Just finished reading Red Thunder by John Varley.
Good read but not nearly up to his previous effort, The Golden Globe. The book is about a couple of young reasonably disenfranchised Americans who, with the aid of a semi-autistic genius and a disgraced astronaut, build a spaceship to reach Mars ahead of the Chinese.
The book is a page-turner – it kept me up until about 2:00 yesterday morning, but it doesn’t have nearly the depth or longevity of The Golden Globe, a much more impressive book.
Recommendation: borrow Red Thunder, buy Golden Globe.
In case you’re interested, here’s The Golden Globe: