Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good book - he needs to do another one. :-)
Review: I liked Mars Crossing. There is something I can't quite put my finger on about character development that he needs to do better at - but I liked the characters. I liked them better than those cartoonishly larger than life critters that populate too many books.I have a note on safety - DON'T go "urban spelunking," as described in the bookd. Or if you do, bring oxygen with you and an oxygen monitor. Why? Because people die down there from lack of oxygen. I know this because I was trained to do it many years ago. Heavy gases build up, and you don't know it. By the time you are anoxic, you're too far gone to get out - i.e. a goner. H2S, for example, saturates the nose at very low concentrations, so a whiff smells the same as near total replacement of atmosphere. There is a reason why manhole crews have ventilator-blowers up top, and generally, there is supposed to be a guy up top ready to pull you out at any time. Be careful! Surges happen, and what was safe 5 minutes ago can turn deadly. About the story - At first I thought, "Oh, this crew is ridiculous!" But after it was explained how the mission was finished with private money, it was plausible, so OK on that. The plot had a number of things happen that were highly unlikely though, like going to check out an old return vehicle without very careful and meticulous, step by step procedures. The initial setup disaster was pretty hard to believe. However, I've seen some amazing stuff go on behind the scenes. They would have had more help though, from the earth, to figure out how to get through their problem and to do the checkout. Shrugging off death? The last reviewer seemed to imply that when someone gets killed people would collapse or something like that. I know from personal experience, that isn't what happens. At least it wouldn't with a crew who could get to Mars. That part was highly accurate. You keep moving and bury the dead. Mourning comes out later, over years. It wasn't very likely that a commander on a death march across Mars would spend days looking for someone who was lost though. He'd know exactly what the life of the suit was, and stop looking when it was over. Anything else would be dereliction of duty to the crew. That seemed quite odd to me. It was quite a traverse story. He made it believeable I thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Dissapointing
Review: I really have nothing good to say about this book, so I'll keep this short. The characters are horrible, cardboard cliches. The plot is dull, and completely devoid of any exciting moments. And worst of all, the descriptions of Mars itself are utterly uninspiring. A brand new, never before explored terrain, and the author can barely string three sentences together about it. Avoid this novel at all costs.
Rating: 
Summary: Great beach reading
Review: If it's a page turner you are interested in, this is it. For a first novel, it's pretty good but I'm looking forward to reading Landis' next book. Pros: Totally enjoyable. Lots of interesting classical physics problems to think about. Engaging plot. Cons: No totally new ideas. The characters were not very interesting to me.
Rating:
Summary: Familiar ground but negotiated well
Review: In 1991 Geoffrey Landis wrote an award-winning story, "A Walk in the Sun," about an astronaut on the moon who must traverse a seemingly impossible distance in order to remain alive. In "Mars Crossing," six astronauts on Mars must traverse a seemingly impossible distance in order to remain alive. I was surprised to see a central theme that so closely parallels the earlier story (to say nothing of the even better-known story "The Cold Equations"), but even so this was a gripping, well-told story. Landis writes in Arthur C. Clarke-style "chapters" of one-half (ahem) to 4 pages each that interpose the action on Mars with backstories for each of the astronauts. The youngest of the travellers is probably the most poorly characterized, acting no more mature than the typical 12-year-old, but the others are strongly realized. Landis also provides a vivid description of Mars and the technology needed to survive there. I enjoyed "Mars Crossing" and am eager to see Landis apply himself in a completely fresh direction for his next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Story, Characters with Depth, Dead-on Science
Review: In the mid-twenty-first century, humans have twice made the trek to Mars, and in both instances they met with death. The first two-man team died mysteriously while exploring Mars' north pole. A second, larger expedition was equally disastrous, the crew leaving Mars much earlier than planned, their spacecraft exploding unexpectedly during the return trip. Now, a third team of explorers have arrived. A disparate group on a mission funded both by government and commercial sources, they hope to survive the trip of a lifetime. No sooner have they landed than they seem to have been visited by the Mars curse. Their return vehicle, which had arrived some time before, has been manufacturing rocket fuel from the Martian atmosphere, but a malfunction causes the tanks to fill to over-pressure, killing the crewman who investigates. With one of their number dead already, and their return vehicle beyond hope of refueling, Commander John Radkowski must undertake a journey across the unforgiving landscape, hoping to use the return vehicle of the first landing party. Unfortunately, even if they can make it across hundreds of kilometers of alien territory to the north pole, the return vehicle can carry three people at most - and there are five in his group! Even if they make it there safely, how does he choose who will live, and who will die? Dr. Geoffrey A. Landis, a NASA researcher and celebrated short-story writer, has written a tight, tense story set in a place that is becoming increasingly familiar to us. Every year, we learn more and more about the Red Planet, as new probes are sent to explore it and more surprises are revealed. As the explorers trek across the Martian landscape, Landis treats us to a ripping good survival story. His science is solid, always a plus for hard SF; his characters are believable; and he doesn't let the details get in the way of a great plot and a series of nail-biting cliff-hangers (literally and metaphorically). His short chapters (some scarcely a page long) are interspersed with background stories of the Martian explorers which are nearly as interesting as the main narrative. All in all, I highly recommend this novel. It's an excellent addition to the Martian literary explosion of recent years, certainly ranking up there with books like Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars and Ben Bova's Mars. This is Landis's first novel (he has won both a Hugo and a Nebula for his short fiction) - he'll be hard-pressed to top it with his next endeavor. Although he wouldn't divulge any details, he told us his next book is set in near-Earth orbit.
Rating:
Summary: A Captivating Trek Across Mars
Review: In this near term science fiction novel, circa 2028, Geoffrey Landis gives us an exciting long distance trek across the surface of the planet Mars in a desperate attempt to save themselves after a major equipment malfunction puts them in deadly peril. Two previous Martian missions have both failed. This is an exciting adventure and kept me turning the pages. The plot and character development were excellent, with several flashbacks that brought out the backgrounds and personalities of the astronauts in meticulous detail without becoming monotonous. In some science fiction novels an author sometimes creates too many characters, but here Landis gets it just right. There are many chapters, all very short. Landis is a NASA engineer, so the technical aspects of this novel are superb, and as in all great science fiction the technology takes on a supporting role to the story and the lives of the people involved. This is a well written novel, earthy at times, not stodgy, a joy to read, a brilliant literary work. And you may even learn a little about the real planet Mars, after all, that is what science fiction is all about, a look at future possibilities in an entertaining way, and there is also a surprise ending.
Rating:
Summary: Mars Crossing
Review: Landis has written an intriguing novel about survival in the harsh environment of Mars. The story flows well and the development of the characters is wonderful. He has incorporated much of the science pertaining to a mission to Mars as described by Dr. Robert Zubrin of the Mars Society. This one is really a page turner.
Rating: 
Summary: Leaves much to be desired
Review: Mars Crossing is very plain. I cannot find anything of real substance other than perhaps having some technical details that a NASA engineer can provide. The prose is dull, neither creating mental imagery nor giving genuine insight into characters' thoughts or feelings. Perhaps the author should read a little Hemmingway for influence. He also too often interjects events from the characters background that only have some superficial relevance to the story. These events become nothing more than diversions from a tale that doesn't grab your attention in the first place, resulting in a schizophrenic mess. The author has an appallingly juvenile attitude toward human sexuality. All events of a sexual nature either occur in an emotionless, routine fashion or in inappropriate times. Sex in the novel is both meaningless and ineffective. Yes, Mars Crossing left too much to be desired. Fortunately, I know of more enjoyable novels. If you find yourself longing for an adventure in an alien environment, I'd recommend Arthur C. Clarke's Rama series. If you want a logical and developing plot, then I'd recommend Asimov's recent (1980s and 1990s) additions to his Foundation series or his robot novels. If you desire bold imagination, then read Greg Bear's Eon and Eternity.
Rating:
Summary: Alien Landscape, Compelling Characters
Review: Nature, observed and described, is the fountainhead of all beauty. In Mars Crossing, the Martian landscape and the machinery of space flight spring to life with the power of the author's descriptions. Landis is also a master at creating compelling,characters, especially the women, and envisioning a future where they will experience the majesty of alien landscapes. I cried at the ending.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like "Survivor on Mars"
Review: Put together "The Case for Mars" by Robert Zubrin for the science, "Mars" by Ben Bova for the fiction, and CBS Television's "Survivor" TV show for the style, and you get "Mars Crossing" by Geoffrey Landis. I had high hopes when I began Mars Crossing. The premise is captivating. But I was dissappointed by the middle, tired of the very out-of-place characters. I would more expect the characters to show up on Jerry Springer or an afternoon soap opera, than form a trained inter-planetary expedition team. I became offended at the bipolar personalities and their crude obssessions. Completely out of place, they were hardly the type to be involved in one of the most challenging pursuits of mankind. For the most part, the science is represented well, based squarely on the work of well respected scientist and Mars colonization enthusiast Robert Zubrin, as described in his book "The Case for Mars." Landis describes the Zubrin technologies well, and illustrates the landscape admirably. As long as Mars Crossing keeps close to the Zubrin outline, the "hard science" works, but when the science begins to depart from Zubrin's framework, glaring deficiencies begin to appear. Mars Crossing gets one star for being written (writing a novel is hard, anyway) and one for the respectable descriptions of Zubrin's mission plan. Maybe NBC's new reality-TV, "Lost" will play out better than Mars Crossing.
| 
