Customer Reviews

Mars Life (Grand Tour)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I haven't read a great deal of science fiction in recent years but I grew up on the novels of Heinlein, Asimov and Clarke, and Ben Bova's Mars Life reminds me a whole lot of the style used so successfully by those guys. Those writers were at their peaks in socially simpler times, when the dialogue of books and movies seldom reflected the harsh reality of street language and the raciest sex scenes described were of the relatively tame James Bond style. Their plots were seldom over-complicated, their character types rather predictable and their dialogue not always very realistic sounding. But, taken as a whole, the style worked, and today many of their books are considered to be science fiction classics. So the fact that Mars Life reads like a throwback to that science fiction era is not at all a bad thing.

This book is actually the third in Bova's Mars series but readers like me who have not read the first two books in the series will have no problem reading and enjoying it as a standalone novel. In fact, Mars Life is actually the sixteenth novel in Bova's "Grand Tour" series begun in 1993, which also includes a book of "Grand Tour" stories.

Navajo tribesman, Jamie Waterman, discovered Martian cliff dwellings on his first trip to Mars and has ever since that time dedicated his life to keeping the Mars exploration program focused and well-funded. Now, much to the dismay of Waterman and everyone associated with the program, both governmental and private funding is drying up and the existence of the program is threatened. Partially, that is because the United States government is facing the tremendously complicated and expensive prospect of relocating a substantial portion of its population due to all the flooding caused in recent years by global warming.

But even more importantly, a group of religious fundamentalists known as the New Morality has become so powerful that it can determine the outcome of elections at both the state and national levels by simply choosing whom to support. And New Morality leadership sees the archeological work being done on Mars as such a threat to its core religious beliefs that it wants the whole project shut down. Private donors have been intimidated into withdrawing their support from the Mars program, and the President and members of Congress told to do the same if they want to have any hope of being re-elected.

Mars Life is a race against the clock during which anthropologist Carter Carleton tries to uncover as much of the Martian village and cemetery discovered beneath the cliff dwellings as possible before everyone is forced to leave the planet and Waterman desperately searches for new sources of funding. It is also an intriguing look at what might happen if the clash between science and religion were to get so out of hand that extremists end up with the power to shut down scientific exploration any time that it threatens their shaky religious beliefs, something that seems more and more possible every day.

Mars Life (2008) is the eleventh SF novel in the Grand Tour series, following Titan. The storyline, however, continues from Return to Mars. In that volume, Jamie Waterman -- a Navajo -- found a cliff dwelling much like those of the Old Ones back on Earth. The announcement of intelligent life, even though extinct, was a great sensation, but the fundamentalists were not pleased.

When everyone else was recalled to Earth, Jamie and Vijay stayed behind. Then the Navajo nation claimed Mars with Jamie as their immediate caretaker. When another Navajo came to occupy the claim, Jamie and Vijay returned to Earth and were married.

In this novel, twenty-three years later, Jamie and Vijay are still married and still in love. But their son has died in a skydiving accident. Jamie was on Mars at the time and returned to console his wife. He has spent the past two years close to her, never leaving her alone.

Varuna Jarita -- Vijay -- isn't quite as devastated as Jamie thinks. She has been waiting for him to work out his own pain. When he decides to go back to Mars, she is ready to go with him. After all, they can always use another physician with Mars experience.

Dex Trumball was a geologist on Mars with Jamie two decades before. Since then, he has been head of the Mars Foundation. He is Jamie's best friend, but they do disagree about tourism on Mars.

Carter Carleton is the oldest man on Mars and the only archaeologist. He has come to Mars to escape the false charges of rape leading to his forced resignation from the university. He is still angry at the fundamentalists who framed him.

In this story, the fundamentalists are still not pleased with the evidence of intelligent life on Mars. They don't want to believe that any other form of intelligent life has ever existed. After all, God made Man in his own image.

Religious fanaticism is being encouraged by the fundamentalist leaders. People who incur their wrath are being killed by members of their groups. Despite disclaimers of responsibility from the pulpit, these leaders are providing justification for such killings. Someone has even set off car bombs near scientific facilities at the University of New Mexico where Jamie works.

These same religious leaders are using the economic and political power of their congregations to ban the teaching of Darwinism in the public schools and the universities. They are also trying to suppress the search for intelligent life on Mars. They pressure the President into zeroing out federal subsidies for the Mars Foundation and force reductions in its private contributions.

When Carleton discovers a vertebra in the ruins of the Martian village that he is excavating, the fundamentalists try to suppress the news. The base personnel, however, volunteer to help Carleton uncover the rest of the village. Then they find the Martian burial grounds.

This tale takes Jamie back to Mars with a serious problem to resolve. He sees his own depression and anger reflected in the feeling of the scientists there. They have come to Mars to investigate significant scientific issues and find their projects endangered by the antagonism of the religious conservatives and the apathy of the common people.

The story has conflicts, intrigue and sex. The excitement rises from the first to the last. The details seem to be well thought out, yet it all seems so contrived. It lacks a feeling of spontaneity.

Suggested for Bova fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of Mars exploration, xenopsychology, and dedicated scientists.

-Arthur W. Jordin

The Grand Tour is tapering off with this installment. I did enjoy the further exploration of Mars and discovery of Martian fossils. The familiar characters were welcome.

The references to Christians and scientists were a bit heavy-handed. It supposes that tens of millions of Christians are old-style Puritans and/or loons and that despite their foibles scientists are the epitome of human development and ardent in thier pursuit of knowledge.

Such broad strokes take away from the story as the truth is somewhere far in between.

Some character motivations and reactions seem a bit...exagerrated, as if this was a screenplay. Some characters even seemed repellent which surprised me. It almost seemed rushed.

It was worth three stars but far from Bova's best works. It is worth reading if you have the first two installments under your belt.

Regards,
Sean

Humanity first set down on the Red Planet more than twenty years ago. Now nearly two hundred explorers are bound and determined to unlock its secrets...among which includes living lichen and subterranean bacteria and the long-extinct Martian organisms that built a rock a dwelling high up in a cliff.

But not everyone is so eager to uncover the secrets of Mars. Back on Earth there is a growing movement -- spearheaded by the ultra-conservative New Morality -- to shut down all exploration on the Red Planet.

Now Jamie Waterman, the lead geologist on the First Expedition to explore Mars, is in a race against time...can he procure the means to the keep a manned presence permanently on the Red Planet, or will the New Morality have its way and shut down Humanity's beachhead into the unknown forever?

Ben Bova, per norm, does a wonderful job of giving you a glimpse of what is just around the corner...along with what aspects of our Human nature may hold us back from pushing Humanity's boundaries. The biggest peeve I had with this tale is that Bova does not balance his New Morality "bad guy". In the story, the New Morality slithers its way into politics on the national level...ok, that's fine and believable. But in real life, there are counterbalances. The New Morality's push to theocratize would inevitably be offset by those who believed the opposite position, that government should be run wholly on a secular basis. Thus, a give and take. But there was no balance, it was just institution after institution -- both public and private -- either willingly caving in or being forced to cave.

However, as always, Bova does an achingly realistic job of portraying what our exploration of the Solar System (in this case Mars) will probably be like; the highs and lows of this exploration were exceedingly believable. Mars Life is recommended to anyone interested in the Red Planet, but most especially it is recommended to those who have read the two previous tales (Mars and Return to Mars) in this series.

I've been waiting for this book for a long time! I was left with the shimmering image of pueblo in a Martian cliff in Bova's Return to Mars in 2000. I wanted to read this ending chapter in Bova's Mars trilogy for so long that I resorted to e-mailing Dr. Bova to ask him if he was going to finish the Mars trilogy or had he given up interest in Mars in favor of his "grand tour" series of novels about the solar system. This may be the reply to my e-mail!

Mars Life is an epic novel taking place on Mars and Earth (mostly) and having such diverse characters as disgraced academics in exile on Mars, Christian fundamentalist politicians, duplicitous financiers, ambitious nano-technologists, feuding astronauts, Moon colonists, and Jamie Waterman the man who discovered the Martian habitations, not a hero but a man trying to find a path to do the right thing. At first the novel seems to alternate chapters between Mars and Earth but as the plot starts to evolve and add complexity this sing-song approach is quickly left behind. The chapters are usually short but they either set up a problem for later in the novel or they delineate a discovery. But every chapter whets your appetite for the next one. Bova very successfully weaves the plot, subplots, and characters deftly in and out of sight with the confidence borne of a storyteller at the height of his powers who doesn't need a lot of flash and sparkle to impress, but let's the story subtly unfold in front of you. I'm even loathe to use the word subplot because there is nothing `sub' about any of it, all the stories and characters serve the plot, yet none of the stories feel cheated or forced. His plotting or the action may not go in the direction you think it may, or should go, but it follows life, that is, it stays true to the characters and their motivations, and you're never disappointed about how the action rolls out. As you approach the end of Mars Life you may ask yourself how is Bova going to wrap all these threads up? He does successfully wrap them up and without a deux ex-machina or at least one where you can see the gears grinding away at the plot. Instead we're left with an idea and hope.

I know I haven't divulged too much of the plot in this review, but that's yours to discover.

Legendary sci-fi author Ben Bova has written an exciting conclusion to his well-known "Mars" series of books.

Jamie Waterman, the Navajo mission director of the first two Mars missions, finds himself in a precarious position in this book. Despite having discovered ancient cliff dwellings on Mars as well as learning that some catastrophic cosmic event snuffed out all martian life roughly 65 million years ago, Jamie's new Mars team is facing challenges from the American government, fundamentalist groups, and donors.

The government, under pressure from the New Morality, has completely withdrawn funding for the Mars operation. Global warming has taken up most of the government's available funds, so there is nothing left for the Mars mission. Even Dex Trumball, former Mars team member and now friend of Jamie, can't keep the foundation money going to Mars. It appears that the Mars base will be shut down and the members foreced to return to Earth.

However, Carter Carleton has discovered a fossil which appears to have a backbone. Driven from his university post by a charge of rape, Carleton's discovery may be enough to save the Mars mission. Upon learning of the discovery, Jamie and his wife Vijay leave to go to Mars themselves. Not only has Carleton uncovered a fossil, but an entire Martian village as well. But, these discoveries have done little to sway public opinion on Earth. The New Morality still wants the mission cancelled, and eventually, Dex journeys to Mars to pitch his tourism proposal to Jamie; one he thoroughly rejected earlier. But does he have a choice now? Will the Mars mission come to an end, or will Jamie and Dex somehow find a way to keep the expedition going despite overwhelming odds?

The Mars series has become one of my favorites, and this great book keeps up the fine tradition established in the previous volumes. The characters are well-developed, and the story itself is very good. I was immediately drawn into the story, and I enjoyed the entire book. I've read numerous books by Ben Bova, and I'd rate "Mars Life" as one of the best.

I give this book my highest recommendation. Ben Bova has created a wonderful story about Mars. Read "Mars Life" and discover the secrets of the red planet.

Scientists have made an incredible discovery--structures left behind by intelligent beings on the planet Mars. These beings appear to have been wiped out in the same destruction that eliminated dinosaurs and most other life from Earth, but they left behind writings, and possibly other remains buried deep beneath Mars's surface. Unfortunately, the scientific mission to Mars is split by personalities and under attack by increasingly powerful and anti-science religious groups. These groups have not only lobbied the government to eliminate direct subsidies for science of any type, they also lead boycotts of companies who support science through private contributions, as well as encourage parents (and intolerant children) to cut off all contact between themselves and scientific research.

With the Mars mission he's dedicated his life to on the brink of collapse, Jamie Waterman resolves to return to Mars, to find a way to make the program continue--despite all of the obstacles to success. Waterman must find a way to resolve the political bickering on Mars, persuade Seline colony (on the moon) to take over funding responsibilities abdicated by Earth, and find some way to overcome the deliberate ignoring of scientific evidence by the people back on Earth. Even his allies doubt he can be successful, are proposing programs he'll never be able to support (e.g., tourism-funded Mars projects), and the Mars writing remains hopelessly stuck--lacking a Rosetta Stone to make it intelligible.

Author Ben Bova provides a grim but not too way-out look at a world (Earth) beset by runaway global warming, increasingly dominated by ultra-religious fanatics who share a hatred for the science that proves many of their cherished beliefs to be false, and unable to overcome its fear of progress. Even Bova's heroes, especially anthropologist Carter Carleton, in charge of the excavation of a suspected Mars village, are deeply flawed--being a scientist doesn't make a person perfect, after all. As time ticks down and the evacuation of the Mars mission seems inevitable, Waterman still struggles to bring the Mars scientists together around a unified goal--or even around the idea that a single goal is appropriate.

The strength of Bova's story lies in its view of a dangerous future in which the intolerant and ignorant have largely succeeded in shutting down the voice of science. A few characters, especially priest DiNardo, stand out as fully fleshed and interesting. As a priest and scientist, DiNardo wrestles with his faith, his science and a God who can permit so much suffering and evil to exist. Most of the other characters are less fully developed, furthering the story but not really engaging the reader's interest. (Bova tends to write plot-centered rather than character-centered stories).

I found the ending to be hopeful and enjoyable--although a bit far-fetched. Still, what Bova is really trying to do is remind us that while science can have both positive and negative aspects, ignorance is surely evil and must be fought. While Bova's delivery is occasionally heavy-handed, in today's world, this is a message that needs to be heard.

Ben Bova's book reminds me a bit of Issac Asimov in the sense that the action takes place in boardrooms and meetings. This is a fabulous read about the frustrations of trying to make science work in a world of fundamental denial.
Bova's first book brought us to Mars. His second made us live in Mars and the third examines what it will take to preserve and cherish the planet. Jamie Waterman, a great character once again returns to salvage an operation rotting from lack of funding. The long awaited discovery of what the Martian village is all about is finally revealed as well as a few other surprises.
The ending, left me with hope and anticipation that the future may indeed be worth living if science is allowed to survive it.

I had not read the first two books in this series, in fact didn't know there were two previous books until I read the reviews here. Even still, a reader can pick up Mars Life and understand what is going on. I liked the story and thought the happenings on Mars were believable. It was hard to get a sense of how far in the future this was supposed to be. They had ships which could get them to Mars in under a week but computers which didn't seem much different than what we use today. My only real problem with the book was the political stuff back on Earth. The New Morality organization frankly seemed unbelievable to me. Not that I couldn't believe in that such an organization could exist. I couldn't believe that such an organization could gain such power in the United States in so short a time. Also, and this is a minor point, the global warming crisis Earth was handled pretty much as an after thought and suffered therefore from inconsistencies.

One other thing, the plot device to get the priest to Mars was a failure. In fact, the whole subplot involving the priest could have been dropped. I'm guessing he was a major character in perhaps the first book and Bova wanted to wrap-up his history.

In his first trip to Mars, Native American geologist Jamie Waterman discovered proof that life existed on the red planet when he found the ruins of cliff dwellings. He wants to return to continue his anthropological studies of the dead Martians, but so far lacks funding.

On earth, the planet suffers from environmental disaster so the government has doubts about research into a dead race on another orb. At the same time religious leaders demand the end to the Martian exploration expedition; claiming heresy and a waste of money on a fake project. When Waterman shows a fossil from the fourth planet from the sun, he places his wife and him in danger from fanatics. Desperate, the couple returns to Mars to save their project.

Part of the superb Grand Tour exploration of the solar system, Ben Bova's RETURN TO MARS with the star of that title and book three MARS, Jamie Waterman, back tying to continue the exploration into a past civilization on the fourth planet. Mindful of the Planet of the Apes after the archaeological find of a talking human doll, Mr. Bova catches the nuances of the politicking of science as the politicians do not want the facts to interfere with the prime objective of reelection and the religious fundamentalists ignore ethical means as only achieving their end goal matters. Readers will appreciate this fine action-packed tale as a beleaguered Jamie cannot comprehend why his find does not propel funding while Mr. Bova makes it lucid where he stands on support to science.

Harriet Klausner