This story is a take on going to Mars from a different view point. The slightly geriatric side. It’s a one way mission and the astronauts know this. There is not a return flight planned. It’s not as hard science fiction as the Martian but set as a narrative from one of the astronaut’s point of view. The discoveries of Mars seem to take second stage to the characters daily interactions. It was okay but had hoped for more wonders of Mars

An enjoyable tale. Probably in the hard scifi genre, this includes interesting characters and a mostly realistic plot. It's well executed and probably appropriate for most ages (Amazon says it's for age Level: 12 - 18). This author has written a few books and his experience shows here. Recommended.

I really appreciate the review copy!!

It's a whimsical scifi story. The crux of the plot is sending older people to live on Mars. Once past that, the writing is enjoyable and the story interesting.

Old people are cheaper

The cash-strapped European Space Agency does some financial calculations and realizes that it would be cheaper to send voyagers to Mars if they don't bring them back, so they enlist old people for the journey. It makes a kind of cockeyed sense and so Harry Burton, a cranky, bipolar, widowed, science fiction author goes along with the scheme. Harry's been miserable since his wife died and the idea of one last adventure is very appealing.

The story is written in a Heinlein style – clear sentences, no complex emotions. Gender and racial tropes are updated but the story is a 1950s tech and brains overcomes all obstacles kind of thing. It was fun to read although I have a couple of questions for the author, the most important of which is why are there no spare oxygen tanks for each of the crew members? The story would be much different if there were a stack of scuba tanks in the rover.