John B. Olson & Randall Ingermanson
Oxygen (2001)
Authors: John B. Olson & Randall Ingermanson
Genre: Science Fiction/Mystery/Christian
Plot Summary:
It's 2012, and NASA is gearing up for the first manned flight to Mars. The first order of business is selection of the crew. The mission will last almost three years, and NASA can't afford to a psychological meltdown. Another issue: Christian fundamentalists are protesting at the gates. They fear that if the mission discovers evidence of life on Mars, it will undermine creationist theory. As such, Bob, the mechanic chosen for the mission, is somewhat concerned when he learns that one of his crew members (a woman named Valkerie whom he's also attracted to) is a fundamentalist Christian. After a rough launch that jostles the ship, the crew pushes onward toward Mars with a damaged solar panel. Along the way, they attempt a spacewalk to repair it when, lo and behold, a bomb goes off, and the solar panel is blown into space. Complicating matters, shrapnel tears a hole in the ship causing it to depressurize. Valkerie is able to repair the breach and use liquid oxygen from from the fuel cells to repressurize the ship, but now have minimal power to run the ships lights, life support, and computers. They also now lack enough oxygen to complete the journey. Basically, it's Apollo 13 to the 10th power. Given pre-launch security, the crew know it must be an inside job. Who to trust? Who wants the mission to fail? Could it be Valkerie? Does it even matter since they're all going to die? Or is there some sort of McGuyver-esque solution to their problems? SPOILER: The bomb was not actually meant to disable the ship but was meant to go off over the landing area on Mars and disperse an ultra-resiliant strain of bacteria. It seems that the mission director on Earth felt that if the crew discovered life, the US government would continue to fund future Mars missions. Bob is "born again" (although he hates the phrase) and proposes to Valkerie on the surface of Mars on national television. Awwww.
Geographical Setting: Houston, Texas; Cape Canaveral, Florida; a spaceship traveling to Mars; Mars
Time Period: 2012-2014
Series: there is a sequel: The Fifth Man (2003)
Appeal Characteristics:
This is a compelling page-turner. Ingermanson and Olson draw the reader in from page one. Toward the end, I began to grow tired of things going wrong and was simply ready for the authors to tie things up, the writing was so good that I forgave the indulgence (as almost every author of thrillers is somewhat guilty of dragging their tale out just a tad much). The real strengths of this book are the characters and the research that Olson and Ingermanson surely put into the technical requirements for a manned mission to Mars. The characterization is especially good, and this book will surely appeal to lovers of a good thriller that emphasizes quality characterization. The storyline is creatively played out. The authors tell the tale from multiple perspectives. All five of the six main characters narrate the tale 1st person (the sixth being a possible red herring). The writing mixes dialogue and descriptive passages deftly, and the authors even include a glossary of commonly referenced NASA terms for the reader at the back of the book. This book was a 2001 Christy Award nominee for best futuristic novel.
Read-alikes: The obvious choice for a next book is the sequel, The Fifth Man that picks up where this story leaves off: on the surface of Mars. If you like Ingermanson's writing style, try his City of God series (the first is Transgression (2000). For Christian fiction set on Mars, try Sigmund Brouwer's Mars Diaries series (note: this is a young adult series). The first is Oxygen Level Zero (2000), but the sixth, Moon Racer (2001), deals with the flight from Mars to Earth and also includes a plot with a saboteur. Shane Johnson's Ice (2003) was a Christy Award finalist and deals with a a discovery on the lunar surface that could redefine how mankind views creation. If the storyline grabs you, try Jim Lovell's Apollo 13: Lost Moon the book that inspired the film and, quite likely, Olson and Ingermanson's novel as well.
Red Flags: some things blow up; people are hurt but not killed
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