I was talking on the phone to my friend John Olson one day about his need to focus. John had 10 different projects he was working on. I told him that was 9 too many. I asked him which one he’d work on if somebody held a gun to his head and made him work on only 1.
He said he’d work on #4 on the list, a suspense novel about the first human mission to Mars.
I told him to write that book.
He said he’d do it — but only if I wrote it with him.
So I said yes, and we did a virtual handshake across 500 miles of phone lines.
And that’s how I came to write a novel — Oxygen — about Mars. And then a sequel.
We had the greatest time ever working together on these books. We loved every minute of the writing. I hope you’ll love every minute reading them. These are high-intensity, over-the-top, action-never-stops novels. We push the bounds of plausibility hard. But I also did a lot of calculations to make sure things are not too implausible.
I hope the real first mission to Mars goes smoothly. But it won’t.
Oxygen (Oxygen Series, Book 1)
Halfway to Mars, an explosion leaves the four-member crew of the Ares 10 with only enough oxygen for one. Valkerie Jansen, the ship’s doctor, is tough, beautiful, and has an uncanny knack for survival. Bob Kaganovski, the ship's mechanic, is worried that Valkerie is mentally unbalanced, possibly even dangerous. Which is just too bad, because Bob’s falling in love with her.
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The Fifth Man (Oxygen Series, Book 2)
Everybody knows that Martian bacteria couldn’t possibly infect humans. But what if it did? Everybody knows that NASA couldn’t possibly consider stranding astronauts on Mars. But what if that was best for everyone? Everybody knows that trained astronauts couldn’t possibly freak out under insane amounts of stress. But what if one of them did?
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Oxygen Series Box Set
The award-winning thriller Oxygen and its riveting sequel The Fifth Man. Halfway to Mars, an explosion leaves the four-member crew of the Ares 10 with only enough oxygen for one. Valkerie Jansen, the ship’s doctor, is tough, beautiful, and has an uncanny knack for survival. Bob Kaganovski, the ship's mechanic, is worried that Valkerie is mentally unbalanced, possibly even dangerous. Which is just too bad, because Bob’s falling in love with her.
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