David Harris EbenbachCritiques

What happens when the reality TV show is over and you're still stuck at your destination? Boredom. Lots of it. When the biggest argument left is whether Mars is red or orange, you know you're over it. A book not just about a found family, but consciously patching one together. Bonus? I really enjoyed the 'handbook excerpts' in this book.

I was still in highschool when I read Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein but it made such an impression on me I have never really forgotten it. In case you have never read it the book is about a man who was born and raised on Mars by Martians comes to the earth and starts a new religion. This book is not Stranger in a Strange Land but it does involve a human born and raised on Mars.

In this book six scientists, three women and three men, get sent on a one-way trip to Mars by the Destination Mars! corporation. Destination Mars! plans to build a reality TV show around the group but it turns out that once they get to Mars there isn't much in the way of TV moments. In fact, it is downright boring both watching them and being them. All of the scientists were supposedly sterilized plus there was a strict injunction against sex so a pregnancy should not have happened. But Jenny and Josh were attracted to each other and after the cameras were turned off because the reality show tanked they started having sex. Jenny, who wasn't supposed to be able to get pregnant even when she was on earth, tells Josh the news one day when they go for a walk outside the habitation dome. Of course they are wearing space suits and helmets and using a radio frequency that was supposed to be private but by the time they get back to the habitation dome (called Home Sweet) everyone else knows and congratulates them. The other two women, Trixie and Nicole, are physicians in addition to other specialties and they figure they can handle a birth. So, despite the Destination Mars! people wanting Jenny to terminate the pregnancy proceeds. Roger, the Canadian geologist, starts making booties and rattles so he is supportive of this. The other male, Stefan, who is Danish and an engineer, is not. In fact, he is showing decidedly antisocial behaviour. Josh, a psychiatrist, tries talking to him but Stefan continues to exhibit worrisome behaviour. That's a big problem because systems and machines keep breaking down and Stefan is the one who knows how to fix them. In fact, Stefan may be more than just antisocial; he has started hearing voices and he may be mentally unstable. Or maybe there really are Martians and Stefan is the one who has tuned in to them.

Interspersed between the chapters of the story are excerpts from the Handbook the Destination Mars! founder has written to guide the six scientists in this adventure. Some of them are pretty funny and some of them are more philosophy than instructional. They do tend to break up the narrative which can be good but some times I just wanted to get on with the story. All in all I thought this was a fun and interesting read.

A reality show sends 6 adults on a one way ticket to Mars with the unrealistic requirement of no sex. Of course, a pregnancy occurs with hilarious consequences. The novel gives food for thought about what it is to be human in an inhospitable world when you only have 5 other people to rely on for survival. There is a spooky aspect very much like Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan.

Six people are selected for a one-way mission to Mars, and their exploits beamed back to Earth and edited into a Reality TV show.

It’s an interesting premise that doesn’t quite pay off. The story opens after the “marsonauts” have been on the planet long enough for the science to become routine and the TV show canceled. Then two of the crew do something that’s forbidden in the mission handbook and everyone has to learn how to deal with the consequences.

While there a six main characters the story is mainly told from the perspective of two of them, so I never felt I got to know the others. There are seeds of ideas sown that never get explored, and some pointless subplots that detract from the narrative.

The text is also periodically intertwined with pseudo science reports, and extracts from the eccentrically written mission handbook. At first the “handbook” sections were mildly amusing but grew to be more of an irritating interruption to the human story unfolding.

Ebenbach writes with a fresh and gentle wit about places I love and places I have never been, places I can recognize not just by their names but by the scenes and emotions he creates.

I actually did finish this, but I did not enjoy it.

It looks like the characters are balanced, half male, half female, but the female characters are all on the side lines, and the author has no idea what to do with them.

BTW, given that they are all bored to death, I can't understand why nobody thinks of unpicking the big logos that make the towels not very useful.

Zany Space Story. The best way to describe this book, really, is that if you like Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy - a perennial favorite among the geek set for decades now that has in many cases transcended into pop culture - ... you're probably going to like this one too. There are quite a bit of similarities, given the hilarious and offbeat humor and even the "guidebook" element of the story. (Though unlike the Adams epic, this one actually includes at least parts of the guide in the story.) As others have noted, the fact that this was spurred many years ago by a (now defunct) Mars colonization effort that had the same general premise is, quite frankly, even more amusing. If you're looking to see what all the fuss over Hitchhiker is about but you're not willing to commit to something of quite that length, try this one. At roughly 250 pages, it is a short-average length and thus a good primer for that type of humor and creativity. If you're looking for a more serious/ Hard Science Fiction ala Andy Weir's take on The Martian... this isn't that. So strap in and get ready to blast off on one wild ride. Very much recommended.

I’m not very good at SF humor so while I appreciate the absurdity of this book, the humor ran thin pretty quickly. I don't watch reality TV so I don't know all the conventions of the genre but basically here we have too few people crammed together for the rest of their lives on Mars operating under an arbitrary system of rules that no one would normally accept. The operations manual for the Martian outpost is bizarre and unhelpful, and the pre-departure training seems to have been inadequate. Was there any psych profiling and matching at all?

If you like humorous fiction then you will probably like this book. If not, give it a miss.

I received a review copy of "How to Mars" by David Ebenbach from Tachyon through NetGalley.com.

How to Mars by David Ebenbach is a highly recommended amusing science fiction tale about an unexpected pregnancy among the scientists on a reality TV show set on Mars.

After an arduous screening process, six scientists were selected for a one-way ticket to Mars where they would conduct research for the reality TV show following them. The handbook of the Destination Mars! corporation clearly stated repeatedly that intercourse between contestants is prohibited and pregnancy is not allowed. Nonetheless, Jenny, an astrophysicist, and Josh, a psychologist, have a romantic relationship and Jenny discovers she is pregnant. The other scientists on the team, Stefan, Roger, Nicole and Trixie, have various responses as Jenny's pregnancy progresses and odd things begin to occur on the base. The reality TV show, which was cancelled due to low ratings, has started up again with the pregnancy and ratings are high.

The narrative is told through the point of view of Josh, Stephan (the engineer), the Patterns (ethereal life on Mars), Jenny's notes, and through excerpts from the Destination Mars! handbook. Parts of the novel have an absurd, lightheartedness that will bring to mind The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, especially the abundance of towels sent to the base. Other parts are thought provoking and poignant as six very different scientists are living together with no return trip to Earth planned. As with any group, there are conflicts, disagreements, and stress, but the group is also a family. Sure, they are a dysfunctional family, but they are working together doing the best they can.

The plot is really about the characters and their interaction, because Mars is just rocks, rocks, and more rocks. One of the heated discussions is the question if Mars orange or red. The characters are interesting personalities and we learn more personal facts about Josh, Jenny, and Stephan, as the plot follows Jenny's pregnancy and how it affects life on Mars - all life on Mars. This is an interesting, fun take on the establishment of a base on Mars and the interaction of the inhabitants.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Tachyon Publications in exchange for my honest opinion.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2021/05/how-to-mars.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4004806318

A group of scientists is sent to Mars, on a one-way ticket, as participants in the ultimate reality show. Rather implausible, as the public gets to vote on who gets to go. As you might expect, things start out good, but as time goes on, people start going stir-crazy. Personality conflicts ensue, a surprise pregnancy occurs, and a possible undetectable in the normal way Martian life form interferes. Taken as a form of comedy, the book is entertaining.