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Marsbound #1
Marsbound
A novel of the red planet from the Hugo and Nebula Award winning author of The Accidental Time Machine and Old Twentieth. Young Carmen Dula and her family are about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime, they're going to Mars. Once on the Red Planet, however, Carmen realizes things are not so different from Earth. There are chores to do, lessons to learn, and oppressive authority figures to rebel against. And when she ventures out into the bleak Mars landscape alone one night, a simple accident leads her to the edge of death until she is saved by an angel, an angel with too many arms and legs, a head that looks like a potato gone bad, and a message for the newly arrived human inhabitants of Mars: We were here first.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published August 5, 2008
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1,554 people want to read
About the author
Joe Haldeman
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Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
Haldeman is the author of 20 novels and five collections. The Forever War won the Nebula, Hugo and Ditmar Awards for best science fiction novel in 1975. Other notable titles include Camouflage, The Accidental Time Machine and Marsbound as well as the short works "Graves," "Tricentennial" and "The Hemingway Hoax." Starbound is scheduled for a January release. SFWA president Russell Davis called Haldeman "an extraordinarily talented writer, a respected teacher and mentor in our community, and a good friend."
Haldeman officially received the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master for 2010 by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America at the Nebula Awards Weekend in May, 2010 in Hollywood, Fla.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 271 reviews
October 10, 2015
Wait, what... there are more of these. *blows out cheeks*. Dreck. Readable dreck. And from such a legend of sci-fi. I don't get much practice writing really negative reviews because usually I would have given up on a book like this. And I just delete books I don't finish usually. But hey. It's Joe. It'll get better but... it didn't. Where did it go wrong? Well, let's have some characters. There aren't any. Carmen handles the recounting in a drone of words as if she's telling you about a dream she had or maybe she's just spinning a line. She's off to Mars with her whole family, falls in love instantly with the pilot and gets down to the sex nearly right away, which she's going to tell you about in biology book speak. I could have sworn this was pitched for a younger audience. I mean she's about to discover the teletubbies are living on Mars isn't she? Yes... first contact. Now we're getting somewhere. I knew Joe wouldn't let me down. And they can speak English and already know all about us because they've... been... oh no... monitoring our tv...and... listening to our radio. You could probably get away with some of this stuff if it had been written during the era of Heinlein's juveniles but Marsbound was actually written quite recently. Time for a whole load of exposition before the wrap-up.
Next time: The Clangers. Be afraid.
Next time: The Clangers. Be afraid.
May 13, 2011
Just finished this book last night and couldn't wait to write a review.
Not normally a fan of first person -- you lose the connection to the story -- I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Within the first couple of pages I fell into the "I'm reading a journal of a girl" mode and submerged into the story of a young woman heading off to Mars with her family.
I liked Carmen as a MC. She was just imperfect enough to be realistic and impulsive enough to lead the reader into an adventure. Her relationship with Paul was also realistic and dealt with in a modern way. The interactions with her antogonist, Dargo, was at times a little melodramatic. I also didn't like the loose ends on that storyline. I thought it should've been tied up a bit better, but the end was cool enough I forgave the missed opportunity.
The tech was perfect and Halderman didn't shove all the science down your throat for pages and pages. He did what I always love writers to do, put it in the perspective of the user. As such, there were some things tech wise he didn't explain because the characters didn't know, but the characters moved along with them in a way that made it realistic.
All in all, I loved this refreshing approach to SF and can't wait to start the second in the series.
Not normally a fan of first person -- you lose the connection to the story -- I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Within the first couple of pages I fell into the "I'm reading a journal of a girl" mode and submerged into the story of a young woman heading off to Mars with her family.
I liked Carmen as a MC. She was just imperfect enough to be realistic and impulsive enough to lead the reader into an adventure. Her relationship with Paul was also realistic and dealt with in a modern way. The interactions with her antogonist, Dargo, was at times a little melodramatic. I also didn't like the loose ends on that storyline. I thought it should've been tied up a bit better, but the end was cool enough I forgave the missed opportunity.
The tech was perfect and Halderman didn't shove all the science down your throat for pages and pages. He did what I always love writers to do, put it in the perspective of the user. As such, there were some things tech wise he didn't explain because the characters didn't know, but the characters moved along with them in a way that made it realistic.
All in all, I loved this refreshing approach to SF and can't wait to start the second in the series.
August 16, 2023
Middle-aged male author tries to write from the perspective of a teenage girl, and doesn't succeed very well.
July 31, 2015
Originally posted on .
No, you're not going to see me rip apart this book. This one wasn't entirely awful; I just didn't like it. Trite is a good word for it. Uninspired. Thrown together using a random plot generator as necessary. Okay, maybe I'm in denial. It was pretty bad.
I'm kind of sad about this one. I enjoyed The Accidental Time Machine (although I didn't think it was the best thing since sliced bread... keep in mind, though that I am allergic to wheat) and expected Marsbound to be a similarly fun read, though not much.
Instead, I got a whole bunch of characters I couldn't give a fuck about, and a plot that was so cobbled together I couldn't keep myself interested. It was like every time Joe Haldeman couldn't figure out where the plot was going next, he just rolled some dice and went with it.
Oh, so about those characters. The main character is a 19-year-old young woman who immediately starts fucking a pilot almost twice her age because she's so mature. She's not mature. Just reading from her perspective, all I can think is, "oh, honey, grow the fuck up." (Wow, I'm using fuck a lot in this review. Maybe I disliked this book more than I'm willing to admit.)
We see some weird sex scenes and veiled references to the Kama Sutra, as if that's edgy or something? She's oh-so-innocent, but oh-so-mature and he's not cradle robbing because she wanted it. And it's like, okay, yes, she's of the age of majority. But um, if he's just slightly younger than your father and pretty much starts hitting on you immediately, stop and think about what you're doing.
Maybe a good portion of why it felt so trite was the fact that I got this Valley Girl air off the protagonist. I could just see her rolling her eyes and saying the future equivalent of "gag me with a spoon." Oh, speaking of future equivalents: Haldeman tries to build in some future!slang and the way them crazy kids now say "going crazy" is "going detroit." Wow! That's... something. (Gag me with a fucking spoon already.)
Oh, and right, there are aliens and they keep waxing on about how alien they are, and all I could think was, "um, maybe Haldeman could read some Brin or something and figure out how to write alien aliens that don't just come across as ~mystical wiseman and a horrible caricature of the US impression of native culture." It may be kind of difficult to write good aliens that are, you know, alien, but writing ones that don't lean toward offensive stereotypes? I fucking swear it is not difficult.
Blah blah blah, weird intelligent design arguments. And the plot doesn't really... have a cohesive end. It's just kind of what the fuck. Granted, I was getting so bored I wasn't even trying to keep track of what was going on completely.
Yup. More feelings than I thought.
No, you're not going to see me rip apart this book. This one wasn't entirely awful; I just didn't like it. Trite is a good word for it. Uninspired. Thrown together using a random plot generator as necessary. Okay, maybe I'm in denial. It was pretty bad.
I'm kind of sad about this one. I enjoyed The Accidental Time Machine (although I didn't think it was the best thing since sliced bread... keep in mind, though that I am allergic to wheat) and expected Marsbound to be a similarly fun read, though not much.
Instead, I got a whole bunch of characters I couldn't give a fuck about, and a plot that was so cobbled together I couldn't keep myself interested. It was like every time Joe Haldeman couldn't figure out where the plot was going next, he just rolled some dice and went with it.
Oh, so about those characters. The main character is a 19-year-old young woman who immediately starts fucking a pilot almost twice her age because she's so mature. She's not mature. Just reading from her perspective, all I can think is, "oh, honey, grow the fuck up." (Wow, I'm using fuck a lot in this review. Maybe I disliked this book more than I'm willing to admit.)
We see some weird sex scenes and veiled references to the Kama Sutra, as if that's edgy or something? She's oh-so-innocent, but oh-so-mature and he's not cradle robbing because she wanted it. And it's like, okay, yes, she's of the age of majority. But um, if he's just slightly younger than your father and pretty much starts hitting on you immediately, stop and think about what you're doing.
Maybe a good portion of why it felt so trite was the fact that I got this Valley Girl air off the protagonist. I could just see her rolling her eyes and saying the future equivalent of "gag me with a spoon." Oh, speaking of future equivalents: Haldeman tries to build in some future!slang and the way them crazy kids now say "going crazy" is "going detroit." Wow! That's... something. (Gag me with a fucking spoon already.)
Oh, and right, there are aliens and they keep waxing on about how alien they are, and all I could think was, "um, maybe Haldeman could read some Brin or something and figure out how to write alien aliens that don't just come across as ~mystical wiseman and a horrible caricature of the US impression of native culture." It may be kind of difficult to write good aliens that are, you know, alien, but writing ones that don't lean toward offensive stereotypes? I fucking swear it is not difficult.
Blah blah blah, weird intelligent design arguments. And the plot doesn't really... have a cohesive end. It's just kind of what the fuck. Granted, I was getting so bored I wasn't even trying to keep track of what was going on completely.
Yup. More feelings than I thought.
March 23, 2009
I saw another review that pretty much sums up my feelings. Haldeman's recent books have been breezy and interesting, but ultimately light. This reminded me a lot of Heinlein's teen books, except for the addition of some unnecessarily graphic sex. I don't have any problem with sex in fiction but this didn't seem to serve any purpose. I liked that the narrator was a teenage girl, and that she was an intelligent teenage girl without major hangups. That said, some of her actions -particularly when it came to love and sex - just didn't match her character, which I might chalk up to a middleaged guy writing from the perspective of the aforementioned girl. Other than that, it was a fun read.
March 10, 2017
Good, solid piece of science fiction. At first glance, the story is fairly straightforward---young girl's family "wins" a lottery to go to Mars and join the small colony there, but once arrived she finds herself both involved with an older man and at odds with the administrator who makes her a kind of "special project", especially after the girl inadvertently discovers sapient life sharing Mars with the humans---but it subtly veers into the more complex on two (at least) levels.
One is, it transitions from YA to adult as the protagonist grows into womanhood. This is evidenced by the shift in narrative voice. The novel is first-person and the change is both subtle and convincing, which is an enviable achievement.
The second it, this is also a novel about the end of humanity's "adolescence" as the "Martians" turn out to be creatures planted on Mars by a vastly older more advanced race in order to keep an eye on the rapidly evolving humans. Within the span of a few years, Earth must come to grips with the fact that its own internal problems must take a backseat to the fact that we are not alone and that it may be a cold, cruel collection of neighbors surrounding us.
I've always enjoyed and admired Haldeman's deceptively simple approach to complex and compelling scenarios. I'm looking forward to the next volume in the trilogy.
One is, it transitions from YA to adult as the protagonist grows into womanhood. This is evidenced by the shift in narrative voice. The novel is first-person and the change is both subtle and convincing, which is an enviable achievement.
The second it, this is also a novel about the end of humanity's "adolescence" as the "Martians" turn out to be creatures planted on Mars by a vastly older more advanced race in order to keep an eye on the rapidly evolving humans. Within the span of a few years, Earth must come to grips with the fact that its own internal problems must take a backseat to the fact that we are not alone and that it may be a cold, cruel collection of neighbors surrounding us.
I've always enjoyed and admired Haldeman's deceptively simple approach to complex and compelling scenarios. I'm looking forward to the next volume in the trilogy.
August 28, 2012
These three books, "Marsbound, (I can't find the second installment - and "Earthbound" are really, honest, truly terrific science fiction (the hard type of sci fi - concerning "logical" means that might eventually, during the future, develop such technological breakthroughs which might actually come into being.
No fantasy here, just a really, really good book that carries its' readers into space, descriptions of crowded quarters for a reasonably long time -- Haldeman excels at that, and at characterization. This is the perfect vehicle to interest a young person into science fiction-- hopefully to inspire this reader
to go on to Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, etc.
If one hasn't read much science fiction, these books are a phenomenally good way to "get into the groove" and travel the far-reaching universe!
No fantasy here, just a really, really good book that carries its' readers into space, descriptions of crowded quarters for a reasonably long time -- Haldeman excels at that, and at characterization. This is the perfect vehicle to interest a young person into science fiction-- hopefully to inspire this reader
to go on to Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, etc.
If one hasn't read much science fiction, these books are a phenomenally good way to "get into the groove" and travel the far-reaching universe!
November 20, 2008
Haldeman delivers another great sci-fi story. He handles the nuts and bolts of a trip to Mars and what life there would be like with his usual readable style that gives you some real science without a lot of technobabble. Best part of this story is the main character, Carmen. Telling a sci fi story from a slightly angry and rebellious teen-age character is a nice change of pace from the type of astronaut heroes we usually get in these stories.
July 9, 2020
Very disappointing. Picked this because of raves about the author. I guess it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve ever read, but it was a waste of time. I didn’t really care about the characters or what happened to them. The ending was a “What just happened?� - abrupt and kind of out of nowhere. Can’t believe this continued as a series.
September 2, 2018
Like Haldeman's Work Done for Hire, as I read the first few chapters, I was again leery of, for lack of a better word, the "adolescent" tone of the narrator. This tone also made me question more strongly whether the plot line was really going anywhere interesting. Where was it going, at all? Was this just a YA novel about growing up on Mars? I stuck with the book, however, mostly due to Haldeman's reputation and the experience I'd had with Work Done for Hire.
It takes awhile, but the plot takes a hard left about one-third into the book and Haldeman's ground work in the previous chapters starts paying off. Then there was a good amount of that "how can we figure out this unusual space dilemma using logic?" stuff that makes Sci-Fi books so good. In fact that was the best part of the book, or perhaps tied for best with the thoughtful and unique description of the "weirdness" found on Mars.
Can you guess the double-meaning of the title?
It takes awhile, but the plot takes a hard left about one-third into the book and Haldeman's ground work in the previous chapters starts paying off. Then there was a good amount of that "how can we figure out this unusual space dilemma using logic?" stuff that makes Sci-Fi books so good. In fact that was the best part of the book, or perhaps tied for best with the thoughtful and unique description of the "weirdness" found on Mars.
Can you guess the double-meaning of the title?
June 26, 2012
This is a story of the relatively near future, the first Mars colony, and some interesting aliens. In this respect, it’s quite good; the technology is realistic and well described, the plot makes sense, and the aliens are wonderfully alien.
A number of things did not suit my personal taste, though. The first is that the story is told in first person. This isn’t necessarily bad, but I find it works best for detective novels. It’s probably great for romance novels, too, but those have no appeal for me. Again, it’s a matter of personal taste. The first person narrative didn’t work for me especially in this book probably because I felt no affinity for the main character. More on that later.
The fist half of the book can be skimmed or simply skipped. It is mainly a description of a ride up the space elevator and an eight-month journey to Mars aboard a spaceship. The descriptions are good and describe believably what a space elevator ride and uneventful flight to Mars might be like, but a hundred-plus pages of this kind of thing is simply a bit much. The technology is interesting, but nothing happens. There are no amazing discoveries or mysteries and no real conflicts to be resolved.
Except for one of the aliens, who we really don’t meet until fairly late in the book, I didn’t much care for any of the characters. The main character, Carmen Dula, is eighteen years old when we fist meet her. I found nothing admirable or even especially likeable about her. She has the raging hormones of a woman a few years older and the emotional maturity of a girl a few years younger. She seemed to have no sense of perspective. She’s on her way to Mars, but her teenage angst about friends and school seem to prevent her from appreciating how unique this is. This may mark her as normal, but normal in a science fiction novel isn’t interesting. Her misplaced sense of priorities continues even after meeting the aliens because she seems to devote most of her thinking to her love affair with the captain of the ship that brought them to Mars. Don’t get me wrong. Love affairs are fine (between consenting adults and all that), but they’re normal. People do that all the time. It’s not interesting. (You can probably see why romance novels don’t do much for me.)
The second part of the book, however, does have a decent plot. As I said, the aliens are very alien. To say much more about them would be a plot spoiler though, and I don’t like to do that.
There are two sequels to Marsbound, and I’m willing to give them a shot. I can’t say this first book appealed much to me, though.
A number of things did not suit my personal taste, though. The first is that the story is told in first person. This isn’t necessarily bad, but I find it works best for detective novels. It’s probably great for romance novels, too, but those have no appeal for me. Again, it’s a matter of personal taste. The first person narrative didn’t work for me especially in this book probably because I felt no affinity for the main character. More on that later.
The fist half of the book can be skimmed or simply skipped. It is mainly a description of a ride up the space elevator and an eight-month journey to Mars aboard a spaceship. The descriptions are good and describe believably what a space elevator ride and uneventful flight to Mars might be like, but a hundred-plus pages of this kind of thing is simply a bit much. The technology is interesting, but nothing happens. There are no amazing discoveries or mysteries and no real conflicts to be resolved.
Except for one of the aliens, who we really don’t meet until fairly late in the book, I didn’t much care for any of the characters. The main character, Carmen Dula, is eighteen years old when we fist meet her. I found nothing admirable or even especially likeable about her. She has the raging hormones of a woman a few years older and the emotional maturity of a girl a few years younger. She seemed to have no sense of perspective. She’s on her way to Mars, but her teenage angst about friends and school seem to prevent her from appreciating how unique this is. This may mark her as normal, but normal in a science fiction novel isn’t interesting. Her misplaced sense of priorities continues even after meeting the aliens because she seems to devote most of her thinking to her love affair with the captain of the ship that brought them to Mars. Don’t get me wrong. Love affairs are fine (between consenting adults and all that), but they’re normal. People do that all the time. It’s not interesting. (You can probably see why romance novels don’t do much for me.)
The second part of the book, however, does have a decent plot. As I said, the aliens are very alien. To say much more about them would be a plot spoiler though, and I don’t like to do that.
There are two sequels to Marsbound, and I’m willing to give them a shot. I can’t say this first book appealed much to me, though.
April 17, 2011
I probably would have rated this a 3/5 if it had been written by almost any other author, but this is a Joe Haldeman book and I have come to expect far more from him than a story like Marsbound. The main character is likable and believable. The dialogue is realistic and typically Haldemanesque. The story just didn't engage me, though, and it isn't helped by a group of aliens that I just wasn't buying into. Haldeman knows to how create cool and weird aliens (see Camouflage, a really underrrated book) and unfortunately the Martians in the story only have the weird part of the equation nailed. The other thing that was hard for me to swallow in the plot was the everpresent antagonistic relationship between the main character and her primary "opposition", a bitter and vindictive administrator...something just felt off about it.
That said, the underlying idea in the book is a sound one, and I want to know where it goes with the sequel, Starbound.
OK book, but in the context of knowing who wrote it, a little disappointing.
That said, the underlying idea in the book is a sound one, and I want to know where it goes with the sequel, Starbound.
OK book, but in the context of knowing who wrote it, a little disappointing.
September 19, 2011
Haldeman proves the old Heinlein juvenile is alive and well, though I'm not sure his take on it will hold up as well as Heinlein's did. Carmen Dula's family is on its way to the first human Mars colony, where they will spend the next five years and possibly settle for life. On the way, she sort of falls in love with the ship's pilot -- he's in his thirties and she's nineteen, which makes their relationship just a bit creepy. Once on Mars, of course, she makes a Discovery that Changes Everything.
I liked it, but I'm a little surprised to see there are sequels, and am not sure I want to keep following the story. All the right beats are there, but the story and style just aren't as precise as I like a good YA novel to be.
I liked it, but I'm a little surprised to see there are sequels, and am not sure I want to keep following the story. All the right beats are there, but the story and style just aren't as precise as I like a good YA novel to be.
October 19, 2011
Carmen Dula is a likable, relatable, realistic main character, and a sometimes dispassionately honest narrator. At some point, particularly since she starts the book 18 years old on the uncertain, anxious, stressed-out side of a pretty big family relocation and ends it with a graduate degree and unlikely place of prominence in human history, you would like to see her grow and change, leave the smartassery behind in favor of introspection and insight. She doesn't, and that's to the book's detriment. But the Big Idea is kind of cool, sort of 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Contact by way of Ray Bradbury, and you are engrossed enough not to find yourself bobbing up out of the story. Will read, and plan to enjoy, the sequel.
July 30, 2012
Two of the most classic themes of science fiction--colonization and first contact-- put into a charming package. Told from the perspective of a teenage girl, so we get a coming of age story *too. Satisfying read, but it missed the mark a bit in conveying a sense of wonder about her experiences, and the characters could have been more compelling.
September 28, 2008
2.5 stars. Haldeman's books are always readable, and I liked the narrator and the setting. But the book felt way too short, had too much exposition, and I found the ending abrupt and unsatisfying.
July 6, 2020
A difficult read for me, not entirely sure why - perhaps because the main character's (Carmen Dula) emotions did not ring true and I could not identify with her or her family. Then the Martians showed up and again nothing seemed relatable with them either. Finally, the true aliens were identified in the story and those almost were figurable but the crazy lady Dargo who could figure her total lackings as a human?
A personal issue as I am a material engineer ... The technology of the Earth space elevator seemed a bit much with no explanation of how the material strength to weight/mass obstacle was overcome which just kept reoccurring as a thought to me every time the space elevator was part of the story.
A personal issue as I am a material engineer ... The technology of the Earth space elevator seemed a bit much with no explanation of how the material strength to weight/mass obstacle was overcome which just kept reoccurring as a thought to me every time the space elevator was part of the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2021
Dnf'ing at 82 pages. Middle-aged men writing about teenage girls tends to gack me out. Even with writers who are otherwise favorites of mine. The girl, age 18, is the viewpoint character. By page 25, she's talked about how periods work in space and taken a naked shower with other girls. And bemoaned the lack of makeup in space. Around page 70 (after we've heard how she's kind of technically a virgin, or not, and the cringeworthy details), she has sex with the captain, who's at least 10 years older. And her mother approves. Just. No.
March 28, 2022
Old fashion SciFi. Not Podkayne of Mars no matter how much the author wants it to be. I would have given it 4+ stars if I were a few years younger. But I'm not.
May 16, 2019
Marsbound by Joe Haldeman
I bought this as a light read and since I've only read a few older books by Joe Haldeman ,Mindscape, and all my sins remembered, I would have to say I didn't come into it with great expectations. The pace of the novel is rather sedate, which is good for a light read; it's not a novel that starts the reader by hitting the ground running and ramping up the pace every few pages. My impression of the character was that she was written from the point of a 17 year old and possibly because of the sex scenes the age was changed to 19. But that feeling might be wherein lies the beginning of problems with this novel. Still overall I enjoyed the novel and I think that if someone is looking for a light read in science fiction that this one should fit the bill.
Carmen Dula is our heroin of this story and as mentioned she's 19 years old. Her family is headed to Mars, because they are one of several families who were lucky with the lottery for this trip. Carmen is resistant to the idea of going but seems to feel she's being dragged along and I would think at age 19 she'd do something more than grouse about it. Instead she acts like a 17 year old who grudgingly has to go along; so she'll try to make the best of it. But then later after she's met Paul the man who will pilot the craft from Earth Space to Mars there will be an intimate scene and perhaps the story then calls for an advanced age to make this one fly past some of our inner censors. But then if this were true Young adult fiction then the young girl who acts 17 would be 17 and the sex scene would be deemed less necessary or maybe toned down. But the choice here was to leave that in and that ends up making Carmen Dula look like an immature young woman and confuses just what audience this might be written for.
For this reader having Carmen show up as immature still causes the sex scene to be jarring and doesn't help efforts to give the character more depth. The relationship seems to be a device to put the character at odds with other characters and set the scene for the portion where the real story starts. And that's where another problem crops up.
The first hundred or so pages are at a rather slow tedious pace and would have worked quite well for me if the character development had been accomplished more efficiently. Some character development is there and there is a whole bunch of world building and setting the stage and giving the reader a feel that this whole trip into space is real. It's almost too real; though we don't really get much of the science behind the space elevator, we get a protracted picture of what it's like to travel on one. There is a lot of time spent on developing the passengers, the Dula family and the other families that are going along. This is all good except that there will be a point when few of these characters play much of a part in the rest of the story; while at the same time we don't get enough understanding of the character of Carmen Dula; unless the whole first part of the book was supposed to demonstrate how immature she is. This imbalance hurt the story for this reader.
The next part of the novel is the interesting part but then the reader has to wade through the issues caused by that early relationship before anyone else begins to believe Carmen witnessed the things she does witness. Still Carmen looks immature because it took a tantrum to put her in danger where she would make a great discovery. The other characters treating her like a spoiled immature girl forces her to continue to break the rules when her own life and the lives of all the children are placed in danger.
This is really a story of first contact and then one that leads to a more sinister contact that might be a danger for all of Earth. And by the third part Carmen finally has matured at least to her age level possibly because she has to face the consequences of her actions though I was never clear about that. It's not the easiest thing to see, but mostly it's not the easiest of things to be certain that Carmen even fully appreciates how much difficulty her actions have caused. And that gets thrown a way a bit with the realization that this was all an eventuality with or without Carmen.
Over all Marsbound becomes a complete novel within itself with a somewhat complex moral message and sets the stage for the possibility of more stories. It also becomes another addition to the Mars books that started proliferating when there were rumors of eventual missions to Mars in our future.
Good Simon Pure Science Fiction that plays more on characters working within accepted technologies and delves only on the surface as regards how things are made and work, which makes for a perfect matching with character driven stories; though these characters could have used more development or at least maybe a bit more exposure before the plot thickened and drown them out.
J.L. Dobias
I bought this as a light read and since I've only read a few older books by Joe Haldeman ,Mindscape, and all my sins remembered, I would have to say I didn't come into it with great expectations. The pace of the novel is rather sedate, which is good for a light read; it's not a novel that starts the reader by hitting the ground running and ramping up the pace every few pages. My impression of the character was that she was written from the point of a 17 year old and possibly because of the sex scenes the age was changed to 19. But that feeling might be wherein lies the beginning of problems with this novel. Still overall I enjoyed the novel and I think that if someone is looking for a light read in science fiction that this one should fit the bill.
Carmen Dula is our heroin of this story and as mentioned she's 19 years old. Her family is headed to Mars, because they are one of several families who were lucky with the lottery for this trip. Carmen is resistant to the idea of going but seems to feel she's being dragged along and I would think at age 19 she'd do something more than grouse about it. Instead she acts like a 17 year old who grudgingly has to go along; so she'll try to make the best of it. But then later after she's met Paul the man who will pilot the craft from Earth Space to Mars there will be an intimate scene and perhaps the story then calls for an advanced age to make this one fly past some of our inner censors. But then if this were true Young adult fiction then the young girl who acts 17 would be 17 and the sex scene would be deemed less necessary or maybe toned down. But the choice here was to leave that in and that ends up making Carmen Dula look like an immature young woman and confuses just what audience this might be written for.
For this reader having Carmen show up as immature still causes the sex scene to be jarring and doesn't help efforts to give the character more depth. The relationship seems to be a device to put the character at odds with other characters and set the scene for the portion where the real story starts. And that's where another problem crops up.
The first hundred or so pages are at a rather slow tedious pace and would have worked quite well for me if the character development had been accomplished more efficiently. Some character development is there and there is a whole bunch of world building and setting the stage and giving the reader a feel that this whole trip into space is real. It's almost too real; though we don't really get much of the science behind the space elevator, we get a protracted picture of what it's like to travel on one. There is a lot of time spent on developing the passengers, the Dula family and the other families that are going along. This is all good except that there will be a point when few of these characters play much of a part in the rest of the story; while at the same time we don't get enough understanding of the character of Carmen Dula; unless the whole first part of the book was supposed to demonstrate how immature she is. This imbalance hurt the story for this reader.
The next part of the novel is the interesting part but then the reader has to wade through the issues caused by that early relationship before anyone else begins to believe Carmen witnessed the things she does witness. Still Carmen looks immature because it took a tantrum to put her in danger where she would make a great discovery. The other characters treating her like a spoiled immature girl forces her to continue to break the rules when her own life and the lives of all the children are placed in danger.
This is really a story of first contact and then one that leads to a more sinister contact that might be a danger for all of Earth. And by the third part Carmen finally has matured at least to her age level possibly because she has to face the consequences of her actions though I was never clear about that. It's not the easiest thing to see, but mostly it's not the easiest of things to be certain that Carmen even fully appreciates how much difficulty her actions have caused. And that gets thrown a way a bit with the realization that this was all an eventuality with or without Carmen.
Over all Marsbound becomes a complete novel within itself with a somewhat complex moral message and sets the stage for the possibility of more stories. It also becomes another addition to the Mars books that started proliferating when there were rumors of eventual missions to Mars in our future.
Good Simon Pure Science Fiction that plays more on characters working within accepted technologies and delves only on the surface as regards how things are made and work, which makes for a perfect matching with character driven stories; though these characters could have used more development or at least maybe a bit more exposure before the plot thickened and drown them out.
J.L. Dobias
May 12, 2018
This was a pretty good book, with an interesting premise. For the most part, well told, except for a few minimal issues that I had. I enjoyed the aliens and their society, and how things worked with them. I can't say I liked the large jumps in time, but I agree there really wasn't a better way to handle them. It made it hard to keep track of the narrator's age.
My biggest problem had to do with the author's choice of narrators. Look, teenage girls are a pain to write even if you were one in your part. It's totally possible for a man to write one well - I think George RR Martin does a decent job, for instance, with Sansa and Arya - but it's risky. And if you're going to try to do the whole boyfriend/sex mentality, dude, just don't try. Because teenage girls are NOT like teenage boys.
My biggest issue probably came from the age old sci fi trope of how young girls fall all over themselves for older men. I know every guy thinks he's totally cool, but cmon. It's gross and creepy for a 30 year old guy to have sex with a drunk 18yo, even if later she's all, no, I wanted to do it. I won't deny that the same teenager will them feel like she's in real, true love with the guy she lost her virginity to, but that doesn't make it so. I suppose I could deal with the trope if the narrator hadn't actually considered how creepy it was that this old guy was hitting on her - dude, go find a prostitute while on earth, jeez - And then 24 hours later she's peering anxiously for him. hello, idiot, of course he learned your parents name. The dude was in a position of authority and had sex with an 18 yo who was drunk and emotional abt leaving her planet behind. Yeah, I probably wouldn't have gotten over it.
Of course, it turns out that he was her one true love. /eyeroll And of course he wound up loving her, too. And of course the sour old crone blamed the kid and not the adult.
Also, shockingly, men and women just don't think about sex the same. You get some points for communicating the 'sometimes she just wished he'd finish already'. But, seriously, we're supposed to believe he ALWAYS rang her bell? Sorry, guys, that's almost as believable as aliens on Mars.
Everything else was interesting and we'll written.
My biggest problem had to do with the author's choice of narrators. Look, teenage girls are a pain to write even if you were one in your part. It's totally possible for a man to write one well - I think George RR Martin does a decent job, for instance, with Sansa and Arya - but it's risky. And if you're going to try to do the whole boyfriend/sex mentality, dude, just don't try. Because teenage girls are NOT like teenage boys.
My biggest issue probably came from the age old sci fi trope of how young girls fall all over themselves for older men. I know every guy thinks he's totally cool, but cmon. It's gross and creepy for a 30 year old guy to have sex with a drunk 18yo, even if later she's all, no, I wanted to do it. I won't deny that the same teenager will them feel like she's in real, true love with the guy she lost her virginity to, but that doesn't make it so. I suppose I could deal with the trope if the narrator hadn't actually considered how creepy it was that this old guy was hitting on her - dude, go find a prostitute while on earth, jeez - And then 24 hours later she's peering anxiously for him. hello, idiot, of course he learned your parents name. The dude was in a position of authority and had sex with an 18 yo who was drunk and emotional abt leaving her planet behind. Yeah, I probably wouldn't have gotten over it.
Of course, it turns out that he was her one true love. /eyeroll And of course he wound up loving her, too. And of course the sour old crone blamed the kid and not the adult.
Also, shockingly, men and women just don't think about sex the same. You get some points for communicating the 'sometimes she just wished he'd finish already'. But, seriously, we're supposed to believe he ALWAYS rang her bell? Sorry, guys, that's almost as believable as aliens on Mars.
Everything else was interesting and we'll written.
May 5, 2021
[CAUTION: Some spoilers below].
Overall, a good book. Haldeman touches on the science in sci-fi, but doesn’t dwell on it, almost like you would do if you were really in that future environment. He works in first-person via the main character, a girl named Carmen Dula. I was surprised, but the first-person narrative worked alright.
Haldeman takes a day-to-day approach of his character’s adventure to the Red Planet after winning a lottery for her family of gifted scientists, from leaving their Floridian home by taxi to arriving at the Space Elevator along with an international selection of similarly gifted families. 18-year old Carmen meets the pilot, a decade her senior. Together, the families & pilot ride the Elevator to the Space Hilton (at LEO, low earth orbit, some 22k miles above the Earth), and then beyond, to the space station & launch pad at the other end of the tractor cable (which balances out the weight of the entire Elevator via centrifugal force). They are launched toward Mars in a sling-shot fashion, requiring a lot less energy than traditionally imagined today with Earth-launched rockets. The rest of the story is about her awakenings as an adult (sexual & mental) as she takes her place in the “new society�, being one of the first “children� on Mars, as well as answering the question: “What would we do if we discover life on Mars?�
Haldeman interjects some humor through Carmen’s satirical adolescent eyes and voice, which I liked. For the latter half of the book, though, there were long discussions on politics, scientific what-ifs, and administration struggles. Not too much action. But that’s hard to do from a first-person narrative. Still, he did alright. Only towards the very end of the book (which came up quite fast, pleasantly so), did some real interesting possibilities crop up, such as contact with an alien race. Getting through the dry spell of that three-quarter's point paid off in the end. Overall, a good book, not his best, but entertaining nonetheless.
Overall, a good book. Haldeman touches on the science in sci-fi, but doesn’t dwell on it, almost like you would do if you were really in that future environment. He works in first-person via the main character, a girl named Carmen Dula. I was surprised, but the first-person narrative worked alright.
Haldeman takes a day-to-day approach of his character’s adventure to the Red Planet after winning a lottery for her family of gifted scientists, from leaving their Floridian home by taxi to arriving at the Space Elevator along with an international selection of similarly gifted families. 18-year old Carmen meets the pilot, a decade her senior. Together, the families & pilot ride the Elevator to the Space Hilton (at LEO, low earth orbit, some 22k miles above the Earth), and then beyond, to the space station & launch pad at the other end of the tractor cable (which balances out the weight of the entire Elevator via centrifugal force). They are launched toward Mars in a sling-shot fashion, requiring a lot less energy than traditionally imagined today with Earth-launched rockets. The rest of the story is about her awakenings as an adult (sexual & mental) as she takes her place in the “new society�, being one of the first “children� on Mars, as well as answering the question: “What would we do if we discover life on Mars?�
Haldeman interjects some humor through Carmen’s satirical adolescent eyes and voice, which I liked. For the latter half of the book, though, there were long discussions on politics, scientific what-ifs, and administration struggles. Not too much action. But that’s hard to do from a first-person narrative. Still, he did alright. Only towards the very end of the book (which came up quite fast, pleasantly so), did some real interesting possibilities crop up, such as contact with an alien race. Getting through the dry spell of that three-quarter's point paid off in the end. Overall, a good book, not his best, but entertaining nonetheless.
December 7, 2012
Joe Haldeman has done it again. His brilliant Forever War seemed a counterpoint to Heinlein's Starship Troopers, a sort of pointed "here, this is what war is really like" riposte (although I have heard he says that is not true at all; that in fact he's a big Heinlein fan). Be that as it may, it is hard to read those books without thinking one is an answer to the other one.
Haldeman must be a Heinlein fan however, because this time he has written his version of Podkayne of Mars. Marsbound has the same chatty tone of a teenage girl traveling with her younger brother; it's the story of her travels and what it is like on board the various ships and her various destinations. I was a little disappointed that Card never pulled an atomic bomb out of his luggage, but he turned out to be cooler than Podkayne's younger brother. There are other changes too, changes I'm certain Heinlein would appreciate. There's more sex in this tale, and our heroine Carmen is allowed to grow up - unlike poor Poddy. Whether she ultimately meets the same fate as Podkayne, however, this review does not say!
On its own, this was a light, fast read; a beach read for science fiction fans. Haldeman, as always, does his best to get the science right and make the technology he describes sound as realistic as possible. His Mars colony, for example, doesn't sound as fun as one built by Nadia Chernyshevski, but this Mars does sound more like what we could expect in the near future if we managed a colony there.
This is not Haldeman's best by any means. It's not The Forever War, and it's not even the Accidental Time Machine. It is fun, and if you are a Haldeman fan - or even a Heinlein fan - you will probably enjoy it.
Haldeman must be a Heinlein fan however, because this time he has written his version of Podkayne of Mars. Marsbound has the same chatty tone of a teenage girl traveling with her younger brother; it's the story of her travels and what it is like on board the various ships and her various destinations. I was a little disappointed that Card never pulled an atomic bomb out of his luggage, but he turned out to be cooler than Podkayne's younger brother. There are other changes too, changes I'm certain Heinlein would appreciate. There's more sex in this tale, and our heroine Carmen is allowed to grow up - unlike poor Poddy. Whether she ultimately meets the same fate as Podkayne, however, this review does not say!
On its own, this was a light, fast read; a beach read for science fiction fans. Haldeman, as always, does his best to get the science right and make the technology he describes sound as realistic as possible. His Mars colony, for example, doesn't sound as fun as one built by Nadia Chernyshevski, but this Mars does sound more like what we could expect in the near future if we managed a colony there.
This is not Haldeman's best by any means. It's not The Forever War, and it's not even the Accidental Time Machine. It is fun, and if you are a Haldeman fan - or even a Heinlein fan - you will probably enjoy it.
July 14, 2017
Disappointing
Published in 2008 by Ace
Earth is just starting to colonize Mars and the Dula family was picked to go as part of a weighted lottery system. The story is told through the eyes of Carmen Dula, a 19-year old college freshman.
The first part of the story is a technology-based sci-fi adventure. Lots of explanation of the technology to get to Mars, but at a layman's level and with an eye for the kinds of things that teenagers are concerned about - entertainment, potential romance, how annoying the slightly younger passengers are, and so on.
Carmen accidentally stumbles into one of the most remarkable events in human history - literally. A near-fatal fall while on an unapproved excursion away from the colony buildings initiates first contact with an alien species (this is not a spoiler, it is in the inside cover of the hardback).
At this point, the ...
Read more at:
Published in 2008 by Ace
Earth is just starting to colonize Mars and the Dula family was picked to go as part of a weighted lottery system. The story is told through the eyes of Carmen Dula, a 19-year old college freshman.
The first part of the story is a technology-based sci-fi adventure. Lots of explanation of the technology to get to Mars, but at a layman's level and with an eye for the kinds of things that teenagers are concerned about - entertainment, potential romance, how annoying the slightly younger passengers are, and so on.
Carmen accidentally stumbles into one of the most remarkable events in human history - literally. A near-fatal fall while on an unapproved excursion away from the colony buildings initiates first contact with an alien species (this is not a spoiler, it is in the inside cover of the hardback).
At this point, the ...
Read more at:
December 22, 2008
I really liked this book! A great first-contact SF story, with a good female narrator.
18-year-old Carmen and her family have been selected to participate in the Mars Project - living on the planet's outpost for 5 years. When they arrive, Carmen attracts the ire of one of the post's administrators and spends a lot of time doing menial work. One day she rebels and takes an unauthorized walk on the planet's surface, alone. She is nearly mortally injured but saved by...an angel with a potato head and 4 limbs? Actually an alien. And that's where the fun begins!
18-year-old Carmen and her family have been selected to participate in the Mars Project - living on the planet's outpost for 5 years. When they arrive, Carmen attracts the ire of one of the post's administrators and spends a lot of time doing menial work. One day she rebels and takes an unauthorized walk on the planet's surface, alone. She is nearly mortally injured but saved by...an angel with a potato head and 4 limbs? Actually an alien. And that's where the fun begins!
May 10, 2010
This book really didn't pick up until about 100 pages into it, but I found the trip to Mars, as well as life on Mars fairly well-thought out. One thing I like about Haldeman is he's able to tell a convincing story without getting into the minutiae of everyday life. He does throw science at you regularly, but I find it easily digestible and fun. Once the story started to pick up about 100 pages in, it was a hard one to put down. I will be looking forward to reading the second book in the series, Starbound, but will probably wait for a discount.
February 9, 2010
This was a simply written story from the perspective of a young woman in her late teens, in the mid 21st century, about her family's journey to Mars. Even before it took an odd turn, I really enjoyed the perspective. The writing throughout was very clear, and Haldeman did a good job fleshing her out, and making her not just believable, but someone you'd want to know. Overall, a short read but an interesting story, and I look forward to reading the next novel in the series.
January 26, 2016
I think I have figured out what Joe Haldeman does to make me love his books so much. The characters are just regular people, with regular thoughts wants and desires, just like me and the people I know. No grant heroic personalities, just a character that could be you do what you would probably do in the story. I am always immersed in the story and find myself becoming the character. Very recommended SiFi.
December 14, 2011
Joe Haldeman books are what I call easy reads. The storys track fairly fast and there is minimal character development, but enough. Haldeman has a potty mouth sometimes which I don't find offensive but younger readers may not appreciate his vivid language.
All his books are entertaining and easily read. There is not too much complicated plot lines so again easy to read.
Recommended
All his books are entertaining and easily read. There is not too much complicated plot lines so again easy to read.
Recommended
February 14, 2015
I enjoyed this book. I believe it would be a great intro book, to science fiction, for a person of middle-school age, except for a little too much sex, and gratuitous bad language. I have probably become over conservative in my old age.
I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.
I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.
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