RETURN TO MARS

Jamie Waterman, the Navajo astronaut, returns to the red planet to find out if it really is a cliff dwelling he saw tucked into the sheer wall of a Martian canyon. Naturally, he has a mixed crew: one scared, one seductive, one megalomaniac and some fix-it folks. Bova has a great story line and good science, but the characterization is poor. The dialogue is obvious and repetitive. A speed reader can gloss over these faults, but an audio production must record every (painful) word. So, it's long. It's boring. It will make the listener squirm. Dick Hill's reading does nothing to minimize Bova's problems, and, at times, he almost causes offense with his weird accents and masculine ogling. Pass this one right up. L.R.S. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 00]