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[b:Mars Life|908284|Mars Life (The Grand Tour, #17)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316130595l/908284._SY75_.jpg|893424] continues the story set out in [b:Mars|267282|Mars (The Grand Tour, #4)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173282407l/267282._SY75_.jpg|1932635] and [b:Return to Mars|267310|Return to Mars (The Grand Tour, #7)|Ben Bova|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388211421l/267310._SY75_.jpg|1932634], with much the same setting and characters (particularly of the latter). Seventeen books in, there's little particularly surprising about Mars Life, but it's still a solid enough entry to the series.

For the most part, we're back to dealing with the New Morality (which makes me wonder about the timeline a bit) and greenhouse flooding on Earth. In particularly how they just want to put their heads in the sand and ignore concrete evidence of intelligent life on Mars and user their oomph to get the Mars project shut down entirely. It's interesting enough on one hand, but as mentioned, it's starting to feel like more of the same.

One thing that is really starting to get frustrating is Jamie's absolutely inability to bend and compromise throughout much of the work. I get that he doesn't want to see Mars destroyed and at first, that was an admirable goal. Something of the little guy fighting back against the corporations and governments of Earth. But now... who exactly is he to make that call? And why exactly can't Mars be used for more than one thing? It's an entirely planet for crying out loud.

Overall, it's a solid continuation to Bova's Mars trilogy and the Grand Tour in general and I'm glad to have read it. It could easily be read immediately after the other Mars books without particularly spoilering anything in the greater universe. On the other, 17 books in and I think I'm almost done with this series. Almost. Onward to Venus! ( )

This is my 16th read of doing Bova's Grand Tour. While enjoyable, not nearly as grabbing as some of the prior books. But hey, not every book can be a home run. Still glad I picked it up. ( )

This book is a sci-fi novel with the theme of religion versus science. Science is represented by the planetary explorers of Mars, who are studying the planet after discovery of 60 million year old human-like life. A group of earthly religious fundamentalists has become so politically powerful that it can determine the outcome of elections. New Morality leadership sees the archeological work being done on Mars as a threat to its core religious beliefs--it wants the project shut down. I believe it's obvious that Bova sees the religious movement as a fanatic fringe; he even states that when religious movements become too powerful, conflict results. Lots of conflict in the book, but the resolution seems like an afterthought. The book just sort of ends, leaving the reader to wonder what the result might be...the epilogue gives a clue. I liked the book. It was exciting--makes one think. ( )

Great addition to Bova's Grand Tour novels, specifically the Mars book. I really like how Bova was able to weave the excitement of colonizing and exploring Mars with the real world concerns back on Earth of just how economically feasible it would be to do so. The main protagonist (Jamie Waterman) really stands out as a solid character to drive many of the plot points, both pro and con Mars exploration, while everything else just kind of plays off of that. If you in any way like the subject of astronomy, specifically solar system exploration, I highly recommend picking up Bova's Grand Tour novels. Great escapism, which we all could use a little of these days. ( )