Review of Our Man on Mars
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- Olga Markova
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Review of Our Man on Mars
In Our Man on Mars by Keith Cornwell, the events unfold in 2034. Steve McKay, a chaplain of the Church of Scotland, leaves Earth on the four-month-long interplanetary flight, to lead the only parish in the first and only human colony on Mars. Soon after the take-off, it is discovered that one of the three of the spacecraft’s legs was damaged. If the spacecraft landed on two legs, it would fall over and could blow up. As the Earth authorities and the Mars Council are working with the spacecraft’s crew of engineers to design the solution for a safe landing, Steve becomes aware of an occasional knocking sound on the spacecraft’s outside wall. What is that sound? Will the spacecraft land safely? Will Steve accomplish his mission on Mars? Why did Steve venture to Mars instead of taking up a chaplaincy in his native Scotland?
I read Our Man on Mars with great interest. Most of all, I enjoyed the balance of the suspenseful, atmospheric, and hilarious story with the thought-provoking philosophical discussions about the impact of life away from Earth on the mental state of humans. One example is a fly Steve noticed on his glass of Guinness in the Mars Bar. Trivial and annoying as it would be on Earth, on Mars it was a small reminder of home and worth preserving as a link with life at home. Another example is the complex dilemma of having babies born on Mars. The suspense in this book revolves mostly around this dilemma.
I also liked the humour. My favourite examples are John Young’s corned beef sandwich that burst in low gravity after the spacecraft’s lift-off, a Siberian sausage that did not crumble but tasted horrible when in space, and legal battles over the so-called Lunar Bibles.
Finally, I liked the book’s unexpected ending.
On the flip side, the book has many errors. Apart from a few dozen typographical errors, I also found inconsistent use of the name of Steve’s ex-wife and the job title of President Leskovich. In the beginning, Steve’s ex-wife was introduced as Margo but in the end, she suddenly became Mandy. Similarly, President Leskovich was demoted to acting president but later in the book he was referred to as assistant president.
Other than the errors, I did not dislike anything in this book. So, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.
I recommend this book to a wide adult audience of fans of science fiction. Some believers, both Christian and non-Christian, may disagree with Steve’s views on the concepts of God, life, and death. These are expressed in the book from Steve’s perspective as an extra-terrestrial traveller and a chaplain of the Church of Scotland. The book’s title and cover do not look unquestionably “adult”, and young teenagers may feel tempted by the book’s intriguing title “Our Man on Mars”. Young readers may also be tempted by the mysterious orange circle above the graveyard of a Gothic church on the book’s cover. In my view, this book is unsuitable for children because it includes erotic scenes, discussions of pregnancy and abortion, and discusses matters that are too complex for a junior audience, such as technical aspects of the speed of light and Stephen Hawkins’ theory.
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Our Man on Mars
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- Magda Leni
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I recommend this book to both Christian and non-Christian, shall disagree with Steve’s views on the concepts of God, life, and death. Those are expressed in the book from Steve’s perspective as an extra-terrestrial traveller and a chaplain of the Church of Scotland. The book’s title and cover do not look unquestionably “adult”, and young teenagers may feel tempted by the book’s intriguing title “Our Man on Mars”. In my view, this book is unsuitable for children because it discussions of pregnancy and abortion, and discusses matters that are too complex for a junior audience.
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