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162nd out of 231 books
—
260 voters
Oxygen (Oxygen #1)
by
John B. Olson (Goodreads Author),
Randy Ingermanson (Goodreads Author)
As they pass the point of no return, evidence suggests to a space crew that their vessel was sabotaged. Was it by one of the crew or someone back on earth? Getting to their final destination will mean trusting someone, but who!
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
May 1st 2001
by Bethany House Publishers
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Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
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452)
May 21, 2013
Jo Murphy
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
young adult audience
Recommended to Jo by:
Randy
John Olson and Randy Ingermanson have now complimented Oxygen by another eBook called The Fifth Man.
I hope the two books set the scene for series of enlightening outer space excitement! The main appeal of the books is the subtlety of the Christian message, which lightly winds throughout both texts
Although the writers ask Christian questions throughout, they do not hit the reader over the head with a moralistic bludgeon; rather, they touch on timeless issues, which lead the narrative through such...more
I hope the two books set the scene for series of enlightening outer space excitement! The main appeal of the books is the subtlety of the Christian message, which lightly winds throughout both texts
Although the writers ask Christian questions throughout, they do not hit the reader over the head with a moralistic bludgeon; rather, they touch on timeless issues, which lead the narrative through such...more
Jan 26, 2013
Kyle Pratt
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of Christian science fiction
Shelves:
science-fiction
Oxygen is a well-researched and crafted, near future, Christian science fiction novel. Published in 2001, the story is set in 2014 during the first manned mission to Mars. Microbial ecologist Valkerie Jansen is assigned to the Ares 10 as late replacement. This alone would cause strain for the crew but her faith adds another level of tension. When a near catastrophic explosion occurs the crew of two men and two women must learn to trust each other or perish in the cold of space. While I pray that...more
I must admit: this book was written by pros. They keep you turning the page, wondering how this particular conflict is going to resolve itself. I think the book covers every genre it undertakes well: romance, adventure, suspense, and of course, Sci-Fi. It is well-written and researched sci-fi, written by two guys who are very well educated geeks themselves. Their firm grasp of the technology of the space program, and of biochemistry and physics makes this book very believable. And they had a tec...more
This book was a total surprise. It is a roller-coaster of fear and excitement, sorrow and joy. It is one of the few books that brought me to tears. Valkerie Jansen is a last-minute substitution for a manned trip to Mars. Shortly after lift-off (where one of the rocket's stabilizer fins clipped the gantry), and shortly after the Mars trajectory burn. One of the vessel's solar panels is destroyed by an Apollo 13-like explosion, which may or may not be sabotage. The four crew members, CAPCOM and th...more
A while ago I took advantage of a cheap Kindle download of John B. Olson and Randy Ingermanson's 2001 novel Oxygen. though I'm not a fan of its genre (near-future scientific thriller), I wanted to see if Snowflake guru Ingermanson could actually write fiction and was attracted by the "Bonus Goodies For Aspiring Authors" included in this edition.
The story is about a space mission to Mars. We meet the characters—the astronauts— when they are in training before the mission launches. The main male c...more
The story is about a space mission to Mars. We meet the characters—the astronauts— when they are in training before the mission launches. The main male c...more
I purchased the book Oxygen for two reasons one of those being to read the bit at the end for other Authors.
I wanted to thank the authors for a good read. I read the story first knowing it probably would have spoilers at the end.
I normally don't write much about what I read and it tends more towards the saccharin than anything else. Probably because mom said if you don't have anything nice to say...
In this case though I have so much nice to say I have to say a bit more.
I've read science fiction...more
I wanted to thank the authors for a good read. I read the story first knowing it probably would have spoilers at the end.
I normally don't write much about what I read and it tends more towards the saccharin than anything else. Probably because mom said if you don't have anything nice to say...
In this case though I have so much nice to say I have to say a bit more.
I've read science fiction...more
Great book - had a lot of action, suspense, plot twists, romance, etc. Was worried that it might have too much technical stuff but was very well written. This book was hard to put down as I wanted to see how the team got out of each situation and wanted to know how the book was going to end. However I was able to guess the ending a few pages before I read it – but still was good. I am not a big science fiction fan but liked this book – was not too hard to believe that we could be sending astrona...more
Ok, so I was really disappointed in this book, despite its heralded, award-winning reputation. Maybe I'm just not as big a sci-fi fan as I once was, or maybe I'm too selective in this genre, but I grew tired of it quickly and just wanted to get to the end simply to see who survived and how. My biggest complaint was too many conflicts--one after the other, after the other. I couldn't keep myself in "crisis" mode and still maintain caring for the characters. The author strove to impress on us the...more
I bought this book for the bonus material in the back for aspiring writers and didn't really plan on reading the story. The cover looked cheesy and the synopsis didn't grab my attention... I had just finished reading Hunger Games and the genre was so different I didn't know if I was up for it, but one bore night I started reading it. And then I couldn't stop. It was action packed and there was a point in the story where I could easily suspect any of the people involved for the explosion. The cha...more
Dec 07, 2011
Monica Rodriguez
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
astronomy,
mystery,
nasa,
religion,
science,
science-fiction,
space-travel,
spirituality,
survival,
suspense,
technology,
mars
I rarely read science fiction, and now I'm wondering why, I enjoyed Oxygen so much. This story of humans' first attempt at reaching Mars grabbed me right away. Once the suspense started, it rarely let me go. In fact, this story kept me up one (week) night until 2:00 a.m.! I think I can safely say I couldn't put it down. There were a couple of short lulls, when a character would go into some introspection about what finding life on Mars might mean for humanity and for their personal religious bel...more
There were periods of my life when I genuinely dreamed of being one of the first astronauts on Mars. When I thought how great it would be to be on a rocket ship bound for another planet. (A rocket ship typically manned by my best friends, of course.) And then to finally reach the Red Planet. To stand under an alien sky. To see Earth as a distant blue star in the night sky…
What those dreams always overlooked, of course, was the reality of space travel over long distances. The myriad of dangers. T...more
What those dreams always overlooked, of course, was the reality of space travel over long distances. The myriad of dangers. T...more
A sorta who-dun-it in space and actually really gripping. I am surprised how much I enjoyed this. At first I thought it might be getting a bit too technical, but it wasn’t too much information that I was lost. The suspense had me riveted. In fact, I got choked up in one part. Makes me wish NASA would attempt to go to Mars.
Biggest flaw to me was that the characters even though they all had backstory and personality, felt a little bit unrealistically perfect and borderline cheesey. Like they felt...more
Biggest flaw to me was that the characters even though they all had backstory and personality, felt a little bit unrealistically perfect and borderline cheesey. Like they felt...more
Feb 18, 2012
Carl
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Sci-Fi and Techno-thrillers, with a dash of mystery
Shelves:
fantasysci-fi
[Edit--now available as an e-book! See my blog: http://vikingsbooksetc.wordpress.com/... ]
This is my friend John's first published book, so I suppose I'm a tad biased, but I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I started reading (stupidly) when I was supposed to be studying for finals back in my undergrad days, and ended up reading it all the way through ina bit under two day-- didn't get much studying done then!
It's unfortunate that the book went out of print, as this is a enjoyable and impressi...more
This is my friend John's first published book, so I suppose I'm a tad biased, but I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I started reading (stupidly) when I was supposed to be studying for finals back in my undergrad days, and ended up reading it all the way through ina bit under two day-- didn't get much studying done then!
It's unfortunate that the book went out of print, as this is a enjoyable and impressi...more
If you like seat-of-your-pants suspense, and drama that keeps you reading until way past your bedtime, you'll love Oxygen. In this fast-paced space thriller/mystery/romance novel, Olson and Ingermanson put their very human and likable characters into situations where survival is impossible, over and over again. You're sure you're going to lose one of your favorites at any moment, but somehow they go on breathing, hanging onto every last molecule of oxygen, while you hold your breath trying to he...more
Nov 09, 2011
Corey
added it
Good story, chock full of disaster scenario after disaster scenario, once they got off the ground. I really liked the realism of the science aspects of it, but I found I really didn't get into the characters too much. If anything, it actually flowed TOO fast - not that I couldn't put it down, more like it seemed to jump very quickly from point to point, leaving the reader to infer a lot and glossing some details I think it would have been nice to include.
Well, this will teach me to look at the publishing house before I begin a book. What seemed promising devolved into a poorly executed sf story--too closely copied from Apollo 13's troubles as well as stealing lines from that movie and the moon landing-yuck! It's almost as if the author only knows anything about NASA and space flight by watching movies . . . hmmmm.
On the first manned mission to Mars, there is lots of trouble due to an explosion. Was this a sabotage attempt? The oxygen levels on board are dangerously low. Can the crew trust each other and mission control on earth? Inventive. Well thought out and executed. It fits.
In other news, this is the first e-book that I have read on my e-reader.
In other news, this is the first e-book that I have read on my e-reader.
A great book about a mission to Mars. Well crafted, fast paced and a delightful afternoon read. It discusses big questions about life, god, science, faith, and religion without being punchie about it.
Jun 29, 2012
Carrie Daws
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
didnt-finish,
general-fiction
I did not finish this book but it absolutely wasn't because of the storyline. It was well written and interesting. I enjoyed the bits I read, I'm just not heavily into science-fiction. Those who enjoy the sci-fi genre will like love this book.
My main reason for buying this book was its appendix. Each of the two co-authors analyzed a scene that the other wrote, virtually line by line. As a writer myself, I found their commentary quite useful. That aside, the actual book was pretty good. One of the authors is a physicist and so the story seemed realistic (I would put it in the hard-SF category). The story zips along - never a dull moment - and is well written. My only complaint was that the main characters seemed too "goody two-shoes"...more
I was surprisingly impressed by this book since sci-fi and Christian fiction are not usually a very good combination.
This realistic sci-fi novel was a fun read. It definitely recalled some of the best parts of Apollo 13.
Outstanding! Well drawn characters plus non-stop suspense through most of the book. Great vicarious mission into space, thanks to the excellent research by the authors. Highly recommend this book
Quite good, even if I'm not a science geek.
ddddrrrraaaaawwwwwnnnnnnn out, way out.
My first Ingermanson book ... My first SF bk in a few years ... And I very much enjoyed it. randy tells writers that books have to make an emotional connection, and this book does. I.ll definitely read another.
Real good Sci-fi book.
Review to come.
Amazing book!
The characters are well defined. The story, realistic, and I can't wait for his The Fifth Man. I am left wondering. Good Book. I really enjoyed it.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Impression/Thoughts? | 5 | 6 | Aug 25, 2012 07:38am |
John B. Olson is a novelist who lives with his wife Amy and two children in the San Francisco Bay Area. John earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and did postdoctoral research at the University of California at San Francisco. His books have won several awards, including a Christy Award, a Christy finalist, a Silver Angel award, and placement on the New York Pu...more
More about John B. Olson...
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