Teaser

Proof of life on Mars has been uncovered, yet the future of space exploration hangs on the edge of a knife. With the anti-science New Morality gaining influence on Earth, and the scientists on the red planet at each others throats, Jamie Waterman must find a way to ensure that Mars has a future. Even if it costs him his soul . . .

Review

It’s been a while since I read anything by Ben Bova, and longer still since I read Mars and Return to Mars. Happily, Mars Life continues the satisfying trend of Bova’s novels being largely standalone. Though you might miss out on some character relationships, and a bit of the backstory, everything you need to enjoy Mars Life is contained between the covers of this single book. That’s no mean feat, to create what is effectively a standalone within a trilogy within a larger universe. Yet Bova pulls it off, returning to Mars for a second time with a story that is every bit as good as I’ve come to expect from the man.

As is his tradition, Bova structures this story through dozens of incredibly short chapters, skipping from mars, to Earth, and even to the Moon. This is one of those books where I start to fully appreciate the scale of the Grand Tour universe, as Bova pulls together not only threads from the other Mars novels, but also brings in characters from Moonside and Moonwar. Again, you don’t need to have read those books to enjoy this one, but it adds an extra level of interconnectivity for long-term fans. The constant switching of chapters also allows the reader to get the full picture of Earth’s and Mars’ divergent futures.

On Mars we have a fairly familiar story of hardworking scientists whose conflicts are more to do with methodology than ideology. Everyone has their own vision of what Mars should be, which range from colonial outpost, to research institute, to tourist hotspot. The parallels between the extinct Martians and the Navajo of Earth come to a natural conclusion here, and I’m impressed with the way Bova handles it. No ancient aliens conspiracy theories, just the recognition that cultures adapt and evolve along similar lines. Furthermore, there’s a healthy dose of ambiguity about the links right through to the end. Maybe it is true, maybe it is all in the minds of people seeing only what they hope to find.

Back on Earth, things are far more depressing. This is only to be expected when a book tackles climate change with any degree of realism, but more depressing still is the New Morality. Personally, I did find their universal reach and influence a little bit of a stretch, but the idea of a society embracing comfortable delusions at the expense of open-minded curiosity is as chillingly plausible now as it was back when the book was written. One of the things I like about Bova’s work is the sense of optimism and positive attitude towards exploration, but in Mars Life, there’s not a whole lot of hope going around. There are only so many scenes of scientific advisers being fired, secular beliefs being driven out of schools, and extremist murderers that I can sit through before it gets a bit miserable. For the overwhelming majority of this book, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Sometimes, we have to go through the dark times to reach the light, however, and there’s just enough of a beacon of hope at the end of the book to leave me not wanting to off myself. A slim hope, but hope nonetheless. Naturally, that hope comes from Mars.

Mars Life, then, is a fitting conclusion to a trilogy about the challenges of interplanetary exploration. Not always a pleasant read, but with Bova at the helm it is an easy one, and a fine capstone to one era of the Grand Tour.

Book Stats

• Part of the Grand Tour
• The Mars Trilogy (#3)
• Published by Tor in 2008
• Hard SF
• 440 pages