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Summary

A manned mission to Mars turns potentially deadly when sabotage occurs along the way.

Stats

Genre: Adult science fiction (near future)

Series length: Two books

Violence: Moderate violence, not graphic

Magic/Supernatural: A couple of unexplained elements

Romance: Moderate

Christian/spiritual element: Overt elements, including some explorations of faith and science

Recommendation: Science geeks

You might like this book if you liked... 
The Martian

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Opening Lines:

Valkerie woke up screaming. A viper bat clung to her face with fishhook claws, smothering her with its thin, leathery body. She tore at her face, but the creature had dug in too deep. She could already feel its venom burning into her lungs, constricting her chest in a long, convulsive cough. Struggling for control, she traced the contours of her face with tingling fingertips. Slowly, the clinging creature melted into her skin, fading back into the world of dreams. 

Oxygen (Oxygen, Book 1)
by John B. Olson & Randy Ingermanson

Valkerie Jansen is tough, beautiful, and has an uncanny knack for survival. But that doesn't explain why NASA picks her to be part of a two man, two woman crew to Mars -- or does it?

Bob Kaganovski, the ship's mechanic, is paid to be paranoid -- and he's good at it. After a teeth-rattling launch, Bob realizes that his paranoia hasn't prepared him for this trip. He can deal with a banged-up ship, but how's he going to survive the next five months with HER just a flimsy partition away?

Halfway to the Red Planet, an explosion leaves the crew with only enough oxygen for one. All evidence points to sabotage -- and Valkerie and Bob are the obvious suspects.

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Opening Lines:

Water. Valkerie Jansen forced on foot in front of the other, a weary survivor on a death march across a dry and barren planet. Water. Valkerie's soul cried out for it. A patch of frost. A dark stain in the dust. Subterranean ice....

Dry dust coated her visor--red streaks across a blur of powder-white scuffs. The grit was everywhere. 

The Fifth Man (Oxygen, Book 2)
by John B. Olson & Randy Ingermanson

Valkerie Jansen is tough, beautiful, and being pursued by every man on the planet. Literally. The planet in question is Mars, with a total population of four.

Days before a giant dust storm is projected to strike their camp, Valkerie is attacked by an unseen assailant.

Fortunately, there are only three suspects.

Unfortunately, all three of them . . . are innocent.

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