I would like to thank the author and publisher for kindly providing an electronic advanced copy of this book.

"How to Mars" by David Ebenbach is a slightly irreverent, sometimes funny, and thought provoking novel about what it would be like to be one of six people chosen for a one-way trip to Mars paid for and featured by a reality television show. No, this is not a story about actual company "Mars One", it is a story about a fictional company called "Destination Mars!".

The story does have enough twists, questions, and human interest points to keep the readers attention. The actual story on Mars is interspersed with mildly wacky sections of the "unofficial Destination Mars! handbook as written by the founder", as well as memories of training on Earth from different viewpoints. If it were not for the American spelling in the book, I might have thought that the dry humor indicated that the author was British... All in all, this was a fun book to read.

It was fun and interesting in parts. I just wish it wasn't so much focused on how to born a baby on Mars. It took over the plot and because of that we couldn't really know some characters who seemed interesting to me if only I could spend more time with them.

How to Mars is a quirky story with heart about a surprise pregnancy that brings a group of people together.

I think I'd have liked it more if it was marketed more honestly; what I mean by that is that by reading the provided summary I assumed this story would be about a reality show on mars. The pregnancy really is the focal point of the story and having my expectations led otherwise ended up making me much more disappointed with the story than I might have been.

There were also some formatting problems with the layout of the book and my kindle, that while probably looked really neat on the printed page, made for a less enjoyable reading experience for me with the ebook.

Overall, I didn't love How To Mars, but I would recommend it to the right readers.

Thanks very much to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for allowing me to read this book for free in exchange for an honest review!

A group of scientists is sent to Mars, on a one-way ticket, as participants in the ultimate reality show. Rather implausible, as the public gets to vote on who gets to go. As you might expect, things start out good, but as time goes on, people start going stir-crazy. Personality conflicts ensue, a surprise pregnancy occurs, and a possible undetectable in the normal way Martian life form interferes. Taken as a form of comedy, the book is entertaining.

Mars is one of my favorite armchair destinations, however impractical. And I’ll go there any chance I find with whatever book that’ll take me. Of course, it’s a much safer version and much less of a commitment than the six intrepid Marsonauts sign up in the book for, but hey…we do what we can. And one way trip to the red planet is much too permanent and terrifying of an option. Although when Mars One offered that very option a few years ago, apparently there were something like 200 000 applicants.
Now, most of us read that sort of a story in the news, ponder it for a while and set it aside, but for an author’s fertile imagination it proved to be just the seed for this novel. Originally written as short stories and later quite seamlessly combined into a continuous narrative, How to Mars is an intriguing and deceptive science fiction novel. And In say deceptive, because for all its Marsiness, so much so some of it is literally a manual that teaches you how to Mars, it actually isn’t about Mars at all, or space or any of that Of all the things, this is actually all about family.
You might get that idea with the very first sentence where one of the six Mars colonists just learns that he is going to be a father. The mother to be is his coworker and girlfriend and fellow colonists and this is a most unexpected of all developments, because there were strictly warned against having sexual relations or getting pregnant. Sterilized, in fact, just to avoid the possibility. And yet…to quote the one of the greats…Life finds a way.
So now the already fraught dynamics of the six are getting even more shifted and skewed. Why fraught…when so much training and prescreening went into preselecting these individuals? Well, because it’s a difficult, impossible to imagine prior to being in it, really, situation and because the kind of people who’d leave their entire lives behind for something like this may not be the easiest people to get along with.
First…there was the dream. Destination Mars…as new and exciting as they come. Pioneering on the intergalactic scale. Bold, ambitious and in the end…surprisingly tedious. So much so, in fact, that the reality show based on their lives got cancelled. In fact, until the improbable baby news, there was a lot of sitting around, killing time. Now it’s all about to change.
Reproducing is apparently a lifechanging concept anywhere. It might be the thing that throws a wrench in the tightly wound works of the mission or it just might be the thing that saves them.
So basically a character driven relationship drama, set among the red (some say orange) dust. Something with a moral. Something about a team learning to become a family. Something about growing as people while growing a baby. Definitely not what was expected and yet really enjoyable at the same time. Definitely the quirkiest of all Mars stories I’ve read or watched as movies. Like a Martian set indie drama.
It has plenty of sci fi elements, from logistics or early colonization to alien cameos. But it deals much more with the mentality of the process than the special effects. In some ways, Mars is just an extraordinary set for a very quiet character drama with the main character apparently standing in for the author (psych training and all) and a very interesting kinda sorta antagonist in the grumpy dane. It’s almost more like a book you’d give to expecting first time parents than to a sci fi buff, but in theory it may work for both.
Personally, I liked it a lot. It was different and I appreciated the humorous quirky tone of it. And the sheer concept of something so theoretically exciting turning so ordinary and bland…that was kind of an ingenious dash of realism for a high concept space adventure. I liked the ending and the cover. Guess I’m a fan. Another memorable trip, Mars, you never disappoint. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

So for us old people, remember when the show "The Real World" premiered? The Destination Mars! corporation has some of that vibe to it. Except when you’re on Mars and nothing much happens for months on end, you start going a little stir crazy. This book primarily follows the illicit couple (who aren’t supposed to be a couple), and Stefan, the anti social engineer. I do wish the other three characters were a bit more fleshed out. The snippets from the goofy handbook that were included in the story were lots of fun. Without giving anything away, the book seem to be taking a particular turn halfway to 3/4 of the way in, and then veered sharply away. Personally, I really would’ve liked to see that play out, but I understand why the author stopped that storyline. The story is well done, and I very much enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for this advanced reader copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A group of scientists get a one-way ticket to Mars as part of a reality show. Unfortunately as time passes they grow bored as their research doesn’t turn up exciting enough results. Their boredom leads to tension in the group and love affairs, a big no-no accord to the show handbook.

After some of the recent talk about doing a reality show on Mars a few years ago, I couldn’t resist this book. Unfortunately the reality show felt forgotten and wasn’t as big of a part of the story as I’d been hoping. In fact the show is already over by the time the book starts. I think my disappointment in the story was simply a case of the blurb causing me to expect something different than what the story actually is.

The story skips between POVs and while I enjoyed getting to learn about characters that way. The story is heavily driven by the characters instead of the plot at times. The handbook for Destination Mars! was quirky and added comedic relief. Unfortunately a lot of the humor just didn’t quite land for me. It felt too wacky and quirky at times and I found myself wanting a more serious take on the topic. While not quite for me in the end since it wasn’t what I’d expected, those who want a more light-hearted take on sending scientists to Mars should check this one out.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

This was quite a unique conceit, yet one that seems very timely, and strangely (from the afterword) was born of a real-life scheme in 2015. The thumbnail describes a one-way, reality show (funded?) research expedition to Mars, but the left turn (spoilers for the first sentence) comes from the first (forbidden) pregnancy on Mars and the changes that follow in the six person micro-society.

We get a nice sample of the various points of view, interspersed with the fairly hilarious Destination Mars! handbook.

The reality show component reminded me just a smidge of that component of the TV show Defying Gravity...without that show’s high concept.

Not entirely for for me, but definitely for many someones.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in advance of publication.

* I extend my sincere thanks to Tachyon Publications for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review *

How to Mars was a delightfully fun novel about a group of scientists stuck on Mars after their reality TV show doesn't do as well as planned. A few things are important to note about this novel before reading it: firstly, the author wrote the chapters as mostly standalone short stories. If you are looking for an epic sci-fi over-arching plot, you will not find it here. It reads very much like the Destination Mars! show - reality TV. I went into the book expecting a sort of 'Humorous Lord of the Flies in Space' after reading the synopsis and got something very different; although, something I had a wonderful time reading.

Characters:
The characters in the novel are incredibly well written with wonderful relationships/interactions. I personally loved Stefan and managed to relate to him a great deal, but I guarantee there is a character here for everyone to relate to. A very diverse cast with delightful personalities.

Atmosphere:
Ebenbach did a wonderful job of reminding me we were on Mars without having to mention it constantly. The atmosphere did all the work and set up many of the jokes early on, jokes that really would not have worked well without masterful control of the ambiance.

Plot:
There isn't really one, but that is what makes this novel so great. It reminded me a great deal of Hitchhiker's Guide; the plot is very take-it-as-it-comes, but the plot is not the main focus of the novel. Instead of plot, we get witty takes on philosophy and science culture alongside a good laugh.

My Rating:
4/5 stars. Even though there is no over-arching plot, many of the chapters are focused on a pregnancy that takes place on Mars. It began to feel somewhat tired, but not to the extend that I ever felt annoyed or frustrated; however, I believe the book could have been majorly improved with a more focused plot.

This was a great read and I am glad I was able to experience it. Simply from reading this, I can tell the author is an incredibly genuine person and that made the experience that much better. If you are a fan of Hitchhiker's Guide, I think you will enjoy this!

2.5/5 - I’m honestly quite conflicted on how to review this book. I love the title, the cover, and the description immediately hooked me. But then I read literally the first line of the book, and realized that this book includes an accidental pregnancy. Because I read an advanced copy of this book, I hadn’t read a sample of some of the pages prior to actually starting the book, and didn’t know that this was going to be such a main focus of the book.

While the idea of a woman being pregnant while living on Mars is certainly a unique idea, I personally have no interest in reading about pregnancy. I found myself looking forward to chapters focused on Stefan just because there were almost exclusively about him, not Jenny’s pregnancy.

Moving on from that topic. This was written in a very unique, intriguing way. There were various POV’s, and sometimes it took a moment at the beginning of a chapter to figure out whose POV you were reading. Chapters from Jenny’s POV were written kind of like a formal document, which I think would probably translate better in a physical book than on a kindle, but I enjoyed the way it was written.

I think How To Mars just ended up being very different than what I expected, based on the description. While the handook chapters were a fun inclusion, I was hoping for a bit more about the reality show. This was definitely a unique concept, but unfortunately just didn’t win me over the way I wanted it to.

Thank you to Tachyon Publications & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

I found this book to be a bit over the top on being too silly . Roger and the other characters are easy to get to know, however, I’m just over it personally.

A group of scientists are sent to Mars for a lifetime of research under the condition that they will be filmed and the footage will be released as a reality show back on Earth. However, it turns out that Mars doesn't have a lot going on, so eventually the reality show is canceled and the scientists struggle to stay focused in their research. This leads to two of the scientists ignoring the restrictions laid out in the handbook and discovering that there is life on Mars after all... just not in the place where they would have expected to find it.

This was a fun, light-hearted read. I really liked the premise of the book, and the plot was certainly fun and a bit quirky. The chapters from the handbook made me chuckle! I liked most of the characters, but I felt like the only one that really stood out to me was Stefan. I'm not sure I saw a lot of character growth overall, and the plot is dry at times, but I was never bored and enjoyed the book overall. It would be a fun read for anyone who enjoys imagining what a colony on Mars could look like!

Thank you to David Ebenbach, Tachyon Publications, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and honestly review this book!