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The Triumph of Private Industry: Mars, Inc.: The Billionaire’s Club by Ben Bova

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Published on December 5, 2013

Arthur “Art” Thrasher, CEO of Thrasher Digital Corporation, has a dream: to take mankind to Mars. But since no single government seems up to the task, with NASA having dropped the ball due to budget cutbacks and so on, and Thrasher doesn’t have the funds necessary to finance his dream himself, he comes up with a new plan. He approaches a number of billionaires—ruthless businessmen and financiers—and hits them up for the 100 billion he estimates it would take. A billion a year for five years for each of them. And Mars would be theirs for the taking.

Even with financing tentatively in place, there’s a million details to be considered over the next five years. Design. Propulsion. Launch capabilities. Orbital mechanics. Crew and personnel. Political hurdles. Industrial sabotage. Economic warfare. Every time Thrasher nails one issue, another pops up. But rest assured, he won’t stop until Mars One has launched on its historical journey.

It should come as no surprise that, once again, legendary author Ben Bova is looking to the future. Mars, Inc. is basically his extended look at how we could send men to Mars, complete with all of the usual technological, political, and economic complexities that usually populate his works. Apart from a subplot revolving around the virtual reality systems that will be used to take mankind to Mars along with the astronauts and scientists who are physically journeying there, there really isn’t much in the way of outrageous or even implausible science.

In fact, Bova seems to have toned down the science across the board for this book. Most of the details are skimmed over or handwaved away. He seems more interested in the day-to-day maneuverings and intrigues of the characters, than he is on delving into the technical specifics of a nuclear propulsion system, centrifugal-generated artificial gravity, or supplies needed to sustain a crew of seven for the better part of two years. A running subplot about using suborbital rocket technology for hypersonic transportation likewise takes existing systems and technology, and projects how they could be used to speed up travel across the world.

The thing that struck me most about this book, is that first and foremost, it’s a Story about Men. Art has a dream, a Very Manly (American) Dream, and the vast majority of the people he deals with as a result, are also Very Manly Men. The story actually starts out in the Kensington Club’s Men’s Bar, where Art and a colleague are talking about why the “goddamned government” won’t go to Mars and why it’s all up to the Heroic Capitalists.  The billionaires, with one exception, are men. The politicians are men. Most of the astronauts and scientists are men. Who are the women? The reporter Thrasher sleeps with for much of the book while she writes about his projects. The virtual reality specialist whom Thrasher pursues. The private detective everyone assumes Thrasher’s sleeping with. (He has a reputation for being a ladies’ man…) The executive assistant who handles all of his affairs and tut-tuts knowingly when he needs help or pursues another woman. (He calls her “kid” and she’s described as having the face of an Aztec princess.) Despite the valuable contributions that certain female characters do play in the book, including a pivotal role during the business negotiations, this still comes off as a very masculine-oriented story.

It gets better. It’s also a book about sex. Thrasher is partially defined by his relationships, as previously noted. His multiple ex-wives. His numerous affairs. He dates one woman, but refuses to let it get too serious, preferring to keep her at arm’s length while he continues to pursue other women. He ultimately gets married again…at which point that character seems to fade into the background. And, of course, there’s the moment when a rocket launch is explicitly compared to intercourse…

“Christ, Thrasher thought to himself, this is like having sex! The tension building, building, and then the release. It’s like building up to an explosive orgasm.”

This is also a book about how awesome Capitalism is. It’s right there near the start, when Thrasher, who literally cannot say “government” without attaching “goddamned” to it, inspires his potential investors by claiming that he wants to upstage the Chinese. 

“And we can leapfrog the People’s Republic of China! With private enterprise! Capitalism beats the communists!”

Yes. A bold book about how the heroic American Capitalists will beat those fiendish Chinese Communists before they have the temerity to go to the Moon. A book where the protagonist wheels and deals and has sex, or considers having sex, with almost every female that crosses his path, while watching rocket launches that makes him think of sex. This book is not subtle.

But is it interesting?  Oh, sure. Bova’s always had an eye towards the future, and a finger on the pulse of cutting edge technology and science. He’s constructed as plausible, realistic, and likely a plan about a manned Mars mission as we’re likely to get. This is pretty much a blueprint for possible success.  His characters, while sometimes exaggerated or one-note, are nevertheless fleshed-out and believable. He understands what makes people tick, especially where self-motivation and greed are concerned.

And yet…this isn’t as good as his usual stuff. It feels like a step down from any of the Grand Tour sequence—this is apparently a stand-alone, or at least unconnected to the larger series—in terms of complexity, sophistication, and depth. It’s character-driven, with very little tension beyond the inevitable political or business setbacks and conflict, making for a more subdued read. 

While reading Mars, Inc. and writing this review, I was struck by a powerful feeling of déjà vu (deja review?). Finally, it came to me. This book reminds me greatly of one of the first things I ever reviewed for Tor.com, Winning Mars, by Jason Stoddard. Also a story about a man with a dream of going to Mars, who has to wheel and deal and connive every step of the way, who has to secure backers and develop technology, who has to go to the private sector when NASA proves incapable. And once again, part of the appeal hinges upon mass communication and entertainment technology making it possible for humanity en masse to travel to Mars by proxy. In that review, I said that Stoddard reminded me in part of Bova. Now things have come full circle, as Bova’s story reminds me of Stoddard’s premise.

Mars, Inc. is a fun story, for all that it feels like “Bova Lite” compared to what I expect from him. If we’re lucky, maybe it’ll give someone ideas on how we can get men to Mars. Or maybe it could be turned into an HBO television series. There’s a five year plot built in, and the perfect ending shot, right there. With the freedom to really develop the complex interpersonal dynamics between the characters, the intense backroom deals, and the fairly straight-forward premise, it could easily do well. But as it stands, in this moment and in this form, Mars, Inc. is really just another one of Bova’s throw-away thought experiments, a plot wrapped around a good idea, and a fair amount of entertainment.

 

Mars, Inc is available now from Baen.


Michael M. Jones is a writer, editor, and book reviewer. He lives in Southwest VA, with a pride of cats, way too many books, and a wife who translates Geek-to-Mundane for him. He is the self-proclaimed High Pornomancer of the Golden Horde, and the editor of Scheherazade’s Façade. For more information, visit him and an ever-growing archive of reviews at Schrodinger’s Bookshelf.

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