consisting of five members, was amazing, and the trip to the bottom of the Valley Of The Mariners was very well done. Character development was superb, I loved Rebecca, the biologist. Their ordeal is realistically put forth by Zubrin, again it was a page turner for me. This novel portrays our future exploration of Mars in the grandest sense, a joy to read, expertly written, and should be read by all science fiction fans and others as well. At the end of this novel resides a short appendix where Zubrin details the Mars Direct plan, interesting indeed. In fact, Zubrin believes spacefaring countries could send humans to Mars within a decade or so, if support developed, and we could become a two planet species. Dr. Zubrin is an astronautical engineer and has written two non-fiction space related books, Entering Space, and The Case For Mars, also well worth reading
Rating:
Summary: Bob Zubrin is one of the great visionaries of our time!
Review: This is the first fiction book by Bob Zubrin, author of the highly acclaimed book "The Case for Mars". As with writers such as Isaac Asimov and Sir Arthur Clarke, Zubrin displays a huge talent for writing BOTH science AND science fiction, and First Landing is a great showcase for this talent! I would argue that Bob Zubrin is also one of the greatest visionaries of our time, someone whose work should NOT be missed. First Landing tells the story of the first human landing on Mars. It's an intriguing tale, made all the more plausible and realistic by the fact that Zubin is one of the leading scientists working on plans to explore -- and settle -- the Red Planet. After Hollywood trash such as "Red Planet", First Landing is a breath of fresh air! If only they had (or perhaps they will or should!) turn First Landing into a movie. It would be fabulous. If you have any interest whatsoever in Mars or in human space exploration -- or even if you are just looking for a book that will portray a thought-provoking glimpse of the future, I can definitely recommend First Landing. (I also highly recommend Bob Zubrin's other books, "The Case for Mars" and "Entering Space". If you haven't read those, pop those books in your Amazon cart along with First Landing!)
|
