The Fifth Man: A Novel
Author: Randall Ingermanson
Genre: Science fiction suspense
Publisher: Bethany House
Year: 2002
ISBN: 0764227327
Series Info: Book 2 of 2 in the Oxygen series. See also Oxygen.
Summary: Four astronauts discover life on Mars and are stalked by a malevolent alien entity.
Awards and Honors for The Fifth Man:
- Christy Award finalist in futuristic fiction
Sample Chapters: Click here for sample chapters
Synopsis of The Fifth Man
It's the year 2015, and Valkerie Jansen has spent the last nine months on Mars looking for signs of life. It's a tough search. Mars is cold, arid, nearly airless, and dry as dust. Valkerie's tired. The whole crew is tired of this lonely planet, scoured by micron-sized dust particles that eat into the seals, chafe the skin, and color the sky. But today is different. Because today . . . Valkerie discovers the first evidence that life once existed on the Red Planet. True, it's only a lump of fossilized bacteria, found inside a sealed cave fed by an underground source of steam. But it's life! Or it was life, once upon a time.
Meanwhile, Valkerie's crewmate Bob Kaganovski, the flight engineer for the mission is worried sick. His hoped-for romance with Valkerie has gone kaput, and now it looks like Commander Kennedy Hampton is ready to make a move on her. Why would Valkerie be willing to give Kennedy the time of day? Or is Bob just imagining it all? Could it be that Bob is losing his grip on reality -- the victim of the psychological phenomenon known as hypervigilance?
Down on earth, the mission director, Nate Harrington, almost wishes the mission weren't so successful. Because after the first flush of excitement following the discovery of past life on Mars, certain troublemakers begin asking some very stupid questions. What if there's something else on Mars -- something alive? Is it safe to bring the crew back home? Is it ethical? All these questions come to a head when Valkerie gets sick -- with a life-threatening disease nobody recognizes. Could it be some sort of "Martian flu?"
Meanwhile, Josh Bennett, now the Flight Director for the Ares Mission, is wrestling with a dark secret that he dare not share with anyone, and finds himself fighting alone against engineers who care more about the mission than about their crew. Josh finds an ally in beautiful young Cathe Willison, an engineer with a brilliant mind and a caring heart and the persistence to warm the frozen places in Josh's soul.
The crew on Mars slowly faces up to an ugly truth. There is something else on Mars. Something alive. Something intelligent. Something malicious. Something that will stop at nothing to make sure that they never come home. The "fifth man" is out there -- and the "fifth man" wants them dead.
Reviews of The Fifth Man
Booklist: "Olson and Ingermanson's Fifth Man is a sequel to their brilliant Oxygen. The same crew, more or less marooned on Mars, returns, but not much happens by way of Mars exploration except for the discovery of ice. The crew's frantic journey to capture enough ice to manufacture escape fuel makes for some fine scenes, but the authors pump up suspense with the gimmick of a "fifth man" who might be a stowaway, an alien, or a figment. A convoluted sabotage plot back at NASA grows rather tiresome, too. Even so, this is a skilled writing team, and they've done their research. The sequel doesn't equal the original, but it's good stuff.
SFSite.com: "...even more entertaining than the original! ...grabs you and won't let you go until you reach the last page."
Amazon Reader: "The second book in John B. Olson, and Randall Ingermanson marvelous Martian mission, THE FIFTH MAN, is a great Christian science fiction thriller that enables the audience to feel they are living on the frozen tundra along with the crew. The exhilarating story line hooks the reader on several levels including the obvious survival adventure and whether THE FIFTH MAN exists or is imagined and if the latter who is sabotaging their chances of enduring the severity. Fans will wonder if bacteria could live on this ice cold orb while applauding the two authors for once again proving that science and religion are compatible."
Endorsements for The Fifth Man
Kathy Tyers, New York Times bestselling author of Balance Point: "The Fifth Man is scientifically literate, baffling and believable, and a great addition to an expanding genre. I finished the book with the unsettling feeling that I'd spent time on Mars and had seen the Creator at work there, too."
Randy Alcorn, ECPA Gold Medallion winning author of Safely Home: "The Fifth Man is good science and good fiction. It's true to the details but is never sidetracked by them. Olson and Ingermanson deliver an entertaining futuristic story, with action, romance, and surprising twists."
Karen Hancock, Christy award winning author of Arena: "Crackling with sharply written prose, light-speed pacing, and convincing detail, The Fifth Man doesn't let up till you've turned the last page. A worthy sequel to Oxygen."
James Scott Bell, Christy award winning author of the Shannon Saga series: "Another high-wire winner from John and Randy!"
Brandilyn Collins, best-selling author of Eyes of Elisha and Color the Sidewalk for Me: "Olson and Ingermanson have done it again! The Fifth Man is an exciting futuristic story full of action, suspense, and intrigue."
Jefferson Scott, author of Operation Firebrand: "What could be worse than being marooned on an alien planet -- with a madman, a saboteur, and a Martian life form that just might not want humans around? With their characteristic skill and humor, Olson and Ingermanson have created a story that grips you with fear, romance, and suspicion -- and leaves you begging for more. First-rate suspense with a climax you won't believe."
