Way back when, in the dim, dark days of yesteryear, when books were only on paper and the world had never heard of pixels, there were entire genres of books consisting of basically "Go West, young man," or "Go to sea, young man." These books consisted of just that, the adventures of young men venturing off into the wilderness or the frontier and finding adventure. Welcome to the 21st Century equivalent of that genre: "Go to space, young woman."

With most of Earth's wild areas mapped and satellites whirling overhead to provide global positioning data, it's hard to find a new frontier for our fictional characters to explore. And so we turn our pens to space, where the planets and asteroids of the solar system stand in for Tombstone or Cape Horn. Space is now the land of opportunity, but where there's opportunity for good, there's also the opportunity for bad as we learn in Chris Gerrib's The Mars Run.

Janet Pilgrim is a down-and-out high-school graduate who needs money if she wants to attend college in 2071. With no other options, she signs up for the future's version of the merchant marines and ships out to space as an astronaut on a commercial space ship. In other words, she's working maintenance on a long-haul truck. While it's not very glamorous, at least it pays well, so Janet's reasonably happy. Until the pirates show up, that is.

Following a vicious attack on her ship, Janet is the sole survivor and is taken prisoner by the pirates. She's used as a sex slave and is forced to work for her survival. Her travels take her to Mars and Earth and back to space, all the while plotting to escape and maybe -- just maybe – to bring about a little justice.

Gerrib does a nice job of transplanting the Wild West into outer space. While it's not a one-to-one translation, the observant reader can easily see the roots of Gerrib's world in that of the Pony Express riders. Janet, while an engaging heroine, seems a bit too easygoing about her captivity and the bad things that happen to her during it. I kept expecting more emotion from her, but never did see it. That could be just my expectations playing me false, but I thought it was a bit of a downside to her characterization. She just seemed to adapt a bit too easily to her situation.

I also had a bit of an issue with Gerrib's choice of narrative voice. Every time we, as readers, encounter first person narration, we make a deal with the writer. We pretend we're really hearing the narrator's voice, even though it's in past tense and we all know that no one actually narrates what's happening in their own lives. Still, it's a workable bargain and it works for reader and writer alike. However, in The Mars Run, Janet narrates in first person via a diary. At various times, she comments that things happen and that she's taking the time to update her diary about what happened. Each time this happened, it really took me out of the story, sort of lost the sense of immediacy necessary to sustain the narrative. I kept wishing she would lose the diary and just narrate in first person.

Other than those two rather minor quibbles, I thought The Mars Run was an enjoyable entry into the "Go to space, young woman" genre.

Reviewed by Richard Jones
© August 2007