he crew of the Don Quijote represents a last-ditch effort to
land astronauts on Mars and--more importantly--to bring them home. Two previous
expeditions failed to return a single survivor to Earth, but after a
perfect landing on Felis Dorsa, the prospects look excellent for Cmdr.
John Radkowski and his crew. They have set down right near their sister
ship, the Dulcinea, which for years has been industriously
generating the fuel that will get the team back to Earth.
The illusion of a slam-dunk mission dissipates almost immediately,
though, when unexpected factors cause a serious accident. Suddenly
Radkowski is faced with a dead crew member and the knowledge that the
Dulcinea is in no way spaceworthy. The fuel supply is lost in the
accident, too, dooming the crew of the Don Quijote to a slow death as
their equipment fails. Worse, there is no hope of rescue--the previous
failures have left Earth unwilling to go to the expense and risk of a
fourth launch.
With this bleak outcome all but certain, one of the engineers comes up
with a desperate idea. The first Mars expedition died before leaving the
planet, and its return ship is still at the Martian North Pole. Perhaps the
crew can travel the 4,000 miles between Don Quijote and the
first ship, the Jesus do Sul. If they make it--and if the ship is
still fueled and functional--then it might be possible for some survivors
to return to Earth. The voyage will be difficult and dangerous, however,
and there is a huge proviso: Jesus do Sul can carry only two
people.
If John Radkowski gets the five remaining crew members to the North
Pole, some of them will still have to stay behind and die on Mars.
A deadly race on the red planet
Geoffrey A. Landis' Mars Crossing is hard SF at its best,
capturing the beauty of the Martian landscape and providing a glorious
backdrop for the humans' struggle. As the crew wears out its exploration
vehicles in the attempt to drive north, the frailty of the technology upon
which they
depend for survival is chillingly clear. Particular scenes--the team
rappelling down a Grand Canyon-sized rift, for example--give the journey a
grandeur which is truly awe-inspiring.
Landis takes care to ensure that the human element is not overshadowed
by technical considerations. Each character is thoroughly plumbed, exposing
personal demons and secret interior lives. The crew is a diverse group, and
as their voyage progresses and misfortunes arise, readers will be
passionately rooting for their favorites' survival. The stakes in Mars
Crossing are small compared to many current SF novels--a handful of
lives hang in the balance, rather than those of a whole world or a
galaxy--and yet they are far more harrowing.
If Mars Crossing has a weakness, it is that its characters do not
interact with each other as believably as they might. Readers must accept
that Radkowski's reticent leadership style keeps simmering crew conflicts
from boiling into open confrontation. As the situation continues to worsen,
the credibility of this conceit weakens considerably. The result is a
flatness in the book's mood which mutes its emotional impact. The
astronauts largely remain calm and collected; readers may experience a
similar sense of detachment.
None of this negates the power of this book to terrify and amaze.
Instead, the low-key interpersonal conflict merely allows the Martian
landscape to steal the show. Landis gives a true sense of how fragile human
beings are, especially when placed in the uncaring environment of a very
close--and yet very alien--world.
