"First Landing" is a quick reading no-brakes story (I devoured the 262 pages in a couple of sittings) about humankind's first landing on Mars that packs a shocker of an ending to boot. "First Landing" is the tale of a team of five Americans (three men and two women) that make the long the and perilous journey to Mars only to find themselves stranded by the vagaries of public opinion and a few nasty surprises. As a result they are forced to rely on themselves if they are to survive.
Wasting very little time with exposition Robert Zubrin (president of the Mars Society) jumps right into this story and never slows down until the end. His detailing is quite effective if somewhat limited. Despite the speed with which the story unfolds his characterization is sufficient for me to have rapidly made an emotional connection with main actors.
In an interesting addendum the books epilogue is Zubrin's contention that the type of mission he details in "First Land" is what he sees as a blue print for real manned mission to Mars by 2011. In that limited space he makes a convincing case for a more ambitious Mars program than the one currently being undertaken.
On the down side, I wished there were a bit more to this book. I would have liked to have spent more time getting to know these characters. Further, the swiftness with which things unfold leaves a few holes in the motivations of certain key actors that a longer novel could have addressed.
However, if you are fan of Mars fiction you will find "First Landing" a fun and fast read. It's not as detailed or plot heavy as Kim Stanley Robinson's "Red Mars", "Green Mars" and "Blue Mars" trilogy. But it definitely put a smile on my face when I finished.
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