Plot: 1/9. Terrible. Because the protagonist was not a capable figure who tired his best. The plot was driven by the narrative of an idiot.

On a meeting hosted by Professor Sterns, Gregory met Martell who seemed familiar with Martian geology and their problem of lacking water.

Gregory lived next to Martell in the same hotel. He found Margaret, the woman he loved, actually loved Martell. Out of jealousy, he pried through the keyhole and found Martell was speaking in foreign language through a newfangled mechanism which could generate vapor. He told it to Margaret immediately who gave some casual placebo and then asked Martell to plug the keyhole clandestinely.

Then the ocean line receded several feet overnight. Margaret called Gregory for help, but it turned Martell sicked heavily and wanted to tell something to Gregory. So Gregory returned hotel in rage, and lent keys from managers to use Martell’s machine. The machine enabled him to travel through different areas on Earth and he saw the missing Pegasus on Mars. Martell, who was sick heavily moments before, now brought two policemen to catch Gregory. Gregory sank into oblivion for two days.

When he regained consciousness, he was in the state hospital for the insane. Newspaper told that ocean water had again disappeared along with Poseidonia, a ship carrying Margaret and her family. Professor Sterns didn’t believe his words.

He received a package which showed the bloom of Mars after they got water from Terra. Margaret told him that although her relatives died on Poseidonia, Martell saved her and she would like to live with him.

Core: 1/9. I would give a higher score if Harris told me how Martian prevented their water from being volatilized again. Again, evil alien’s conspiracy was not a bad core. But it replaced details including science, the antagonist’s action and intention with too much sentimentality.

Character: 1/9. Margaret was the typical vase who was abducted by Martell who had just killed her family. Gregory was an imbecile idiot who didn’t know how to cope with trouble with calm and wit.

World and Others: 1/9.

Overall: 1/9. Frankly speaking, evil Martian is a good topic but Harris seemed to not fabricate it right: In essence, it’s a pessimistic failure rather than an optimistic tragedy. I would give a higher score if Gregory accepted Sterns’ advice to initiate war against Martell and saved Margaret back to Terra.

In addition, I think it regrettable that Harris gave up writing for her children. Luckily, Le Guin didn’t do the same thing for her kids.