I really am reading this book:

Marsbound

Joe Haldeman

I got a review copy of it and am slogging through it. I am not a fast reader at the best of times, and I have less time to dedicate to reading than I once had.

I’m liking the book just fine so far, but it has some major problems. I have a hard time when any man uses a barely post-adolescent woman as the POV character. Yeah, I’m sexist, but seldom is this done in a way that makes me believe the character. Haldeman is one of my favorite authors though, so I’ll trust him to pull it off.

The other major handicap this book suffers from is that it’s too easy to compare to this one:

Podkayne of Mars

Robert A. Heinlein

And it suffers for the comparison. And if you’ve never read either, I am guessing even Haldeman would tell you to start with Podkayne.

This all said, I have been enjoying it so far. Some of the more obvious plot elements aren’t being developed as fast as I would like, and there is some mystery that I want revealed, but that’s what makes a book good. I’ll write more once I am finished.