Red Planet

by Russ Winterbotham

When the spaceship Jehad headed for Mars, millions of miles from Earth, four men & one woman placed themselves under the rule of Dr. Lewis Spartan, sadistic, power-mad leader of the expedition. Only when they were well on their way did they learn he planned to return to earth alone. By the time the ship reached Mars, jealous rivalry over the love of Gail Loring had turned the Jehad into a crucible of tense strife. Their internal struggles were nothing compared to the threat of the grotesque Martians who used electrical energy as weapons of war. They had to unite to stave off a massed Martian attack--a fight which, if lost, meant isolation & eventual death on Mars &, if won, bucking Spartan's demonic schemes.

Genres: Science Fiction

140 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Russell Robert Winterbotham (1904-1971) was a writer of western and science fiction genre fiction, and the author of several Big Little Books under the name R. R. Winterbotham. He also wrote crime under the pen names J. Harvey Bond and Franklin Hadley.

Reviews

[Doug Albers · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first impression was cheesy science fiction, but it turns out to be better than expected. The science behind it is more accurate than I expected with the trip to Mars a multi-year journey. The story is more about the characters than bug-eyed monsters, though they are there as well. Worth reading once.

[Nigel Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once you get over the dated attitudes that pervade the start - a woman having to be married to a crew member in order to fly on a mission - this is a solid sci fi book that tries to be a thriller and poses some uncomfortable questions about the nature of humanity and the genetic make up of man. I found it an easy read with thumbnail sketches of characters but who worked well. The martians were different and interesting. A longer book might have worked harder to portray the civilisation better but I flew through this in a few hours. Not badly written, but not classic literature. A good read.

[Zak Baldwin · Rating 1 out of 5]

The biggest load of sexist drivel I have ever read. I expected it a bit in a novel from the 60's, but not to such an extent. It's literally a story of four men fighting to own a woman, who has to marry one of them because its not appropriate for a woman to be alone with a group of men unless one of them is her husband. It's written as reasonable that they would end up assaulting her because it's a natural male urge. Just utter nonsense, don't waste your time on it.

[Dallas Robertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you read this 1961 novel as an adventure tale with a smattering of period-piece science, then it becomes rather enjoyable, especially the [spoiler alert] battle scene at the end. However, it takes a little stomach to gloss over its rusted-on misogyny, plenty of two-dimensional masculinity, and the dollops of xenophobia offered towards anyone deemed as ‘other’.

[Khardiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read if you like pulp sci-fi from the 50s and 60s. Nothing life changing in the story, just short fun bit of speculative fiction. By today’s standards it’s sexist and misogynistic, but by 1960s standards it’s pretty mild. The characters are fairly one dimensional, but again they’re what I’d expect from a pulp from this time period.

[Kass Whitaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oof. As other reviewers have said, the main crux of the plot is that one of the crew members is a woman. Scandalous! And her being on the ship causes unnecessary drama among her male compatriots, leading to an assault. Gail is at least a capable heroine, despite the puritanical sexism that makes up her story.

Author Winterbotham's son-in-law was on the team behind an experimental plasma engine, which makes an appearance in this book. Much of the science of the story remains mostly accurate... until we get to Mars. Since this was written before the Viking 1 lander, many liberties are taken with the landscape and its inhabitants. Winterbotham's Martians deviate from the standard humanoid design, which is refreshing, but whoever did the cover art missed the mark a bit...


(Tentical lizards do NOT make an appearance.)

The author introduces some quaint philosophy about self-preservation, but the story doesn't delve too deeply into martyrism or the psychological effects of long space flights. It's a quick read and the characters and pacing read like classic B-rate sci-fi. (The villain even has a goatee!)