The Emissary

The Martian Manifesto #2

by Bob Lee

It has been three years since the residents of Mars defeated the alien Masters and their plans to destroy the human race. However, it is inevitable that we will be attacked again, and this time we may not be as lucky. Our only hope may be the Chontroons, the slave race of the Masters. They have launched their own desperate attempt to save both themselves and Earth. Their few freedom fighters have invented a prototype hyperdrive, and have sent to Earth first warning probes, and then an Emissary with the goal of forging an alliance. They hope that together, we can rid the galaxy of their evil overlords. But the alien technology left behind on Mars has caused disruption on Earth and has splintered the shaky alliance that had been established with the Martian Manifesto. And the Chinese are still determined to strike at Mars from their Moon base and obtain any alien technology for themselves. In the attempt, they may well destroy the Earth and complete the Masters’ work for them. Will the Emissary arrive in time to save us from ourselves? Or will he be misled by one of the many factions involved in fighting for supremacy over the Earth and Mars? The action is non-stop as struggling groups vie in the air above the two planets, and in the space between.

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 11, 2015

About the author

I am a big sci-fi and fantasy reader. As a child, I must have watched every good and bad science fiction movie on TV that was ever created. [Yes, I'm calling you out, "The Crawling Eye"]

I blame it all on Edgar Rice Burroughs. I read Tarzan as a young child, and then discovered his John Carter of Mars series. It all cascaded from there.

I was a big comic book reader also. On my bucket list was to go to a Comic Con convention. I finally went along with my son to the NY 2012 convention. It was simply awesome! I love all of the recent Marvel movies. As a child, my folks had a backup refrigerator (unplugged) in case they had a family party so that they could keep things cold. I used it to store all my comic books. We were known on the block as the family that had a refrigerator full of comic books. And yes, my mom threw them all out while I was in college.

My favorite old movies from the 50s:
The Time Machine
The Thing (from another World)
Forbidden Planet

My favorite fantasy series:
Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever
(If you've never read any of them, they are very similar to Lord of the Rings, but more adult oriented.)

In my 20s, I took flying lessons and got my pilot's license. I do not fly anymore, but I love all flying and military action novels. Dale Brown is one of my favorite authors.

I worked at IBM for over 30 years, and then took early retirement and became a high school math teacher. I'm finally now fully retired, and have the time to try my hand at writing.

I've also been a long time member of the National Space Society, and have recently started reviewing science fiction space related novels for them.

Some bugaboos: I hate when authors or movies treat us as if we are idiots. I actually like reboot movies, such as the Star Trek reboots, as long as the writers don't change things just because they can. [Really, a yellow sun for Krypton, guys? And Superman's powers coming from our sun being younger and stronger? Really? Really??!!]

I'm currently working on my second novel. This one will be a straight science fiction story that takes place on Mars in the 2030s. And yes, there will be aliens!

Ad Astra!
Bob

Reviews

[Bob Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent a long time getting the time loop element of this story correct, since I hate obvious flaws in time travel stories. I consider this some of my best writing. Needless to say, I'm currently in the process of writing book 3 of the series. This time I'll have large fleets battling it out, and time itself will hang in the balance. Stay tuned.