From Library Journal
In 2014, microbial ecologist and medical doctor Valkerie Jansen is thrilled to be part of Ares 10, the first manned mission to Mars. Unfortunately, the other three crew members resent her because another crew member was cut to make room for her and because she's outspoken about her Christianity. From the start, problems plague the mission, and because of high winds at the launch, a tail fin clips the tower, leaving the rocket damaged. As Valkerie begins to believe that the commander is sabotaging the ship, her fellow crew members suspect that she's developing a paranoia complex. When a bomb destroys part of their power supply, everyone points the finger at someone else. With their oxygen running out before they can reach base camp on Mars, a radical suggestion threatens the crew's stability even further, and Valkerie must rely on her faith to help her survive. Olson and Christy Award-winning Ingermanson (Transgression) combine solid sf with an increasingly tense mystery for a fantastic addition to any collection.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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*Starred Review* Only a few years ago, science fiction seemed a vexed genre in Christian fiction, but Olson and Ingermanson demonstrate how far it has come in
Oxygen, the meticulously authentic tale of a mission to Mars that goes awry. Pressured by the media to launch during prime time and fearful that anything less than a dramatically successful mission will cause congressional funding to evaporate, NASA cuts some corners and imperils the mission's power supply. Valkerie Jansen, the Christian physician assigned to the craft, and Bob Kaganovski, physicist and space mechanic, join two others in righting the handicapped craft, but in deep space, there's an explosion, reducing the ship's oxygen supply. To conserve it, three crew members are placed in comas, while Valkerie guides the ship onward, conserving power and oxygen in a scenario reminiscent of the flight of
Apollo 13. Olson and Ingermanson draw their characters carefully, keep tension high, and introduce real spiritual dilemmas without being preachy. They capture the ironic repartee of astronauts to the last nuance. The result is a real delight.
John MortCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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