The novel is an intriguing blend of space opera, horror story with a very traditional monster, and even touches of high fantasy. In 2004 the second manned expedition to Mars is launched by the Americans with a crew of six that includes medical officer Dr Lauren Wagner. The first manned mission by the Russians a few years before mysteriously disappeared--and just before the mission is launched the American crew is told of a mysterious footprint that showed up in a photograph from an unmanned probe. A "Note to the Reader" by the author warns that this was originally written in the 1970s. "Please accept the odd dates and the strange absence of cellphones." Some lines did jar a bit because of that--slang like "dig" and quaint concerns about "liberated women" and astonishment NASA would put the health of the mission in the hands of a "woman doctor." It's worth overlooking though. This was one hell of a thrill ride--genuinely suspenseful, scary, creepy and goosebumpy (and at times gross). I very much did like how neatly Pike drew the various lines together with a neat twist. This doesn't have any pretenses to literature--the style isn't remarkable either for elegance or wretchedness--I'd call it serviceable. But Pike sure kept me turning the pages, and I'd say this is the kind of yarn that would do Stephen King proud.
