Beachhead

by Jack Williamson

Excited about their mission to Mars, Sam Houston Kelligan and his shipmates unfortunately meet only disaster when they are stricken and nearly destroyed by a Martian virus.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

John Stewart Williamson who wrote as Jack Williamson (and occasionally under the pseudonym Will Stewart) was a U.S. writer often referred to as the "Dean of Science Fiction".

Reviews

[Ken Bickley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author said he wrote this novel after visiting Biosphere 2, the domed environment center built in the Arizona desert to test human ability to live in such conditions over a long time span. That original experiment came to grief, of course, not because of technological failure, but because of human failure. Personality conflicts and basic human nature made it impossible for 8 people to stay "contained" in the dome for 2 years. Just so, this fictional account of a brave attempt to begin a Mars colony suffered the same problems. The book has it all: action, adventure, conflict, sex (a bit too much), romance, betrayal, etc. I found it one of the most gripping science-fiction novels I've ever read. Not only that, but the hero, Sam Houston Kelligan, is a good old (fabulously rich) boy from right here in Texas - Fort Worth, that is. Highly recommended.

[Jon Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as a paperback copy scanned into the Internet Archive. The author Jack Williamson is said to be an icon of SF's "Golden Age" but somehow his works have escaped my attention, up until recently. This book from 1992 was written when Williamson was in his 80's, and I'll give the author kudos for writing a novel at that age - I'm hoping to merely live to be 80, forget about writing a novel at that age. Other than the fact that it was written by an octogenarian, I found little that makes this book remarkable. The setting: sometime in the early 21st century (I don't recall a specific year being mentioned), when NASA has apparently gone out of business and the job of colonizing Mars has fallen to private industry (sound familiar? I'm looking at you, Elon!). Rather than being financed by a single megalomaniac trillionaire, the Mars attempt is put together by an international consortium of companies. Eight colonists are selected, four pairs from four separate regions of the planet, so we wind up with a "Star Trek" style international crew. The book's central character is an American crewman from Texas, a scion of privilege and wealth, son of a Fort Worth oil baron, who has "selflessly" turned his back on all the family trappings of obscene wealth to live out his dream of going to Mars. Way, way, way too much of the book is involved with various sexual, financial, and cultural shenanigans of the oil baron's extended family, so the book comes across as a poorly recycled version of TV's "Dallas" or "Dynasty." On Earth, and in space during the trip to Mars, all the girls have puppy eyes for the oilman's son and throw themselves upon him, while he reluctantly takes his eyes off his Mars dream long enough for a roll in the hay with each of them in turn. Upon reaching Mars, the colonists find danger and adventure aplenty: crashes, equipment breakdowns, an unknown disease, more sex for the Texan, dust storms, and mutiny. It's all pretty silly, and I'm a little embarrassed to list this book as my first read of 2026. Three out of five stars.

[Jason Bleckly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A depressingly realistic representation of human stupidity. It's a good book, not brilliant. A little dated, but that's because it was written 30 years ago. But I felt it realistically captures what a Mars mission with current tech might go like. I would have preferred a more solidly set on Mars boo with less Earth based shenanigans, but the Earth aspect does give a more holistic view of a Mars mission. Hopefully the real first mission to Mars won't go like this book. There was a little too much pre-occupation with sex, and Houston was stalker level creepy at times. It's a solid read I don't regret the time I gave it.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jack Williamson was known as the Dean of Science Fiction, but I have to admit that he's been one of my blind spots - I think Beachhead may be the first book of his that I've read. Based on that experience, I'm not planning to read any more.

I'm sure the science is good (or at least accurate based on the state of science at the time it was written), but the prose just isn't - the plot, the characters, the writing, they all come off as just barely professional-level. This is a book that maybe could have been saved with some serious editing and re-writing, but it just isn't worth reading as it is.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Mars first colonization story, but not as good as Red Mars, Moving Mars, or The Martian. Still a fun quick read.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the ladies are horny for the main character. The main villain is a sex crazed, manipulative woman. Main character saves the day in a way that stretches belief. Book was okay.

[Christopher · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't remember this one too well, as I read it more than twenty years ago. It was (and still is) my first Jack Williamson. This is from very late in his career. He was from the old school (pre-1950), and some of that creeps in here, although he keeps the story reasonably true to the age. There are some interesting ideas, and other ideas that are pretty implausible. I remember the plotting was very much in the soap opera style: lots of emphasis on Texas, big oil, manly men and big money. I thought it was like the TV series Dallas set in space. This is sci-fi plotting in the pre-NASA tradition. I'd like to read it again sometime and see how it's aged over the years. Maybe I might be able to view it with less of a jaundiced eye. In the early 90s I regarded this as the worst book I had ever read of the modern Mars genre. That mantle has since been passed to Robert Zubrin's terrible novel First Landing. Beachhead is a pretty obscure book but still worth checking out.

[Keith B]

While not the best Mars story it was fun to read a 2nd time.

[Doug Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good.

[Caron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love science fiction. What can I say?

[Jirnsum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well paced story. The gullibility of the people back on Earth is somewhat unbelievable in places. Was good enough to revisit a couple of years after I first read it.

[Charles JunkChuck]

Not the best Williamson I've read, but you could do worse than spending a few hours on this adventure. He was a master, and it shows.