Mars Life

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.

Bova is one of the Grandmasters of science fiction, and his ongoing Mars series ("Mars" and "Return to Mars") fits into the grand epic "of his Great Tour future history. The addition of "Mars Life" to the series keeps the series alive and Bova turning out good stories and a vision of how science and the future may interact. In the Mars portion of books, Navajo tribesman, Jamie Waterman, had discovered ancient cliff dwellings, and has been nurturing the Mars program along ever since. But funding has been drying up, with environmental disasters on Earth mounting, and religious fundamentalism growing. And those fundamentalists see the possibility of non-human life on Mars threatening to their beliefs, and want all funding for further exploration on Mars stopped. When Waterman discovers a fossil, far from helping his case, it only puts his life in danger. This is science fiction in the classic sense.

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.

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.

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