Wednesday, September 2, 2009

On My Nighstand - Oxygen by John B. Olson & Randall Ingermanson

When I go to a bookstore, one section that gets bypassed is Sci-Fi. The whole Trekkie thing (no offense) doesn't do anything for me.

So, what made me pick up Randy Ingermanson and John B. Olson's book, "Oxygen?" Simple. Randy's humor and blog piqued my curiosity. I wanted to see how his teaching translated into a book.

Oxygen is about a NASA mission to Mars. While I remembered the Challenger disaster, the successes always outweighed the failures. After all, airplanes crash, but most flights arrive safely. Oxygen emphasized the dangers and the precision required to achieve NASA's goals.

More than the technical jargon of space travel, the human factor made the book a winner for me. The authors' created believable characters, who dealt with the stress of making decisions based on partial information and colored by their life experience. They filtered into my thoughts and dreams when I had to put the book down.

I particularly liked the way they gave clues to the mystery. The tidbits didn't stand up and shout, "I'm a clue. Remember me." Instead, they were little details the characters noticed, but didn't view as significant until other pieces of the puzzle brought them to mind.

Every aspect of Oxygen held my interest. The authors hit a grand slam with tension, suspense, romance, and the satisfying ending. Thanks, guys, for a book I can give to a male or female, believer or unbeliever.

6 comments:

Jessica Nelson said...

The synopsis is on Randy's website and ever since reading that I've wanted to get the book. LOL

Sounds like a great story! :-)

Candee Fick said...

I'd read some of Randy's teachings using examples from this book but hadn't tried to find a copy. You've convinced me. I love a good mystery.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi jess -

Space is not my thing, but this book was great! In fact, I gave it to Mom. I'll be interested in her review. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Candee -

He kept me guessing throughout the book. Just when I thought I knew whodunit, he'd throw in a new twist.

Enjoy!

Blessings,
Susan

Terri Tiffany said...

I like the title and look of the cover first--and you made it sound great!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Terri -

I hope you get around to reading this book. Randy and John did a great job with internal dialogue and keeping the tension high.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Blessings,
Susan :)