The Mars Run by Chris Gerrib
2006
$12.94 paperback
188 pages, ISBN: 1411699734

"The Mars Run" by Chris Gerrib is a fairly fast-paced space opera drama, mixed in with just enough personal history to get us caring about the protagonist, naive 18-year-old Janet Pilgrim, on her journey from the accidental death of her training buddy, Raj, at NASA, through kidnapping & pirates, on Mars and in Africa.

The scientific and space details ring true; and the characters, though often having short roles, are more than just caricatures.

Janet wins through, with just a little help from friends.  Her role as sex toy may come off as overblown, complete with a metal collar and leash around her neck for half the book, but the book does reach a feel-good open ending with a definite possibility of further episodes, including whether she will undergo an abortion or choose to raise a child.

This is a fast, easy romp of a book.

28 comments; 0 subscribers

Monday, December 10, 2007 / 16:35:05

kaolin

To win our (signed) review copy of The Mars Run, leave a comment here about your strongest association with Mars, or with space in general. We'll choose a winner at random from the posts.

Competition closes midnight December 19, US Pacific time. US & Canada only.

 

Monday, December 10, 2007 / 18:50:35

lketchersid

I watched the Apollo launches from the roof of my house in Florida as a kid. My dad was chasing the rocket stages to a small island in the south pacific to see if there was anything salvageable on them.

Larry

 

Monday, December 10, 2007 / 18:57:43

ezmerelda

My husband is a Mars nut. I would love to be able to give this to him. It sounds like a book he would really enjoy.

 

Monday, December 10, 2007 / 21:05:08

drming5k

My wife is from the planet Zandar and has visited Mars many time on her space journeys

 

Monday, December 10, 2007 / 22:22:22

agsweeps

We all came from space. Humans evolved from space rock, the same rock that's found on both Earth and Mars. Other than that I came from Mars, the only other association I have with space is that I took an astronomy class in college.

 

Monday, December 10, 2007 / 22:33:02

vmkids

I taught a class at my church about the planets and mars represented the outcast

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 / 09:00:28

redron

My husband is definitely from Mars.

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 / 10:26:44

Sunnyvale

My daughter is passionate about astronomy!

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 / 11:26:42

sneddy29

Going to Cape Canaveral and having a tour of the space center and seeing a Mars Rover.

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 / 14:26:38

maddgiggler

Mars is the ruling planet of my zodiac sign.

 

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 / 18:05:46

idahomom

My sons are space fanatics.

 

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 / 11:22:25

sillelin

My family is all into space travel, both real and sci fi. It's fascinating.

 

Friday, December 14, 2007 / 02:04:14

tammyd57

Okay, so the town I live in is called Earlimart, making me an EarliMARTIAN. Does that count?

 

Sunday, December 16, 2007 / 19:40:42

tiffginn21

I think my kids are from Mars!!

 

Monday, December 17, 2007 / 11:17:42

borogirl

My first encounter was Star Trek with Willaim Shatner!! Since then I have had a passionate interest in all things "spacey" - living in Florida is great as we get to see the shuttle going off.

 

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 / 22:03:26

maggie0352

Thank you for the chance to win.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 07:05:20

cptmorgan70

I'm a good friend of Mr. Cohaagen, in fact we shared a Johnny Cab to the office this morning. Anyways, Mr. Cohaagen controls all of the air on Mars and is a very influential person. He wants this book, I would be happy to give it to him for you.
Thanks.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 07:46:17

cpom

I've always been intrigued by space and what's out there.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 09:50:10

AsTheNight

My SO used to work for NASA.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 14:15:26

thelastman

sometimes i'm out to lunch and it seems like i went to mars for a visit. the book sounds interesting. i hope i win.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 14:34:07

messy666

A exploring visit, maybe to look again for other life forms

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 14:55:34

wolff33166

Back on 2236 I was there in training. Very dusty, suit blewout. What a horrible week. The book just has to be better.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 15:59:40

pcbdolphins

every man in the world, (except my dad of course), is from mars and I wish they would all go back there

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 16:33:51

HYDEIST

My strongest association with space, besides the fact that I'm a Star Wars nut, is that on my birthday this year, there was an astronomical event where Mars, Venus,The Space Shuttle and The International Space station were all visible in the sky.I felt pretty special that this "show" happened on my birthday and I got up at 5AM to see it.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 17:11:14

greeeneyedwhwoman

Sometimes I believe that we are someone's in space "play toy" and they watch us to see what we will do when faced with different situations. A Martian's Toy is what we are!! :-) Would love the book, thanks for the contest!

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 21:22:43

minbari

I've been a science fiction fan since I was a child, and have had a strong interest in space as a result.

 

Wednesday, December 19, 2007 / 23:41:25

angelaandconnor

My last real talks with my grandfather before he died were about how excited he was about the mars rover. We would both listen to NPR all day and then talk about everything we heard and saw (on the webpage). It will be the last real adventure we ever had and Ill treasure those hours we spent... Mars now forever has a special place in my heart.

 

Thursday, December 20, 2007 / 12:31:47

kaolin

Out of the valid entries, our random number generator selects agsweeps. Thank you all for participating, and I do hope you check out a copy of the book. Also, check back as we periodically post new reviews/raffles/prize draws. There's almost always at least one running!