How to Mars

Six well-qualified strangers were picked to be part of the Destination Mars! reality TV show. The reality show funded the Mars colony and the rocket to get them there. These six strangers were selected for the one-way trip to Mars by audience vote. All contestants received the Destination Mars! handbook. The handbook is filled with guidelines, helpful tips, and only one rule, “No sex.” Even the most qualified scientists eventually get bored. That’s when the unexpected happens. They are having a baby on Mars.

In the genre of Mars colonization there has been a lot of books written, both nonfiction and sci-fi. But David Ebenbach decided to combine Mars with MTV’s “The Real World” and threw in a bit of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The result is Ebenbach’s latest creation How to Mars, one of the oddest, most unexpected premises for establishing a colony on Mars. Ebenbach goes back and forth between his character’s Martian experiences and the colonization handbook, the sometimes-helpful writings of the eccentric founder of the Destination Mars! organization. Ebenbach’s take on the popular genera of Mars colonization with hilarious results. If you enjoy the more comical side of space exploration, then How to Mars is a must-read.