Mars

By: Ben Bova

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 18 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

This grand epic adventure from six-time Hugo Award - winning author Ben Bova tells the irresistible story of man's first mission to that great unconquered frontier, Mars. Technically plausible and compellingly human, Bova's story explores the political, scientific, and social repercussions of our greatest quest yet: the search for evidence of life beyond Earth's boundaries.

Half-Navajo geologist Jamie Waterman has been selected for the ground team of the first manned expedition to our mysterious neighbor planet. Joining an international team of astronauts and scientists, he endures the rigors of training, the dangers of traveling an incredible distance in space, the challenges of an alien landscape, and the personal and political conflicts that arise when the team must face the most shocking discovery of all.

Listen to Ben Bova's complete Mars trilogy, including the second book, Return to Mars, and the third book, Mars Life.

©1992 Ben Bova (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A bulging, impressive, all-you-ever-wanted-to-know, you-are-there Martian odyssey." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Mars is a really descriptive and engaging story..

Mars is a great story, engaging, believable and descriptive. Close your eyes and you can join the crew and be a part of the atory. wasy to visualise the narrative.....well presented. I found it difficult to 'put down'. Would like to see more by this author and presenter....

Mars the final frontier

It's been a while since I've read a straight scifi space book. I am so happy to be back! This is the beginning of a beautiful relationship with this author.

Peaks the Interest

Listening to the 1st in this series got me hooked and wanting to find out more. Our Navajo hero is at times predictable and hormone centric but the premise was good and the story interesting.

its Ben Bova !

Constantly good, never immensely excellent, but Bova is always good
I listened to sam gunn...venus and mars.
sam gunn was funnier. but all have nice sci-fy stuff in them
venus was more about the space travel which i like...mars more about the destination.
I would have to say sam gunn>>venus>mars

Common sense is second to human nature

How can a diverse group maintain professionalism and decorum while surviving Mars and each other? Clicks, power and discovery fuel the characters through till the end. Will they all survive? Sadly the chances of anyone ever returning to earth is held ransom by fear and unknown sickness. Can they survive the perils of Mars? Will space or politics bring forth their end? Does Mars harbour life? Ben Bova makes the red planet come alive and his characters have depth and bring forth a range of emotions.

Awesome read

I was sucked into the story line right away and wasn't able to put it down once I got started. The narrator's performance was equally awesome, making every character come to life with each its own voice and accent. Sublime. I was so disappointed I reached the last chapter, just to find out there are two follow-on books. Made my day! Recommended A++.

Slow, but nicely written and narrated

This tale unfolds slowly, but it's engaging and well-told. Clearly intended as part of a series - which I don't often care for - it nonetheless manages to stand on its own. The characters are carefully unfolded and come to life under Rudnicki's outstanding narration. (I don't think they come better than Rudnicki.) Bova doesn't follow the usual formula leading to an ending where everything blows up. If fast-paced, hard-hitting action is what you're looking for - and there's certainly a place for that - you likely won't like this one. If a well-told, good story is your interest, this won't let you down. I will read this next one.

Try to keep that sand outside of the capsule, OK?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Definitely. The performance by Stefan is outstanding ( as always ) and the characters are drawn well, with enough nuance, and complexity, to be real enough that the reader cares about them, however they feel about them. In general, enough complexity in subject matter, with action and mystery, to attract, and retain, attention.

Would you be willing to try another book from Ben Bova? Why or why not?

Yes. I am a fan, and will wade through most of them, eventually.

What does Stefan Rudnicki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nuanced, intelligent activation of the characters, as written. Stefan seems to have a unique relationship with Bova's stye and pacing, and the 2 of them are a powerful team.

Did Mars inspire you to do anything?

Yes! I recently had a telescope repaired by a friend, and I dragged it out to the back deck ( in Ballard, Seattle, WA ) and checked out the Red Planet. Could see Phobos clearly!

Any additional comments?

A grand component, with flaws of course, to the Solar System series. Well worth the effort.

Good sci Fi

To much Politics for me. Kind of ruined the story.Not bad - just not as good a sit could have been

Mars or Bust!

Mars is Ben Bova's love letter to space exploration; it's a novel-length booster for a manned Mars program. A very well-conceived and engaging (in places) novel, you should not read it expecting it to be space opera or really, any kind of adventure aside from the inevitable dangers of flying to another planet. Mars stays strictly hard SF, so even when the possibility of life on Mars arises, you can be sure it won't come in the form of ancient cities and little red men, nor hazardous beasties who need to be shot or run from.

The main character is Jamie Waterman, a half-Navajo geologist who is a member of the first Mars expedition. The expedition is a multinational effort, with astronauts and scientists from every country that could afford to chip in. Much of the drama in the book involves the politics of the mission — the Russians and the Americans jealously keep track of how many astronauts of each country get to join the landing party, the Japanese astronauts are hyper-conscious of how they are representing their country, and the promiscuous hottie who does every other man on the expedition deliberately drives the Russians crazy by not sleeping with them because Russians killed her grandfather fifty years ago. Meanwhile, back home the founder of the Mars project is trying to balance concerns for the mission (including the fact that his own daughter is one of the scientists on Mars) with satisfying the politicians, in whose hands rest the decision to send more Mars expeditions or not. There are politics in space and on the ground, along with dossiers on each character that add depth to their backgrounds so that we understand why each one behaves the way they do on the mission.

That said, while the characters were each fleshed out and the story is compellingly plausible, with just enough hazards introduced to make the mission more than a long walk in space, it's a little spare as sci-fi goes. The major life-threatening situation that arises — a "Mars flu" that mysteriously afflicts everyone and stumps all the physicians trying to figure out its cause — has a clever forehead-smacking solution. There are hints of Martian life that don't really develop into much by the end of the book, though they are enough to whet the appetites of scientists, and readers of subsequent books in this series. There is some political intrigue between Jaimie Waterman, his ambitious journalist girlfriend back on Earth, and the opportunistic Vice President of the United States, each of them trying to get what they want from the other to advance their own agenda.

An enjoyable if slightly dry hard SF novel that should certainly go on your "Mars or Bust!" reading list. 3.5 stars - good book, though not very exciting.