The Sands of Mars follows the experiences of one Martin Gibson, a SF writer who travels to Mars where a small human colony has been established in order to explore it, the planet, the people and the whole adventure of traveling to a different planet.

Let's get the caveats out of the way first. This was Arthur C. Clarke's first SF book and while the writing itself holds up, some of the science does not. We now know a lot more about Mars so reading the book does require the reader to turn off their brain from time to time and just accept this alternative reality.

The book itself will feel very familiar to anyone who has read other works by Clarke. The focus very much is on exploration, on discovery, on experiencing new sensations and adapting to strange circumstances. The main character is thrown into a variety of new environments and forced to adapt to them at the same time as the reader which really helps with immersion and with keeping the reader engaged.

The characters are serviceable with only Martin having a true arc alongside one other character who becomes entangled in his story. Everyone else does their jobs and fit their roles with a few standing out from among the crowd.

This book was very surprising for me. First efforts are typically a bit sluggish, a bit awkward, maybe not everything fits quite as well as it should. But this is not what I found here. The Sands of Mars is a great hard-ish SF book, fascinating and engaging even if a bit dated. Clarke's style is very obvious and one can clearly see the seeds of future classics in this novel.