Science Fiction Book Review – Rex Gordon – No Man Friday

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1956 – Gollancz Press – spoiler alerts Having loved Andy Weir’s novel The Martian, about an astronaut marooned on Mars, I dug out a copy of this much older treatment of the same idea, though as its title suggests, Gordon’s novel owes much more to Robinson Crusoe. It features Gordon Holder, a British astronaut, one of crew of seven on a rocket scientists have built by stealth from spare parts while helping Americans build their unmanned test rockets. The British ship flies but an unexplained decompression kills all but Holder who is suited up for a spacewalk. The ship then crashes onto Mars. Holder survives. He finds the atmosphere very thin, but breathable if he moves slowly. Most plant life is poisonous but guided by the behaviour of ant-like beings, he learns how to use it. He later finds other creatures that seem highly intelligent but indifferent to him. Years later, the first Americans land on Mars, not expecting to find anyone there but when Holder tries to show them the lifeforms on the planet the humans cannot get past a strange force-field generated by the planet’s sentient beings, so they all return to Earth. Thoughtful in its exploration of the dangers of space, Gordon’s ingenuity in surviving techniques is credible as is the author’s exploration of how the creatures and plants of Mars have evolved in direct relation to the planet’s harsh terrain and very limited resources. . Intelligent story-telling, a worthy fore-runner and inspiration for Weir’s later masterpiece. Arthur Chappell