A few years back I was lucky enough to come across a paperback copy of Ben Bova's Mars sitting on the shelf in my local We-Sell/We-Trade used book store and decided to give it a go. Although I had read many of Bova's books in the past, I had somehow never picked up a copy of his epic tale detailing the first manned expedition to the red planet. Written in 1992, Mars is more than a story about the fourth planet from our sun. It is really a study of human relationships and how they can grow or falter while under the extreme strain and tension of very confining conditions over extensive periods of time. Bova depicts a wonderfully diverse group of scientists who land on Mars and begin to set up a base camp and try to learn as much as they possibly can of Earth's mysterious neighbor. Along the way, Bova paints a very vivid picture of the Martian landscape and the dangers which would face such an expedition each and every day of their stay. He drives home that Mars can be a brutally uncaring place, filled with hidden obstacles and unknowns, throughout the book, delivering many different and exciting challenges to the Mars team. He is able to do this while also switching back and forth from Earth to Mars very smoothly in order to explain the unending political ramifications that a scientific journey to the red planet would most likely have to endure.

One character stands out from the rest in this novel, the Navaho geologist Jamie Waterman, who is thrust into the team quite unexpectedly just prior to the scheduled launch and must work harder than the rest of the team to prove himself worthy of the distinction of becoming one of the first people in human history to set foot on Mars. Jamie's struggles, both internally and externally, are central to the plot of Mars and his one "possible" significant discovery during one of the excursions becomes the focal point of much of the book. Filled with references to Jamie's mysterious Navajo background, the inherent discrimination that he faces because of it and plenty of Native American religious mystique, Mars moves along well and takes the reader to a place that no one has ever been to before as if Bova himself has been there many times. Many of the scenes depicting grave danger to the scientists on the red planet are delivered in a pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat style that one can only hope for in a science-fiction story these days. The awesome wonder of Waterman's "possible" discovery and what it could mean for all of humanity ultimately leaves the reader hungry for a sequel.

Lucky for me, I read Mars just in time for the paperback release of Ben Bova's Return To Mars, which I picked up at the local Waldenbooks over Christmas in 2000. The title tells it all--seven years later, Bova returns us to the red planet on a new expedition funded by the private sector instead of by the government and throws in one hard-nosed, billionaire businessman that becomes one of the book's back-on-Earth bad guys. Although I feared that this book had a good chance to be a rehash of the first one, I was happy to find out otherwise. Return to Mars is quite a different story. We find Jamie Waterman once again figuring prominently in this installment but now, he finds himself serving not as geologist but as mission commander. In fact, Waterman is the only one of the original crew who is part of the second team. Return To Mars dwells much more on the amazing discovery that Waterman made during his first trip to Mars and this is where the book gets much of it's appeal. Finding proof of previous life on Mars would very well be the most important discovery in human history and Bova goes out of his way to detail the evil forces which would most likely work to turn such a find into the ultimate tourist attraction and get-rich-quick scheme. Although several plot-lines between the two books do indeed repeat themselves: Waterman once again delves into his Navajo ancestry and spirituality (guided by his now dead grandfather through several dream sequences), he once again faces and must overcome discrimination by another member of his crew and begins to fall in love again with a female crew mate despite the previous failure of a relationship spawned by the first expedition, Return To Mars was a satisfying read and left me wondering if there is more to this story in Bova's mind. The ending of this book surely leads me to believe that we haven't seen the last of the red planet from this author.

So, if you haven't read them yet, I suggest you pick up both Mars and Return To Mars by Ben Bova. If you have read one and not the other, I suggest you pick up the other. Although not two of Bova's best, both books were very satisfying and do more than give you something to think about whenever you look up at the stars at night. Bova has been in the business of delivering good science fiction for over four decades now and he knows how to tell a good story, which is evidenced by these two books. Now that I am done with the second book in this, dare I say it, series--I'm really looking forward to beginning Ben Bova's Moonrise and Moonwar, the first two installments of his MOONBASE saga. If he can bring the Moon to life like he has done with Mars, I know I'll be in for an exciting ride.

Note - Joint review Mars & Return to Mars

This review was first published in a slightly different form on The Outer Rim Website