Today I want to discuss a two-book series that I recently finished, Oxygen and The Fifth Man. These books were co-written by Randall Ingermanson and John B. Olson. While preparing for the conference, I tried to read a book by each of the authors who would be teaching mentoring classes. I was blown away by Randy Ingermanson’s book, Transgression, and so I quickly requested him for my mentor. When I was researching the authors, his name came up under the category Christian–Science Fiction. I remember thinking…whoa, does such a genre really exist? Well, Randy doesn’t like to be called a science fiction author. I’m trying to remember the term he used — was it intellectual fiction? Suspense? I don’t remember his term — sorry Randy, I was focusing on all the other good stuff you were teaching.
Anyway, I excitedly started in on Oxygen. It’s the story of a troubled NASA mission during which an explosion damages the vessel while in route to Mars. The crew must figure out how to survive on the oxygen that is left — enough for only one. They are also haunted by the fear that one of them may be the saboteur. I found myself still turning pages at 3:00 am, furious that I could not put down the book until I learned if the crew survived. The fact that the crew is forced to explore (and expand) their faith was simply icing on the cake of a great story.
I held off reading the sequel for a few months. I was so pleased with the ending of Oxygen that I was afraid to return to their story, knowing the authors would be forced to shake them up again for the sake of a good plot. The Fifth Man is a very different story. The discovery of fossilized bacteria on the planet leads to fears of contamination, and strange noises and sightings unleash terror that they might not be alone. Is the saboteur back? Are they having illness-induced hallucinations? Or is there intelligent life on Mars? If there is, it certainly doesn’t seem friendly.
I found this second book unnerving, but certainly as entertaining as the first. I nearly panicked one afternoon when I spotted a swift movement out of the corner of my eye. It turned out to be our neighborhood squirrel. Oops. No unpleasant aliens in my back yard. Yet.
For not being “science fiction,” these books certainly had their share of science. I was fascinated by the scientific detail (and being written by a physicist and a biochemist, that’s to be expected) but it did not overwhelm the story. The books are loaded with suspense, romance, faith, and imagination.
I give them two thumbs up. Unless you are an alien, then it would be two antennae up, right?
HI Karen:
Thanks for your comments! TRANSGRESSION is still one of my favorite novels that I’ve written.
A clarification on what kind of fiction I write: I read suspense and that’s the primary element that goes into my novels. OXYGEN and THE FIFTH MAN are certainly science fiction (John reads a lot of SF, so he actually contributed most of the SF elements). I joined with him on the books because of the strong suspense storyline.
I was great having you in my mentoring group at Mount Hermon! We had an excellent group this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing who gets published first.
Blessings,
Randy Ingermanson
Karen–You’re my hero. How do you have time to be a mom, write your novel, and raise children?
I’m having a hard enough time doing everything with very little time to spare to work on my novel (or read one, for that matter). I suppose being a pastor’s wife adds a few more responsibilities to my plate, but still….
One of these days, you should blog on your amazing time management for the rest of us who are failing miserably.
Blessings! Sonja
Sonja,
Thanks for your kind words, but I don’t feel like I deserve them! I wasn’t really able to get the writing off the ground until both kids were in all-day school. And my husband is very forgiving and picks up a lot of the slack in the housekeeping department. But I know moms who homeschool, nurse babies AND write. I can’t comprehend that! Tricia Goyer is writing a good series on being a “mom writer” on her blog, you might check it out. http://mywritingmentor.blogspot.com/
Good luck with your writing! Being a pastor’s wife DOES put a lot on your plate. I’m positive of that!