Mars Life
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4.0 • 6 Ratings
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
The action and excitement continue on Mars in this entry to the series of Planet novels from a science fiction master and six-time Hugo Award–winning author.
"A gripping and convincing conclusion to the story begun in Mars . . . and Return to Mars. . . . Bova deftly captures the excitement of scientific discovery and planetary exploration. This compelling story, balancing action and plausible political intrigue, will easily be enjoyed by both fans and newcomers." —Publishers Weekly
Jamie Waterman discovered the cliff dwelling on Mars, and the fact that an intelligent race lived on the red planet sixty-five million years ago, only to be driven into extinction by the crash of a giant meteor. Now the exploration of Mars is itself under threat of extinction, as the ultraconservative New Morality movement gains control of the U.S. government and cuts off all funding for the Mars program.
Meanwhile, Carter Carleton, an anthropologist who was driven from his university post by unproven charges of rape, has started to dig up the remains of a Martian village. Science and politics clash on two worlds as Jamie desperately tries to save the Mars program and uncover who the vanished Martians were.
"[An] exceptionally intelligent and absorbing story." —Booklist
Customer Reviews
A misguided finale
After really enjoying the first 2 novels in this series this one left me stunned with disappointment but I should’ve seen it coming with the author’s opening notes to this book. It’s very clear what he thinks of religion and while I’m not going to deny there have been some awful crimes and influences in the name of religion this book seemed almost an essay on his views of religion and the crusade to discredit the exploration of Mars because of their (the religious) views of what that could mean regarding scripture.
My second issue is with the main character of Jamie and this has probably been stemming for a while but his insistence on preservation of the planet just seemed bizarre and wrong and given the earth’s place during this book where the world is coming apart because of global warming it’s like he can’t see the forest for the trees. Even now people wonder if humans could colonize Mars if the Earth became uninhabitable but Jamie is so worried about scientific discovery it’s like he can’t understand there will be no humans to appreciate the work or the history because we will all be dead and then who cares?
This was an easy read in terms of prose and I do hope to read some others in the Grand Tour series but this left a very sour taste in my mouth.