What do you think?
Rate this book
Snowfall on Mars
Twenty years ago, life on Earth was annihilated. Now, the few remaining colonists on Mars scratch out their living in the worn husk of New Houston, a once vibrant settlement. Outside its walls, a perpetual storm rages - acidic snow and rain - the result of a failed attempt to terraform the planet decades earlier. The human race, once numbering in the billions, has dwindled to five hundred or so souls. David Adler has survived in these circumstances by keeping a low profile and minding his own business. But when he gets a knock on the door from his old flame, Oksana Levi, everything changes. Mars’ lead engineer and Oksana’s current boyfriend, Carl Epstein, has been brutally murdered in his workshop, and Oksana pleads for Adler’s help. Adler soon finds himself pulling at the threads of a conspiracy by a millenarian cult and its bloodthirsty father figure to do away with life on the red planet once and for all.
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 31, 2015
106 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 31, 2016
Snowfall on Mars is a Post-Apocalyptic, Space Operatic, Character Driven Murder Mystery with only the fate of All Humanity (What little is left of it) at stake. So, there's a lot going on.
I'm sure you've read the plot details already but to recap, Everyman David Adler is thrown into a web on intrigue and murder while investigating the death of the boyfriend of an old flame. The characters are fleshed out pretty well and there are some good twists and turns. It sounds like the beginning of a good Hitchcock or Chandler story. Adler himself reminds me of some of Chandler's heroes. He's tough, street smart, self-deprecating and a sucker for the bad girl. There's one difference though. This story takes place on Mars and one of the suspects is the charismatic leader of a cult that wants to wipe out the last 500 human beings in the universe.
For extra fun you get to see the dynamics of a small group of human beings dealing with all the tensions of trying to survive an overwhelming threat to their existence. That part of the book, while taking place in the Future, is a story as old as Humanity itself.
I liked it. It’s a sizeable book but I finished it quickly and I'm looking forward to the next work by this author. i should also note that the author sent me a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review
I'm sure you've read the plot details already but to recap, Everyman David Adler is thrown into a web on intrigue and murder while investigating the death of the boyfriend of an old flame. The characters are fleshed out pretty well and there are some good twists and turns. It sounds like the beginning of a good Hitchcock or Chandler story. Adler himself reminds me of some of Chandler's heroes. He's tough, street smart, self-deprecating and a sucker for the bad girl. There's one difference though. This story takes place on Mars and one of the suspects is the charismatic leader of a cult that wants to wipe out the last 500 human beings in the universe.
For extra fun you get to see the dynamics of a small group of human beings dealing with all the tensions of trying to survive an overwhelming threat to their existence. That part of the book, while taking place in the Future, is a story as old as Humanity itself.
I liked it. It’s a sizeable book but I finished it quickly and I'm looking forward to the next work by this author. i should also note that the author sent me a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review
Read
November 23, 2017DNF
April 27, 2016
My first complete E-book read caused me to wind up with a head ache the next morning, but that's okay after all it was a sci-fi murder mystery only costing 99 cents, and I drank over a half bottle of good Cabernet with it. Found the book on Book Bub. Not a bad site for finding free or cheap books! There is a character in Snowfall on Mars, a revolutionary, who has collected old paper books from the ruins of neighboring settlements. Someone asks him why he collects them instead of just reading digital books. He says it gives him something to do. I can relate to that as I enjoy re-gluing, re-binding certain old books that are bound for the trash or recycling. It brings an olde joy and a historic smell and a sense of hidden humanity preserved. Now, that is satisfying to me. One of my favorite re-bindings is The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind Volume 1 by H.G. Wells. History books aren't written in that style anymore and few are annotated like he did it. His insights into neolithic versus paleolithic humans are fascinating. When will we go to colonize Mars? What will we do to survive? Historians and novelists must go...I think they are becoming stagnant here.
January 11, 2017
Really enjoyed this sci-fi mystery. Set in a failing colony on Mars, the story is fast-paced and easy to read. The author does a great job of making you feel the desperation, the dirt, the slow erosion of everything and everyone.
The characters are interesting and full of contradiction. I especially like David Adler. He's a man who thinks he's nothing special and only wants to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. What everyone else realizes and the reader comes to know as well is that David is a good man who still tries to do what's right in a place where the rules of civilization no longer apply.
The book is told from Adler's viewpoint, and as I read, I kept picturing the story as one of those old 40's detective movies with a gravelly voiced PI narrating as the story moved along.
The mystery was good if not overly complex. I wasn't quite sure of who had done what and why until a good 3/4's of the way through.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
The characters are interesting and full of contradiction. I especially like David Adler. He's a man who thinks he's nothing special and only wants to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. What everyone else realizes and the reader comes to know as well is that David is a good man who still tries to do what's right in a place where the rules of civilization no longer apply.
The book is told from Adler's viewpoint, and as I read, I kept picturing the story as one of those old 40's detective movies with a gravelly voiced PI narrating as the story moved along.
The mystery was good if not overly complex. I wasn't quite sure of who had done what and why until a good 3/4's of the way through.
I look forward to reading more from this author.
May 19, 2016
Interesting, unconventional...not terrible
Nihilistic vision of apocalyptic life on Mars. As a mystery, the ending is too contrived. Not the most satisfying read, but not the worst, either.
Nihilistic vision of apocalyptic life on Mars. As a mystery, the ending is too contrived. Not the most satisfying read, but not the worst, either.
July 23, 2017
Just what you want a good read to be
It's been several months since I read this book and its in my top ten to recommend to friends. I'm posting this review now because I enjoyed it so much that I'm still thinking about it.
More please!
It's been several months since I read this book and its in my top ten to recommend to friends. I'm posting this review now because I enjoyed it so much that I'm still thinking about it.
More please!
August 16, 2025
Very ordinary, forgettable sci-fi. It is set on Mars. Earth has set up a human colony on Mars and then promptly blew itself up, leaving the Mars colonists, who had been dependant on continuing arrival of supplies from Earth, stranded. It's a very dark and grim version of a post apocalyptic novel, the apocalypse having occurred on Earth, twenty years prior to now and the Mars colonists being the remnant band of survivors. Like many such novels the survivors turn to savagery and lawlessness and continue killing each other off.
It occurs to me that the opposite of "chick lit" must be "dude lit ". (Or maybe bro lit?) Chick lit is all character, and emotion, all the foreground characters are women: e.g. three sisters return home after the death of their mother and explore all the history of their relationships. So dude lit is all plot and action, all intellect, all the foreground characters are men. In that case Snowfall is a prime, but not really very good example of dude lit. There is really only one female character, Oksana the girlfriend of the first person main character. But except for David , the main character, there is no real character development at all. Plenty of action, including gory violence, rooms filled with human bones that crunch under foot. At one point David splits someone's head open with an axe and goes "God that felt good"!
The writing is clunky. There is very little character description, but some of the buildings are described in loving detail. It seems to need editing. There are glitches like this: " I put my helmet on in preparation for what’s to come. Oksana does as well. “This is close enough,” I say.
We don our helmets and exit the rover. "
Didn't they just put their helmets on twice? And there are errors with verb tenses, misused words. And people are smoking cigarettes on almost every single page. He says it isn't tobacco, it's some noxious Mars mixture. But everyone smokes it all the time. It gets repetitious . People, especially our hero , are always pulling a cigarette from a pack and lighting it. Then there is various business like this:
Lane looks at me skeptically out of the corner of his eye. He takes a big drag off his cigarette and pulls it from his mouth, holding it between the index and middle finger of his left hand as it rests on the wheel.
I just don't see the point or what the continual cigarette smoking adds. A lot of the book reads like it was written by a teenage boy. So all the smoking is the teenage boy's way of making them seem grown up, tough, hard living or whatever? Just got irritating to me after awhile.
Also gravity on Mars is only about one third that of Earth. The colonists all grew up on Earth. The very reduced gravity seems like it would make a big difference in how well human bodies function, how well human made machines function, carrying out ordinary activities like picking things up, setting them down, throwing things. But there is hardly any mention of this.
Before the end, I was tired of it and had to make myself finish it
It occurs to me that the opposite of "chick lit" must be "dude lit ". (Or maybe bro lit?) Chick lit is all character, and emotion, all the foreground characters are women: e.g. three sisters return home after the death of their mother and explore all the history of their relationships. So dude lit is all plot and action, all intellect, all the foreground characters are men. In that case Snowfall is a prime, but not really very good example of dude lit. There is really only one female character, Oksana the girlfriend of the first person main character. But except for David , the main character, there is no real character development at all. Plenty of action, including gory violence, rooms filled with human bones that crunch under foot. At one point David splits someone's head open with an axe and goes "God that felt good"!
The writing is clunky. There is very little character description, but some of the buildings are described in loving detail. It seems to need editing. There are glitches like this: " I put my helmet on in preparation for what’s to come. Oksana does as well. “This is close enough,” I say.
We don our helmets and exit the rover. "
Didn't they just put their helmets on twice? And there are errors with verb tenses, misused words. And people are smoking cigarettes on almost every single page. He says it isn't tobacco, it's some noxious Mars mixture. But everyone smokes it all the time. It gets repetitious . People, especially our hero , are always pulling a cigarette from a pack and lighting it. Then there is various business like this:
Lane looks at me skeptically out of the corner of his eye. He takes a big drag off his cigarette and pulls it from his mouth, holding it between the index and middle finger of his left hand as it rests on the wheel.
I just don't see the point or what the continual cigarette smoking adds. A lot of the book reads like it was written by a teenage boy. So all the smoking is the teenage boy's way of making them seem grown up, tough, hard living or whatever? Just got irritating to me after awhile.
Also gravity on Mars is only about one third that of Earth. The colonists all grew up on Earth. The very reduced gravity seems like it would make a big difference in how well human bodies function, how well human made machines function, carrying out ordinary activities like picking things up, setting them down, throwing things. But there is hardly any mention of this.
Before the end, I was tired of it and had to make myself finish it
February 28, 2018
Not your children’s post-apocalyptic future, this is so very bleak. Not for the violence and sexual content, of which there is some, yet no more than a Hollywood movie, and it would make a fine one at that. Sure there are a few deux ex machina moments and characters that seem to have just what is needed (see good Hollywood movie comment) to push the story along at the right time. There is a red herring or two and a surprise or two along the way. It’s a darn well told story. But it’s just such a bleak and horrible future, on Mars, nothing left on Earth, nothing really on Mars either except a handful of people and the worst food imaginable. It’s really horrible and really good. You think you like dystopian futures, well I see yours and raise you one this one.
February 13, 2018
Mars has been colonized but is still almost totally dependent on the Earth. A world war totally destroys Earth and leaves Mars on its own. Terraforming fails and results in almost constant corrosive rain and snow, but no air. Only one colony remains, the majority of people on Mars having committed suicide or killed in riots. The only source of sustenance is processed excrement from fungi that thrive on Martian soil. Added to this is murder and efforts to destroy what remains.
This was a good read for me and considers what could happen when off-Earth colonies have to depend on supplies and support from Earth. How do humans survive? What happens to civilization?
This was a good read for me and considers what could happen when off-Earth colonies have to depend on supplies and support from Earth. How do humans survive? What happens to civilization?
April 7, 2018
“Snowfall on Mars” is a great exploration of how humankind might react when confronted with complete (or almost?) hopelessness. Some will give up. Some will go mad. Some will go on. This story is about the conflict between those that go mad and those that go on. I don’t whether the “science” in this book is anywhere near plausible or not, and frankly, I don’t care. The story was excellent. It reminds me of how story in the movie “Snowpiercer” was really good despite the underlining theme, a train travelling around a snow covered planet earth, was utterly absurd. Just except the premise, and you’re in for a great ride.
June 23, 2023
Two decades ago, the powers-that-be on Earth finally annihilated the entire planet. Of course, they did that *after* colonizing Mars and leaving the remnants of humanity stranded.
David Adler is a miner who works to help feed the colonists. His ex Oksana turns his routine upside down when she shares that her current lover has been murdered. While helping her to unravel what happened, they uncover a plot by a cult leader to finish off the rest of humanity.
This book was incredible. The author did an amazing job of setting the scene of the Martian landscape. The characters were engaging & the action nonstop.
David Adler is a miner who works to help feed the colonists. His ex Oksana turns his routine upside down when she shares that her current lover has been murdered. While helping her to unravel what happened, they uncover a plot by a cult leader to finish off the rest of humanity.
This book was incredible. The author did an amazing job of setting the scene of the Martian landscape. The characters were engaging & the action nonstop.
February 3, 2018
Almost tossed away a real gem
It was a bit of a slog when I began reading. I was not very keen on the style the author used to portray the present. However, a few chapters in, the story line jells and a pretty good yarn unravels. I really enjoyed the last half of the book. Not something I would pay 3.99 or more for, but an entertaining break from reality.
It was a bit of a slog when I began reading. I was not very keen on the style the author used to portray the present. However, a few chapters in, the story line jells and a pretty good yarn unravels. I really enjoyed the last half of the book. Not something I would pay 3.99 or more for, but an entertaining break from reality.
February 6, 2018
Red snow
This book is an interesting mixture of possibility and game. The characters and the interactions between them are what make the story. There are some ups and downs as well as twists and turns in the plot. But each of them leads to a story that is entertaining and keeps the reader involved. Take some time and read this and see what one of our futures could be!
This book is an interesting mixture of possibility and game. The characters and the interactions between them are what make the story. There are some ups and downs as well as twists and turns in the plot. But each of them leads to a story that is entertaining and keeps the reader involved. Take some time and read this and see what one of our futures could be!
February 16, 2018
Best sci-fi i've read in a long time!
This book is awesome! Unpredictable plot, characters as real as the people next-door, pathos and anguish and brief moments of happiness for someone who remembers Earth but can never go back and must give way to the next generation for whom Mars is the only place they've ever known.
This book is awesome! Unpredictable plot, characters as real as the people next-door, pathos and anguish and brief moments of happiness for someone who remembers Earth but can never go back and must give way to the next generation for whom Mars is the only place they've ever known.
February 18, 2018
I liked it
Good storyline, lots of twists, well written characters, really thought out well. One thing I wasn't crazy about was in the beginning of a chapter, it would jump back in time to setup something and then continue on. This happens to often for my liking. But, over all, I would suggest this book as a good read.
Good storyline, lots of twists, well written characters, really thought out well. One thing I wasn't crazy about was in the beginning of a chapter, it would jump back in time to setup something and then continue on. This happens to often for my liking. But, over all, I would suggest this book as a good read.
May 6, 2018
Unusual and different
Just finishing this book, I can tell you that it is very different than the regular books that I read. It starts out kind of slow but it does pick up and goes in many directions. I really enjoyed reading it. No spoiler, read the synopsis to see what it is about.
Just finishing this book, I can tell you that it is very different than the regular books that I read. It starts out kind of slow but it does pick up and goes in many directions. I really enjoyed reading it. No spoiler, read the synopsis to see what it is about.
February 14, 2018
Snowfall on Mars - Post-Apocalypse-squared murder mystery.
Description was great. Character development kept me hooked.
Solid hard-science fiction.
Well worth reading. I will be watching for Branden’s other works.
Description was great. Character development kept me hooked.
Solid hard-science fiction.
Well worth reading. I will be watching for Branden’s other works.
February 24, 2018
Dystopian with a Twist
Very interesting story and very well written. The writting style and language complexity are way above average for sci-fi books. Had to stop several times and look up definitions for some obscure English words.
Very interesting story and very well written. The writting style and language complexity are way above average for sci-fi books. Had to stop several times and look up definitions for some obscure English words.
February 5, 2018
So so
I just gave this book a three just wasn't my thing. My option it has to many fillers. What I mean is to many discriptive words to get more chapters.
I just gave this book a three just wasn't my thing. My option it has to many fillers. What I mean is to many discriptive words to get more chapters.
April 28, 2018
I'll give it 2 1/2 stars.
May 16, 2018
Really enjoyed this. It took a little while to really grab my interest but then I couldn't put it down. I thought the ending was great and it made the story seem more realistic.
August 4, 2018
New spin on colonizing Mars!
I enjoyed this book because colonizing Mars is once again a possibility. Branden's take on the subject is refreshing! Hope you enjoy the story!
I enjoyed this book because colonizing Mars is once again a possibility. Branden's take on the subject is refreshing! Hope you enjoy the story!
March 8, 2017
After a lot of murder, betrayal, suicide, torture, lawlessness, there is a faint ray of hope at the very end. It's a quick read.
January 29, 2016
This is a who-done-it story on Mars. Life is pretty bleak for the remaining 500 humans on the planet Mars. Really, life is not so good. These few are just hanging on for the last twenty years since The End. Why they are hanging on is a question no one can really answer.
David Adler is the main character in the story. He’s an oldster which means he was around when THE END happened. Not many of his kind are around. Mars had pretty much gone to pot since those idiots on earth blew themselves up, or did they?
What few people they have on Mars, do seem to be the best survivors of the bunch. Some survive by using their strength, while others use their brains. Still, some have talents that stay in demand while others make sure the ones who need to stay alive, do so. David Adler works in the mines. He’s a fungus miner! Yeah, they found some kind of fungus that eats martian soil and poops out a fungus that, when processed, is consumable for humans when they have absolutely nothing else to eat. There are no farms on Mars, there are no food processors on Mars. There isn’t anything coming from Earth, ever! Nothing works much because nobody really cares. The only thing keeping the last of humanity alive is the fungus that is made into sustainability rations and given out to those who want to continue to live. It’s a strange place; really strange.
Of course when you’ve got a group of people that have been through some horrendous times, some don’t quite stay right in their heads. One of the smart brains on Mars has just been killed. I mean, his head was almost severed from his body. Now that shows that someone didn’t like the guy a whole lot, but who would kill a person that keeps the few things on Mars working. David Adler intends to find out.
The story is a detective story with some interesting twist just because of where they are, the times and conditions. It’s interesting for a murder mystery I guess, but I don’t usually like reading these things because you can usually figure out who did what before the end of the story. This one wasn’t much different. I mean you only have a small group of suspects so who else could it have been?
The writing is OK. I didn’t feel any emotions or wasn’t surprised at anything that happened. I think the build up to what was going on was kind of anticlimactic or something like that. I knew what was going to happen usually before it happened and I’m not much good with murder mysteries. Still, it’s a pretty good book if you like this kind.
David Adler is the main character in the story. He’s an oldster which means he was around when THE END happened. Not many of his kind are around. Mars had pretty much gone to pot since those idiots on earth blew themselves up, or did they?
What few people they have on Mars, do seem to be the best survivors of the bunch. Some survive by using their strength, while others use their brains. Still, some have talents that stay in demand while others make sure the ones who need to stay alive, do so. David Adler works in the mines. He’s a fungus miner! Yeah, they found some kind of fungus that eats martian soil and poops out a fungus that, when processed, is consumable for humans when they have absolutely nothing else to eat. There are no farms on Mars, there are no food processors on Mars. There isn’t anything coming from Earth, ever! Nothing works much because nobody really cares. The only thing keeping the last of humanity alive is the fungus that is made into sustainability rations and given out to those who want to continue to live. It’s a strange place; really strange.
Of course when you’ve got a group of people that have been through some horrendous times, some don’t quite stay right in their heads. One of the smart brains on Mars has just been killed. I mean, his head was almost severed from his body. Now that shows that someone didn’t like the guy a whole lot, but who would kill a person that keeps the few things on Mars working. David Adler intends to find out.
The story is a detective story with some interesting twist just because of where they are, the times and conditions. It’s interesting for a murder mystery I guess, but I don’t usually like reading these things because you can usually figure out who did what before the end of the story. This one wasn’t much different. I mean you only have a small group of suspects so who else could it have been?
The writing is OK. I didn’t feel any emotions or wasn’t surprised at anything that happened. I think the build up to what was going on was kind of anticlimactic or something like that. I knew what was going to happen usually before it happened and I’m not much good with murder mysteries. Still, it’s a pretty good book if you like this kind.
December 30, 2016
Interesting story of what happens to a small not quite self sustaining colony on Mars when the unimanigable happens on Earth. It's bit sci-fi, a bit detective novel, a bit dystopian future (probably the main reason I didn't give it 4 stars as I've become less fond of the dystopian future books over time).
May 21, 2016
A wry and sarcastic, but still emotionally moving tale of what happens when the first civilian settlers of Mars land there and hope to carve out a new life for themselves, when suddenly, and then slowly, nothing works out the way they planned. Twenty years later, when you would think that everyone got complacent and just settled in for the long haul... this story takes off.
Imagine you move to Mars. I mean, your parents drag you there, and as a kid you resent them for it. They are expecting that various government agencies are going to be able to terraform Mars to support human life. No more wearing a space suit every time you go outside! And you'll own prime real estate on a new planet! Life couldn't possibly get better, until the terraforming process goes horribly wrong. And then to make things worse, life on Earth is wiped out in a global nuclear war so there is nothing to go back to now that terraforming Mars has failed.
Or has life on Earth been wiped out completely? Some mad scientists (well, ok, one guy who is murdered in the first chapter, and two twins who seem genius but also seem to suffer from some serious lack of common sense) find out that there is a signal coming from Earth. Oh, and there is a cult. Of course there is a cult. Built on one megalomaniac man's insane reaction to the loss of his family on Mars that is kind of his fault, but also kind of isn't. Just try imagining dealing with such a man.
Drama ensues as our hero (the main character) conducts his own murder investigation, hunts down and confronts the cult leader and has to deal with various others who create further complications, and ends up digging up buried secrets and taking on way more than he expected.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post-apocalypse tale of life on a new planet. The ending was bittersweet, with lots of loss, but also a sense of hope. Oh, and some ironic justice, in the end.
Imagine you move to Mars. I mean, your parents drag you there, and as a kid you resent them for it. They are expecting that various government agencies are going to be able to terraform Mars to support human life. No more wearing a space suit every time you go outside! And you'll own prime real estate on a new planet! Life couldn't possibly get better, until the terraforming process goes horribly wrong. And then to make things worse, life on Earth is wiped out in a global nuclear war so there is nothing to go back to now that terraforming Mars has failed.
Or has life on Earth been wiped out completely? Some mad scientists (well, ok, one guy who is murdered in the first chapter, and two twins who seem genius but also seem to suffer from some serious lack of common sense) find out that there is a signal coming from Earth. Oh, and there is a cult. Of course there is a cult. Built on one megalomaniac man's insane reaction to the loss of his family on Mars that is kind of his fault, but also kind of isn't. Just try imagining dealing with such a man.
Drama ensues as our hero (the main character) conducts his own murder investigation, hunts down and confronts the cult leader and has to deal with various others who create further complications, and ends up digging up buried secrets and taking on way more than he expected.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post-apocalypse tale of life on a new planet. The ending was bittersweet, with lots of loss, but also a sense of hope. Oh, and some ironic justice, in the end.
June 24, 2016
Surprisingly Entertaining SciFi Read
"Snowfall on Mars," is a surprisingly good SciFi read. It's outside the norm of most SciFi: a post apocalyptic novel that takes place on humanity's last vestige-Mars.
The storyline: a century or so in the future, Earth is a lifeless, nuclear winter wasteland of a planet. Humanity's few remaining souls, are the remnants of the Mars colonies. These surviving humans are varied in their nature: hopeful, hopeless, manic, deranged, delusional, homicidal, suicidal, listless, productive-you get the drift. The attempted terraforming of Mars didn't seem to work out as planned, and a S & M death cult, lead by the climatologist who was central to the terraforming project, is determined to revisit his legacy. The remaining chief engineer of the sole, occupied colony complex is discovered murdered. The various plots revolve around conflicting, intersecting mysteries.
The writing is crisp, fast moving and character driven. The settings are grim, dark, and depressing-it's to be expected in a post apocalyptic world, right?
The editing, proofreading and formatting (page numbers, hurray!) are all competent.
There are minor flaws and issues that do not greatly impact the novel. It was a nice change of pace from the usual SciFi offerings.
This book is recommended.
"Snowfall on Mars," is a surprisingly good SciFi read. It's outside the norm of most SciFi: a post apocalyptic novel that takes place on humanity's last vestige-Mars.
The storyline: a century or so in the future, Earth is a lifeless, nuclear winter wasteland of a planet. Humanity's few remaining souls, are the remnants of the Mars colonies. These surviving humans are varied in their nature: hopeful, hopeless, manic, deranged, delusional, homicidal, suicidal, listless, productive-you get the drift. The attempted terraforming of Mars didn't seem to work out as planned, and a S & M death cult, lead by the climatologist who was central to the terraforming project, is determined to revisit his legacy. The remaining chief engineer of the sole, occupied colony complex is discovered murdered. The various plots revolve around conflicting, intersecting mysteries.
The writing is crisp, fast moving and character driven. The settings are grim, dark, and depressing-it's to be expected in a post apocalyptic world, right?
The editing, proofreading and formatting (page numbers, hurray!) are all competent.
There are minor flaws and issues that do not greatly impact the novel. It was a nice change of pace from the usual SciFi offerings.
This book is recommended.
May 13, 2016
Snowfall on Mars is a mystery tale set on Mars that will appeal to both Sci-Fi and who-done-it fans. Twenty years earlier life had come to an end on Earth in a nuclear conflagration. This left the 5000 settlers on Mars stranded. When the planned terraforming experiment that was supposed to create a breathable atmosphere failed they were soon in big trouble. The 5000 has dwindled down to 500 as a results of suicides and fighting. The four domed cities have been reduced to one. Life is bleak. Their only food source is a fungus that when processed forms an edible, if not tasty, sustainable food. The author does an excellent job of creating a realistic and desolate world. The main character in the story is David Adler who works mining the fungus used in their food supply. With no government and no police force, when the colony's primary engineer is murdered a mutual friend asks David to look into it. This soon leads to the alarming discovery that someone is gathering the ingredients for a bomb that could rupture the city's dome and kill them all. What follows is a race to catch the killer and possibly save mankind from total elimination.
May 18, 2016
Superb
Superb tale of the first Mars colony, abandoned to survive alone after catastrophic events on Earth. The grim conditions, the bleak helplessness, the breakdown of society and the rapidly eroding reason for living are convincing and realistically portrayed. The cast of characters are survivors, though not necessarily honourably, and a sharp contrast is drawn between the homesick first generation colonists and the colony's youth, for whom Earth is as meaningless and irrelevant as a fairy story. Tension is supplied by a shred of hope and madman with unknown intentions, while the colony teeters on the edge of extinction. I rate this book alongside modern SF classics like Wool, The Last Policeman and The Dog Stars. Some slack editing in the second half of the book but not enough to detract from the story and lose a star.
Superb tale of the first Mars colony, abandoned to survive alone after catastrophic events on Earth. The grim conditions, the bleak helplessness, the breakdown of society and the rapidly eroding reason for living are convincing and realistically portrayed. The cast of characters are survivors, though not necessarily honourably, and a sharp contrast is drawn between the homesick first generation colonists and the colony's youth, for whom Earth is as meaningless and irrelevant as a fairy story. Tension is supplied by a shred of hope and madman with unknown intentions, while the colony teeters on the edge of extinction. I rate this book alongside modern SF classics like Wool, The Last Policeman and The Dog Stars. Some slack editing in the second half of the book but not enough to detract from the story and lose a star.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews