Mars has been colonised and the long process of terraforming is underway. The regular supply spacecraft from Earth is overdue, and life on the red planet is becoming harder. When a mysterious alien artefact is discovered by Kevin Maddock, he and his sister Simone accidentally activate it. What is the artefact's purpose and can it help the fledgling Martian colony?
A scifi story with echoes of Robert Heinlein storytelling in it. Transporting to new planets isn't new in scifi, though I think this is the first time I've seen it done with what amounts to a simple box (thus the title). The story is a common theme, what with the oppression experienced by one and all, and the new start they get as a result of the box, but I like the way this one was handled, nothing spectacularly earthshaking in it's telling, but well handled, and a very good story all around.
Nothing grand or operatic but I enjoyed it. Nicely paced. Lowe's style vaguely reminded me of Clifford D Simak, although Lowe is a bit less descriptive and lacks Simak's unforced elegance. Good beach reading.