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The New Martians: A Scientific Novel
The year is 2035, and the crew from the first expedition to Mars is returning to Earth. The crewmembers are anxious to get home, and ennui pervades the ship. The mood is broken by a series of mysterious events that jeopardize their safety. Someone or something is threatening the crew. Is it an alien being? A psychotic crewmember? A malfunctioning computer? The truth raises questions about the crewmembers’ fate and that of the human race.In this novel, the intent is to show real psychological issues that could affect a crew returning from a long-duration mission to Mars. The storyline presents a mystery that keeps the reader guessing, yet the issues at stake are based on the findings from the author’s research and other space-related work over the past 40+ years. The novel touches on actual plans being discussed for such an expedition as well as notions involving the search for Martian life and panspermia.The underlying science, in particular the psychological, psychiatric, and interpersonal elements, are introduced and discussed by the author in an extensive appendix. Nick Kanas is an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, where he directed the group therapy training program. For over 20 years he conducted research on group therapy, and for nearly 20 years after that he was the Principal Investigator of NASA-funded research on astronauts and cosmonauts. He is the co-author of Space Psychology and Psychiatry , which won the 2004 International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award, and the author of Humans in The Psychological Hurdles , which won the 2016 International Academy of Astronautics Life Science Book Award. Dr. Kanas has presented talks on space psychology and on celestial mapping at several regional and Worldcon science fiction conventions. A Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (London), he has been an amateur astronomer for over 50 years and is an avid reader of science fiction. He is also the author of two non-fiction books ( Star History, Artistry, and Cartography and Solar System From Antiquity to the Space Age ) and two science fiction novels ( The New Martians and The Protos Mandate ), all published by Springer.
- GenresFictionScience Fiction
131 pages, Paperback
First published August 30, 2013
42 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 15, 2017
I feel like I shouldn't like this book, but I do, and I think it comes down to reading format. It's not a bad book, but it's not a good book, unless circumstances give it a boost.
The plot is essentially that astronauts on their way home from a semi-disappointing trip to Mars (Yay, Mars! Boo, they didn't find any life) encounter things going awry in their ship computer and their crewmates. DUN DUN DUUNNNN! The back-of-book blurb makes it sound like it's a mystery what's happening, and sure it's a mystery to the crew, but to the reader it's plainly obvious that something's alive (since it narrates a few chapters).
I think the plot was secondary for writing -- the end of the book includes summaries of scientific papers on subjects like living with the same people in close quarters for months, ideal group composition, physical activity, etc etc, and pointing to how it happened in the book. I think the author wanted to write about those things and wrote a plot where he could demonstrate them.
The plot's simple, and because each chapter is told from the point of view of different astronauts, there's some rehashing of who's who and what's been observed. There's not a whole lot about the tech, not being the author's area of expertise (And, to be fair, more likely than psychology to change between time of writing and time of actual missions to Mars).
If I were reading this in paper I probably would have been bored quickly and said the best thing about it was that it is short. However, I read it in ebook format, on my phone, a few pages at a time. That made the recaps handy, the rehashing useful.
If someone says they don't like books because they're long, or complicated, or totally unrealistic, this might be a good choice for them. Unfortunately that person might be a pre-teen, and maybe that pre-teen's parents won't be happy about off-screen sexytimes (one of the things put into the plot because it's a study in the back of the book). But if that person isn't a pre-teen, or their parents don't care, here you go.
The plot is essentially that astronauts on their way home from a semi-disappointing trip to Mars (Yay, Mars! Boo, they didn't find any life) encounter things going awry in their ship computer and their crewmates. DUN DUN DUUNNNN! The back-of-book blurb makes it sound like it's a mystery what's happening, and sure it's a mystery to the crew, but to the reader it's plainly obvious that something's alive (since it narrates a few chapters).
I think the plot was secondary for writing -- the end of the book includes summaries of scientific papers on subjects like living with the same people in close quarters for months, ideal group composition, physical activity, etc etc, and pointing to how it happened in the book. I think the author wanted to write about those things and wrote a plot where he could demonstrate them.
The plot's simple, and because each chapter is told from the point of view of different astronauts, there's some rehashing of who's who and what's been observed. There's not a whole lot about the tech, not being the author's area of expertise (And, to be fair, more likely than psychology to change between time of writing and time of actual missions to Mars).
If I were reading this in paper I probably would have been bored quickly and said the best thing about it was that it is short. However, I read it in ebook format, on my phone, a few pages at a time. That made the recaps handy, the rehashing useful.
If someone says they don't like books because they're long, or complicated, or totally unrealistic, this might be a good choice for them. Unfortunately that person might be a pre-teen, and maybe that pre-teen's parents won't be happy about off-screen sexytimes (one of the things put into the plot because it's a study in the back of the book). But if that person isn't a pre-teen, or their parents don't care, here you go.
December 11, 2019
It certainly seems that the mechanical logistics of going to Mars receive all the attention. Vehicles, equipment, food, even mission profiles. But what about those intangibles? That all-important mental stuff that goes beyond "Plays Well With Others?" Sure, we know from things like the diaries of those on the Oregon Trail, or perhaps from personal experience on long-distance backpacking trips. But with the vast majority of a manned mission to Mars taking place in outer space, psychology is at least as important as physiology. That's mostly what this book addresses. The author uses the narrative to illustrate the principles of psychology expected to heavily-impact astronauts during the multi-month voyage each way. It's clear he understands his field. And while the writing itself--laden with a great deal of exposition--could, I think, use a bit of a re-work (although I'll concede that there may have been space limitations imposed by the publisher to which I as the reader am not privy), it still kept my attention well enough.
March 27, 2023
It might be very interesting to read a novel about the mental illnesses that afflict astronauts on their long journeys, written by a psychologist who specializes in these illnesses.
The novel is a hard science fiction, in which he was interested in explaining the scientific aspects of the tools and equipment accompanying the events, as well as providing a scientific appendix at the end of the novel focusing on psychology in the novel.
I felt the novel might have been better off being longer, especially in the latter part, as if things had gone too fast.
In short: it is a good novel, but it could have been better.
The novel is a hard science fiction, in which he was interested in explaining the scientific aspects of the tools and equipment accompanying the events, as well as providing a scientific appendix at the end of the novel focusing on psychology in the novel.
I felt the novel might have been better off being longer, especially in the latter part, as if things had gone too fast.
In short: it is a good novel, but it could have been better.
September 28, 2016
The book overall I thought was good. It was interesting to see psychological problems play out in space.
The characters were a little cliche, but it worked well. Being a "scientific novel", the ideas and problems that the crew faced were believable. The scene when one of the characters first starts acting strange is very creepy.
The science at the end was quite interesting as well, if you want to know a few facts and ideas behind the story. Most of the science at the end is referenced for further reading which is useful.
*spoiler alert*
I thought it would have been better at the end if there was no Martian infection as it felt forced and not believable or based on science. I think a better end would have just left it either not knowing, or finding that the crew members had just gone loopy and believed that they had been infected.
The characters were a little cliche, but it worked well. Being a "scientific novel", the ideas and problems that the crew faced were believable. The scene when one of the characters first starts acting strange is very creepy.
The science at the end was quite interesting as well, if you want to know a few facts and ideas behind the story. Most of the science at the end is referenced for further reading which is useful.
*spoiler alert*
I thought it would have been better at the end if there was no Martian infection as it felt forced and not believable or based on science. I think a better end would have just left it either not knowing, or finding that the crew members had just gone loopy and believed that they had been infected.
September 20, 2016
Like I wish I hadn't correctly expected would be the case when a scientist who studies and publishes about the psychological issues of space travel, this "novel" is l8ng on ideas but short on execution. From characters that are really just background sketches and job descriptions to dialogue that is even more stilted when it *isn't* just a series of exposition dumps, this book is irredeemable as a piece of fiction. As a thought experiment is maybe ok. I'd suggest slipping the "fiction" and just skipping to the scientific report explaining how the ideas aired out are plausible and valid.
February 7, 2017
Something wants to harm the crew members of a six-person team who are on a long return journey to Earth from Mars. Is it a disturbed crew member, an alien life form they might have picked up, or the CARs computer system that runs most areas of their ship? Or something else entirely?
The author, Dr. Kanas, is an esteemed space psychologist of 40+ years. Having recently interviewed him about his research, I was very eager to give this book a go.
The novel is his attempt to take what he has learned during his career about the psychological aspects of long-duration space travel and then apply it to characters in a fictional setting. Thus, the book is educational, but it also includes an engaging mystery to follow from the first page.
This is an easy, fast read that only took me two days to complete. You do not have to be a sci fi enthusiast to enjoy or understand it. I really like the idea of professionals like Dr. Kanas using their work in fictionalized stories to better reach out to the general public; I wish more professionals would do this. I greatly enjoyed this book!
PS. There is also a lengthy appendix at the end of the novel if you would like to learn more about the psychological science behind the story.
November 21, 2016
I was worried because it had an abstract at the beginning. And I thought it was going to read like a journal publication. Fortunately, it turned out better than that, good enough to keep me interested.
But never enthralled. I don't regret reading it, but it just wasn't very exciting. The author needs a lot more work on making dangerous scenes more compelling and exciting.
But never enthralled. I don't regret reading it, but it just wasn't very exciting. The author needs a lot more work on making dangerous scenes more compelling and exciting.
October 14, 2016
The science is interesting and there's a half decent plot, but the characters are poorly drawn and prone to spouting exposition. Potentially big, emotional moments are ruined by stilted dialogue and a lack of depth.
November 28, 2016
"As you know, Bob"
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews