OXYGEN

OXYGEN is an imagined depiction of NASA's first manned Mars mission. It's not a problem-free mission--the novel compares favorably with APOLLO 13 in its troubles, both in the ship en route and at Mission Control back on Earth. The fully realized characters are skillfully performed by Norman Dietz. Dietz handles both the technical speech and the spiritual/philosophical conversations scattered throughout with equal clarity and emotion. In this satisfying science fiction of the near-future, the characters struggle not only with physical peril, but also with their spiritual questions. S.D. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 03/JAN 04]