Mars Station Alpha: A Novel

by Stephen Penner

A LOCKED ROOM MYSTERY IN SPACE. The colonists of the first space station on Mars have vanished. Captain John Stanton leads a second team to the Red Planet, unsure what he'll find. Originally assigned merely to relieve the first group, Stanton must now figure out what happened to them, and keep the same fate from befalling his own crew. As he investigates, the mystery deepens and the dangers remorseless sandstorms, virulent bacteria... perhaps even ancient Martian ghosts. Stanton's mission changes from relief, to rescue, to simple escape.

Genres: Science Fiction

254 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2011

About the author

Stephen Penner is an author, artist, and attorney from Seattle, Washington. He has written more than 30 novels and specializes in courtroom thrillers known for their unexpected twists and candid portrayal of the justice system. He draws on his extensive experience as a criminal trial attorney to infuse his writing with realism and insight.

Stephen is the author of several top-rated legal thriller series. The DAVID BRUNELLE LEGAL THRILLERS feature Seattle homicide D.A. David Brunelle and a recurring cast of cops, defense attorneys, and forensic experts. The TALON WINTER LEGAL THRILLERS showcase tough-as-nails Tacoma criminal defense attorney Talon Winter and her closest allies. And the RAIN CITY LEGAL THRILLERS deliver the adventures of attorney Daniel Raine and his unlikely partner Rebecca Sommers. Stephen is also the author of the MAGGIE DEVEREAUX PARANORMAL MYSTERIES, recounting the exploits of an American graduate student in the magical Highlands of Scotland, and several other stand-alone works.

In his spare time, Stephen enjoys painting, drawing, and spending time with his family. For more information, visit his website www.stephenpenner.com.

Reviews

[Harry Steinmetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, with an excellent job of the sheer isolation of being on mars. Didn't see the end coming, even it was the most rational ending possible. The author does a great job of moving the story along through dialogue. Well written, lots of tension and a surprise ending. A good read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ray Bradbury meets Stephen King in this blend of "hard" science fiction and horror story. I thought the resolution was a bit rushed, but all of the "loose ends" did get tied up. Ironically, Captain Stanton kept remembering all the times Ferguson told Stanton he couldn't stand up to the pressure of a Mars expedition, but ultimately, it was Ferguson who snapped,

[Glenn LaRue · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting novel

by an author that I have enjoyed reading. The books the author wrote however were legal suspense novels, not science fiction. I thought it was interesting how the author made the transition from legal fiction to sf and overall I felt he did a good job. Recommend

[J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having some difficulty rating this sci fi mystery thriller. A number of reviewers called the characters unbelievable, because through the book's second half the characters don't react like trained astronauts. But hey, the situation they're in isn't exactly one they'd been trained to handle, and so I found their reactions to be not all that far off the mark. [SPOILER ALERT] Does NASA train astronauts on how to handle a mysteriously disappearing body, one of their own, from an abandoned space station? Didn't think so. [END SPOILER] Different stresses strike different people in different ways, and not even Science can predict human behavior when the situation takes what looks like a supernatural turn south.

Yeah, I skimmed some of the ghost chatter. But out of seven astronauts, it's not unbelievable that one of them has a thing for ghosts, and then proceeds to drive everyone else nutty with his fascination.

The book's designed like a good tight thriller, with short chapters ending in cliffhangers and snappy breaks. I just kept turning the page, again and again, because I had to see what happened next. So the book fulfilled the primary role of a thriller and I enjoyed that a lot.

But the ending was rushed and the romance leans into cheesy. The resolution does depend on a plot twist I have trouble buying [SPOILER ALERT] (a no-longer-dying man rising unseen from his bed to save the hero). The solution is believable when revealed, as much as a murder mystery on Mars can be believable, but I was disappointed that it wasn't an Evil Martian Spirit. That would have been cool. [END SPOILER]

So it's not the best I've ever read but nor is it the worst, not by a long shot. I'd definitely read the author's work again. So we'll call this one 3.5 stars and rate it as 4 stars, giving weight to the page-turning throughout. Hey, that takes work and not many authors achieve it.

[Michael Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously thought it was 3 stars till towards the end. Basically the 7 characters - astronauts, professionals, the world's finest - act like immature children. I've never seen people act as juvenile, unhinged and psychotic as these do from day 1 of the story, in any job I've worked in. You'd be canned, demoted and humiliated. And these characters are the world's finest astronauts? Earth's nations send mentally unstable, emotional freaks led by a leader that lacks basic leadership skills to Mars? Right.

Once (if) you get past that, the story has pretty incredible merits. Basically it's a quick, fun read that reads like a mystery. And I have to hand it to the author - he really knows how to craft a story. Especially, it's truly a well-designed page-turner. The chapters are short (60 or so for 250'ish pages I think?) and almost every one of them ends in a mini cliff-hanger/something scary, catastrophic etc. is happening. Seriously, I think it should be required reading for anyone aiming to be an author because of this, so bravo. It did the trick, I was fairly hooked, and enjoyed it to the end - character-warts notwithstanding.

I have a digital copy if anyone wants to borrow.

[T.K. Toppin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As my final book for the 2012 Speculative Reading Challenge, Mars Station Alpha was the perfect grand finale. An excellent read with a little bit of everything in it, from mystery, suspense, thrills, murder, paranormal, and let's not forget, science fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced, tension-building SF story with a full-blown mystery that bordered on the paranormal at times (sent a good few shivers down my spine!). Stephen Penner weaves a page-turning tale of mystery, cosmic conundrums worthy enough to curse by, lies, suspicion, sound logic (and factual superstition lore), and a completely unexpected twist at the end. Great read!!

[Sean Randall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't take this remotely seriously. If it was intended to be funny, it wasn't. But equally the characters weren't professional, the Captain's inner voice was far too prolific and totally ruined any surprise of the ending and the entire crew is less competent than a batch of raw Starfleet recruits. I will probably pick up the crime novel advertised at the end of this one, the writing there at least seems a little more believable. But sadly, if this calls itself science fiction, I hope Penner's other genres are considerably better represented.

[Andrew Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad.

At first I didn't have high expectations but over time it proved a fun mystery to read. There are some cliches, and the romance was somewhat formulaic, but the story moves well enough to keep you interested in what will happen next.

I didn't really see the final twist at the end coming but it sure wraps things up and is satisfying. It's at least better than some higher billed books I've read lately.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

I forced myself to finish this book simply because my curiosity was aroused. In the end it was very disappointing. In a way, I liked the prosaic ending, because I disliked most of the characters (except for Lin) and their weird fantasies. I know it's probably a crazy comparison, but the crew reminded me of the Prometheus' crew in their almost absolute ineptitude. Could they have done anything less professionally? Avoid: read PKD's "A Maze of Death" instead.

[TheWhistler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea for this story is good and it could have gone anywhere, think of the possibilities, but it didn't. I would have given this book three stars, that is up until the end. With my imagination running wild, I was forced to settle for a pat ending, and a very short one at that, full stop

[George Stewart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mediocre read

Poor storyline with little or no character development. I have read his legal mysteries but this Science fiction fiction does not come near quality of his other genre. Ending seems like he just wanted to get over with so just chopped it off with sudden going home.

[John Cain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This detective story on Mars unfolds with well paced prose loaded wtih twists and turns. If Rod Stiger were around he'd buy it.

[Amy Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok. Not the best I've read but not the worst either.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story moved along, but it's more like a sci-fi murder mystery.