126:. Even though the attack was repelled and the ship of the xenophobic aliens was destroyed, the Krsh's own ship was damaged. So they landed on Mars to hide from more potential hostility which never arrived. During the years of camouflage, the Krsh and humans crew joined together into a unified society.
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Halfway through the novel, we learn that Jesus himself miraculously arrived among these people almost two thousand years earlier and had been living with them ever since. The proximity of Jesus is overwhelming and convincing both in terms of concrete, scientifically verifiable miracles as well as a
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Such doubts afflict
Richard Orme who is the astronaut leading the crewed expedition from Earth. In the penultimate chapter, Orme wavers on his conversion and submission to this Martian Jesus. He then prepares to assassinate the Jesus but throws himself upon a grenade from another assassin so as to
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lands and verifies that an enormous alien ship is partially buried on Mars. So a crewed expedition is sent to explore this apparently abandoned alien ship. The expedition members are captured and taken underground to the habitat occupied by a combined society of humans living harmoniously with the
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save Jesus. In the final chapter, he awakens naked and disoriented to discover that he has been resurrected by Jesus while the world media looked on. Then, Orme reaffirms his commitment and the novel ends abruptly with a sense of the years of impending struggle against the forces of evil.
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Originally, the Krsh had arrived at Earth on an exploratory mission. To study humans, the Krsh had offered to bring injured humans to their spaceship for medical treatment. Then, the ship was attacked by another alien species which is especially hostile and
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strong visceral presence. This proximity convinces even the scientifically advanced Krsh. Also, three of the four crew members accept this Jesus and convert to this hybrid form of
Judaism and Christianity. The fourth crew member, an
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and the only female crew member, commits suicide. She is subsequently resurrected using advanced technology but not before she suffers brain damage that erases much of her personality.
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would be brilliant if it were written by a novice; but from Farmer, one expects better things."
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sent to Mars discovers an alien artifact. A follow-up
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54:civilization. It makes social commentary on a
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25:Cover of the first edition, published by
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196:Review by James Patrick Kelly (1979) in
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187:Review by Darrell Schweitzer (1979) in
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86:of the humans. This society practices
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230:Review by Joseph Nicholas (1982) in
314:. This edition is now out of print.
306:(paperback, Pinnacle Press, 1979)
106:which is the testament written by
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320:(paperback, Panther Books, 1982)
210:Review by Steve Brown (1980) in
383:Novels about ancient astronauts
378:Novelistic portrayals of Jesus
174:#1. Costikyan commented that "
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110:. However, unlike mainstream
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241:by Andreas Decker (1984) in
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368:1979 science fiction novels
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408:Space exploration novels
269:(March 1980). "Books".
287:"Title: Jesus on Mars"
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373:Fiction about suicide
346:title listing at the
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398:Pinnacle Books books
363:1979 American novels
234:, Volume 6, Number 3
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239:(in German)
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213:Heavy Metal
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147:Antichrist
124:xenophobic
38:is a 1979
250:Citations
164:reviewed
157:Reception
94:as their
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