Rating: 
Summary: Science 1, Fiction 0
Review: This is a very uninteresting tale of a multi-national team of astronauts who have landed on Mars and then are forced to trek across the planet to try to save themselves. Sound cool? It ain't. The tale of their boring trudge across Mars is broken up by chapters giving us their utterly implausable backstories. The Trevor/Brandon switcheroo is just too stupid to believe. Identical twins, one 18, one 21, (HUH?) buy $60K worth of Win A Trip To Mars lottery tickets. Older twin wins, has a suspicious accident then the younger twin assumes his identity and takes his place on the mission. Where did the boys get $60K for the lottery tickets? Where were their parents? Why didn't the inevitable celebrity spotlight that would result from their winning uncover their sham. Too, too mind-numbingly dumb.
COL Radkowski's tale is also downright silly. Here's a guy who kills someone during a holdup as a teen and ends up commanding the third mission to Mars. Gimme a break.
Then there is Estrela, the Brazilian prostitute turned geologist. It just keeps getting worse from here, believe me.
Comes complete with an absolutely horrible throwaway ending.
Don't buy this book. Stick with Robinson or Bova for your Mars fix.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good book.
Review: This was a good book. I have been reading a lot of the Mars books lately. As I said, this book is good, but not AS good as books like Kim Stanley Robinsons Mars trilogy, or Mars and Return to Mars by Ben Bova, or The Martian Race by Gregory Benford. One thing that bugged me about this book was the unnecessary amount of profanity and vulgarity. Perhaps a book needs some profanity so seem more "realistic", but to much starts to get annoying and is just plain unimaginative. Theres not really a point to it. Also, I found that whole part about the "initation" into the spacestation part rather disgusting. If you read the book you know what Im talking about. If I was an astronaut I would be offended by it. I did like the scientific and technical details. Most of the characters were cool. It was a good story. Some parts were suspenseful. I liked the short chapters. And I also like how it flasbacks every now and then. Anyway, it is a good book. However, I'd recommend waiting for the paperback.
Rating:
Summary: To Live or Die on Mars
Review: Two Mars expeditions, two unqualified failures, two crews dead. Now a third mission is stranded-with no hope of rescue. The only chance for the six-person crew is a grueling trek halfway across Mars. Their destination: the northern pole, where an Earth return vehicle from the first failed expedition may still be operational. Unfortunately, the return vehicle has only enough room for two! Who will be the lucky two: John Radkowski, mission commander; Ryan Martin, systems engineer; Cham Limpigomolchai, geologist; Tana Jackson, biologist; Estrella Conselheiro, geologist (her husband died on the first Mars expedition); or Trevor Whitman, civilian (he was "lucky" enough to win his place on the Mars mission through a lottery designed to earn billions for the mission)? Mars Crossing is well-written. Author Landis brings the harsh Martian environment to reality--the rocks, the chasms, the dust devils--and the shear weariness of the astronauts in trying to traverse 6,000 kilometers in vehicles with an expected time of failure of only 1,000 kilometers. The book is written in two layers. The first layer deals with the actual Mars mission. The second layer is backstory for each of the characters. Through backstory the reader becomes familiar with each character and with the secrets they harbor, secrets they don't want revealed! Geoffrey Landis is not only a writer of sf, he is a working scientist. He has published papers in the fields of photovoltaics and astronautics. In 1998 he was awarded a fellowship from The NASA Institute of Advanced Concepts to help design laser-pushed light-sails for interstellar vehicles. Landis's technical expertise and dramatic story-telling make Mars Crossing a fast-paced read.
| 
