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The Ruins of Mars #1
The Ruins Of Mars
ASIN moved from less recent edition here
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the near future, The Ruins of Mars opens on the discovery of an ancient city buried under the sands of the red planet. Images captured by twin sentient satellites show massive domes, imposing walls, and a grid work of buildings situated directly on the rim of Mars’ Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris. With the resources of Earth draining away under the weight of human expansion, a plan is hatched to reclaim Mars from the cold grasp of death. A small band of explorers, astronauts, and scientists are sent to the red world in mankind's first interplanetary starship to begin construction on a human colony. Among them is a young archaeologist, named Harrison Raheem Assad, who is tasked with uncovering the secrets of the Martian ruins and their relation to the human race. Aided by the nearly boundless mind of a god-like artificial intelligence; the explorers battle space travel, harsh Martian weather, and the deepening mystery of the forgotten alien civilization. Begin the epic journey in Book One of the Ruins of Mars Trilogy.
Set against the turbulent backdrop of the near future, The Ruins of Mars opens on the discovery of an ancient city buried under the sands of the red planet. Images captured by twin sentient satellites show massive domes, imposing walls, and a grid work of buildings situated directly on the rim of Mars’ Grand Canyon, the Valles Marineris. With the resources of Earth draining away under the weight of human expansion, a plan is hatched to reclaim Mars from the cold grasp of death. A small band of explorers, astronauts, and scientists are sent to the red world in mankind's first interplanetary starship to begin construction on a human colony. Among them is a young archaeologist, named Harrison Raheem Assad, who is tasked with uncovering the secrets of the Martian ruins and their relation to the human race. Aided by the nearly boundless mind of a god-like artificial intelligence; the explorers battle space travel, harsh Martian weather, and the deepening mystery of the forgotten alien civilization. Begin the epic journey in Book One of the Ruins of Mars Trilogy.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2013
189 people are currently reading
488 people want to read
About the author
Dylan James Quarles
17 books81 followersBorn in Portland OR, Dylan moved to Washington state as a young boy. Growing up in a small town on the Olympic Peninsula, he spent most of his youth involved in various creative projects.
With a passion for films, music and writing, Dylan even had the honor of being featured in the Port Townsend Film Festival for his short film "La Niut Des Vampires".
After high school, he attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia where he directed two more films, "Resurrected", and "House On The Borderland".
Graduating a year early with a BA in film, he moved to South Korea and taught English in an after school academy. Deeply impacted by the experience, he returned to the States a much different person than when he left.
Shortly there after, work began on The Ruins Of Mars Trilogy and the next chapter of Dylan's life opened wide.
With a passion for films, music and writing, Dylan even had the honor of being featured in the Port Townsend Film Festival for his short film "La Niut Des Vampires".
After high school, he attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia where he directed two more films, "Resurrected", and "House On The Borderland".
Graduating a year early with a BA in film, he moved to South Korea and taught English in an after school academy. Deeply impacted by the experience, he returned to the States a much different person than when he left.
Shortly there after, work began on The Ruins Of Mars Trilogy and the next chapter of Dylan's life opened wide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
September 18, 2025
DNF at 30%.
This is boring as fish. I mean, most of the pages I managed to get through are an infodump of pseudo-sciencey stuff about how AI works in this world, or how the starships are being propelled, or about the climate change and overpopulation and lack of potable water... So on and so forth and ad nauseam. I had trouble keeping my eyes open through most of this. How can a 200 pages book drag so much?
Heck, I have read in other people's reviews that the characters don't reach Mars until about 60% into the book, and even then, the plot doesn't even pick up until about 90% in... and ends on a cliffhanger. No, thank you. There are better science fiction books out there.
I would want my money back if this hadn't been a freebie on KU.
This is boring as fish. I mean, most of the pages I managed to get through are an infodump of pseudo-sciencey stuff about how AI works in this world, or how the starships are being propelled, or about the climate change and overpopulation and lack of potable water... So on and so forth and ad nauseam. I had trouble keeping my eyes open through most of this. How can a 200 pages book drag so much?
Heck, I have read in other people's reviews that the characters don't reach Mars until about 60% into the book, and even then, the plot doesn't even pick up until about 90% in... and ends on a cliffhanger. No, thank you. There are better science fiction books out there.
I would want my money back if this hadn't been a freebie on KU.
October 23, 2017
One of the other reviewers here said 'I love hard SCIFI' , and I do too, although I'm of the generation that calls it SF. That love for SF is why I gave this book 2 stars - the guy actually wrote a book after all - and won't be reading the others in the series, even though I can get them free on Kindle Unlimited. The reason for this is that life is too short for bad SF.
The author isn't half bad at people, his characters are mostly interesting, don't behave unusually stupidly and have good individual voice, so that's all fine. Where I take issue with him is his SF ability. The term of the genre is SCIENCE Fiction, not Vague Guess Fiction. Now, we do include - or at least I do - some really far future stuff, Clarkes 'indistinguishable from magic' comment applies, but if you plan to do near future stuff, then it needs to make sense. For example, a fusion torch drive is a fine idea, creating high-energy exhaust by a fusion process to propel a spacecraft. If you do this, please do NOT tell me that the 'shockwaves' drive the craft forwards. This is Newtonian mechanics, action-reaction stuff using reaction mass.
Similarly, if you plan to use laser anti-asteroid cannon, do NOT tell me they work on an interference principle to create shock waves, for this is plainly rubbish, when high-energy lasers would simply....work.
So, the author isn't terribly good at the science part of SF. What does he do well? People stuff, very well, if a bit purple-prosed. Better editing would help here, I suspect.
My final gripe is with one of his bits of cultural borrowing. Naming his AI characters after various historical and mythological characters works well, until we get to a Welsh figure, Bran the Blessed. Not Braun. Which is a make of German personal grooming equipment. And a glitch that spoiled the mood for me every time I saw it.
If you REALLY like hard SF, then Alastair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton, Neal Asher , Neal Stephenson are names to follow. Mr. Quarles has a way to go just yet.
The author isn't half bad at people, his characters are mostly interesting, don't behave unusually stupidly and have good individual voice, so that's all fine. Where I take issue with him is his SF ability. The term of the genre is SCIENCE Fiction, not Vague Guess Fiction. Now, we do include - or at least I do - some really far future stuff, Clarkes 'indistinguishable from magic' comment applies, but if you plan to do near future stuff, then it needs to make sense. For example, a fusion torch drive is a fine idea, creating high-energy exhaust by a fusion process to propel a spacecraft. If you do this, please do NOT tell me that the 'shockwaves' drive the craft forwards. This is Newtonian mechanics, action-reaction stuff using reaction mass.
Similarly, if you plan to use laser anti-asteroid cannon, do NOT tell me they work on an interference principle to create shock waves, for this is plainly rubbish, when high-energy lasers would simply....work.
So, the author isn't terribly good at the science part of SF. What does he do well? People stuff, very well, if a bit purple-prosed. Better editing would help here, I suspect.
My final gripe is with one of his bits of cultural borrowing. Naming his AI characters after various historical and mythological characters works well, until we get to a Welsh figure, Bran the Blessed. Not Braun. Which is a make of German personal grooming equipment. And a glitch that spoiled the mood for me every time I saw it.
If you REALLY like hard SF, then Alastair Reynolds, Peter F Hamilton, Neal Asher , Neal Stephenson are names to follow. Mr. Quarles has a way to go just yet.
May 3, 2015
I'm a bit torn on how I feel about this book. It's obvious that the author put a lot of thought into how the mission should be run. But the pages and pages and pages dedicated to ship specifications, food processing, genetic alterations, AI design and development, etc is, honestly, dull.
The crew doesn't reach Mars until the start of part three, 60% in. And almost all of the previous 60% is dedicated to pseudo-science lectures and crew soap-opera relationships (not so much romance, but who shacks up for the four month journey through space). Very, very little is about the alien race or the amazing discovery that Mars had been populated. And even then, after reaching Mars, due to circumstance, nothing happens to progress the plot until about 90%.
Viewed as the first 200ish pages in a series that looks to break 1,000 pages, I suppose it's pretty good. Certainly, an interesting plot is set up, all that techno-babble might become important to know eventually. But as a single book, read alone...the honest, unvarnished truth is that I was bored.
What the book feels like, despite being 200+ pages long, is an extended prologue. The characters are introduced, the plot established, the mystery outlined and then it ends on a cliffhanger just when thing are set to finally get moving. Frustrating to say the least.
I found the dialogue stiff, partly because there are multiple nationalities speaking second (third, fourth...tenth) languages and AIs. I understand that, but it's still stiff. The single sex scene was very purple. However, beyond these two complaints the writing was very good and I only noticed a few editing mistakes.
So, while I didn't hate it, wouldn't be opposed to finishing the series at some point, I didn't fall in love either.
The crew doesn't reach Mars until the start of part three, 60% in. And almost all of the previous 60% is dedicated to pseudo-science lectures and crew soap-opera relationships (not so much romance, but who shacks up for the four month journey through space). Very, very little is about the alien race or the amazing discovery that Mars had been populated. And even then, after reaching Mars, due to circumstance, nothing happens to progress the plot until about 90%.
Viewed as the first 200ish pages in a series that looks to break 1,000 pages, I suppose it's pretty good. Certainly, an interesting plot is set up, all that techno-babble might become important to know eventually. But as a single book, read alone...the honest, unvarnished truth is that I was bored.
What the book feels like, despite being 200+ pages long, is an extended prologue. The characters are introduced, the plot established, the mystery outlined and then it ends on a cliffhanger just when thing are set to finally get moving. Frustrating to say the least.
I found the dialogue stiff, partly because there are multiple nationalities speaking second (third, fourth...tenth) languages and AIs. I understand that, but it's still stiff. The single sex scene was very purple. However, beyond these two complaints the writing was very good and I only noticed a few editing mistakes.
So, while I didn't hate it, wouldn't be opposed to finishing the series at some point, I didn't fall in love either.
February 14, 2014
Full confession: I love hard science sci fi. LOVE it. I love Mars, anything to do with Mars. I am a total Marsophile. (Is that even a word? If it isn't, it should be.) I LOVE everything Mars.
I LOVED this book. Loved it!
What a great premise: It is 2048 more or less. Mankind has developed computers to the point where they have developed self-awareness. Does that make them sentient? Conscious? I don't know. Do I look like Vernor Vinge? Gimme a break.
There are several of these all-knowing computer-whachamacallits. There is Alexandria (remember the destroyed library?) for general knowledge, Copernicus which is NASA's go-to guy, and Braun, specifically for the Mars effort. (You DO know who Braun is named after, right?) Oh, yeah, and Donovan. The CIA's computer operative. Spooky and sneaky. And seemingly everywhere.
So the earth is having trouble. Way too many people, way too few resources, especially water. The USofA decides to ramp up their space program and creates a couple of ummmm robots? No, ummm satellites? Sentient satellites? Sort of. Anyway, they are twins, have self-awareness and are sent to orbit Mars to look for minerals and other resources, but what these guys discover on their mapping efforts is .... are you sitting down? A huge city underground. In ruins. Hot damn! But like I said, they are ruins, covered with that Mars sand. Nobody home. So who built them? Martians? Beings from somewhere else? Another dimension? One of the other versions of the universe in the Multiverse?
Well, this news pumps up the money stateside and a program is rapidly put in place to get a crew to the red planet to explore these ruins. They put together a crew of 12, one of whom is a young and rising archeologist. This being 2048, of course the crew is of both genders, which makes for some shall we say 'interesting' social interactions.
I'm not telling you any more of the plot. I am definitely not mentioning .... never mind.
As I said, great plotline. Likable characters. The science seems pretty much right on, with no big gaping holes in technology. And it's MARS!!!! What's not to like? It's MARS!
Can you tell I really liked the book. And I wish I could be rummaging around some Martian archeological dig. Some people have all the luck.
I LOVED this book. Loved it!
What a great premise: It is 2048 more or less. Mankind has developed computers to the point where they have developed self-awareness. Does that make them sentient? Conscious? I don't know. Do I look like Vernor Vinge? Gimme a break.
There are several of these all-knowing computer-whachamacallits. There is Alexandria (remember the destroyed library?) for general knowledge, Copernicus which is NASA's go-to guy, and Braun, specifically for the Mars effort. (You DO know who Braun is named after, right?) Oh, yeah, and Donovan. The CIA's computer operative. Spooky and sneaky. And seemingly everywhere.
So the earth is having trouble. Way too many people, way too few resources, especially water. The USofA decides to ramp up their space program and creates a couple of ummmm robots? No, ummm satellites? Sentient satellites? Sort of. Anyway, they are twins, have self-awareness and are sent to orbit Mars to look for minerals and other resources, but what these guys discover on their mapping efforts is .... are you sitting down? A huge city underground. In ruins. Hot damn! But like I said, they are ruins, covered with that Mars sand. Nobody home. So who built them? Martians? Beings from somewhere else? Another dimension? One of the other versions of the universe in the Multiverse?
Well, this news pumps up the money stateside and a program is rapidly put in place to get a crew to the red planet to explore these ruins. They put together a crew of 12, one of whom is a young and rising archeologist. This being 2048, of course the crew is of both genders, which makes for some shall we say 'interesting' social interactions.
I'm not telling you any more of the plot. I am definitely not mentioning .... never mind.
As I said, great plotline. Likable characters. The science seems pretty much right on, with no big gaping holes in technology. And it's MARS!!!! What's not to like? It's MARS!
Can you tell I really liked the book. And I wish I could be rummaging around some Martian archeological dig. Some people have all the luck.
November 23, 2014
I am a fan of good science fiction. This is not it. It was a Hollywood-esque attempt at science fiction. I am not usually too picky when an author tries to stretch some aspect of science to create a good story, but this author appears to lack even a basic understanding of the basics! Orbital mechanics, astrophysics, computer science, and telecommunications, all suffer, and I can only guess at what other disciplines he failed. The author took so many liberties that I can only conclude he educated himself using television and movies. To top it off, the author creates a crisis (already steeped in bad science) and goes about solving it poorly. Even though his characters include multi-doctorates, NASA engineers, and highly developed AI computers, his characters choose an embarrassing, and frustrating to read, course of action. If you have no love of real science, go for it. The book is otherwise entertaining. But if you have any nerdy science in you at all, avoid this one. You would be like deGrasse watching Gravity, flinching and frowning throughout.
March 3, 2013
Wow! I am so sad that I just finished this book! I cannot wait until the second book in the trilogy comes out! I tend to read a lot of non-fiction science but every once in a while I love a good adventure read. The Ruins of Mars was so much fun to read. Quarles was able to bring in current and possible future science technologies without becoming too confusing. It reminded me of how Carl Sagan was able to bring in alien technology/travel in Contact. The Ruins of Mars was a quick read the pulled the reader in quickly. The pacing was great and the characters were very deep and easy to connect with. I am in love with Harrison! I am really excited to see where the story goes! Also, I LOVED the cover. Caught my eye immediately.
March 18, 2021
Not Worth Reading
Wow. This was not a good read. Characters are not fully developed; there is not one in the entire story that was likeable or that I could connect with. The romance scenes left me totally disinterested. Having just finished "Mars" and "Return To Mars" by Ben Bova, I couldn't help comparing the stories. Bova is lights years beyond as a story teller. I just can't believe I spent $4.99 plus tax on this book and the next in the series. I sure hope the sequel is better.
Wow. This was not a good read. Characters are not fully developed; there is not one in the entire story that was likeable or that I could connect with. The romance scenes left me totally disinterested. Having just finished "Mars" and "Return To Mars" by Ben Bova, I couldn't help comparing the stories. Bova is lights years beyond as a story teller. I just can't believe I spent $4.99 plus tax on this book and the next in the series. I sure hope the sequel is better.
February 25, 2013
A very good beginning, I am looking forward to the next book.
May 21, 2014
A pleasant but unremarkable read, though I found myself not caring much for the main character. Note that this first volume of a trilogy just stops abruptly in the middle of a major series of events, and does not constitute an independent work. I find the story-line interesting, but am not convinced I want to spend any money to see where it goes at this point.
January 2, 2020
Awful narration, and not a very inspired story. I didn't remember this was the first part of a trilogy, and when I heard "epilogue" my thought was "oh no - I stuck with this and there's TWO MORE? ". I'm curious to see what will happen after the sorta cliffhanger ending, but not sure I'm curious enough to ever try book #2.
March 2, 2013
The writer knows very well how to keep the reader's interest. I am looking forward to the next installment of this story. Although suspension of disbelief is needed, the entertainment value is great!
March 13, 2013
I really liked it and I think I want to read the rest of them
September 29, 2016
A plus. Recommended.
Starts slow, then picks up. Don't give up. Plenty of emotion and adventure in the later sections. Well written and edited too.
Starts slow, then picks up. Don't give up. Plenty of emotion and adventure in the later sections. Well written and edited too.
May 12, 2017
Not bad for an early work. This whole series was free on Amazon. Once you get past all the 'Club of Rome' prattle; the story is interesting even when it's a little slow in places. The characters (both real and AI) have some depth and intrigue, actually the AI's tend to be more interesting then the organic characters. The protagonist is Harrison Raheem Assad, "Harrison" to his friends which apparently does not include any reader since the author tires to pad the word count by using the his entire name EVERY time...
For an author that focuses so much on the 'science' in the story one would think he would make more of an effort to get things right. "Puffs of dust" on the moon. A solar storm that not only hits BOTH the Earth and Mars, but does so SIMULTANEOUSLY. I won't even go into the lack of thought behind the whole filter exchange episode. You get what you pay for, and this was worth it.
For an author that focuses so much on the 'science' in the story one would think he would make more of an effort to get things right. "Puffs of dust" on the moon. A solar storm that not only hits BOTH the Earth and Mars, but does so SIMULTANEOUSLY. I won't even go into the lack of thought behind the whole filter exchange episode. You get what you pay for, and this was worth it.
January 16, 2023
Latest addition to my audiobook collection.
I found this book in my eternal quest for a mars-book that can stand up the Andy Weir’s “The Martian”.
This is the first book in a series, so it’s not surprising that it takes a little while to start and it takes until about the last third of the book until the human crew makes it to Mars and starts exploring in earnest. Which was really o.k for me, that’s why it’s a series and not a 1000 page monster. There is a lot of technical description and character setup the would have probably felt a little drawn out if I had read the book instead of listening to it. That being said I am highly intrigued by the story set up and the ”ruins of mars”. Loved the mystery and loved the cliffhanger so I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.
If you like “The Martian” and Indiana Jones, I would recommend you get yourself this audiobook, I’ll certainly pick up the next one in the series very soon!
I found this book in my eternal quest for a mars-book that can stand up the Andy Weir’s “The Martian”.
This is the first book in a series, so it’s not surprising that it takes a little while to start and it takes until about the last third of the book until the human crew makes it to Mars and starts exploring in earnest. Which was really o.k for me, that’s why it’s a series and not a 1000 page monster. There is a lot of technical description and character setup the would have probably felt a little drawn out if I had read the book instead of listening to it. That being said I am highly intrigued by the story set up and the ”ruins of mars”. Loved the mystery and loved the cliffhanger so I don’t want to spoil it for anyone.
If you like “The Martian” and Indiana Jones, I would recommend you get yourself this audiobook, I’ll certainly pick up the next one in the series very soon!
May 17, 2017
I enjoyed this quite a bit. Maybe it is the fact I have watched Prometheus .. Alien, and Aliens in the same weeks time.. but either way.. This was really much better than I expected it to be.
I liked how the story was told in a way that .. when something mundane and boring was happening in one area.. something else that was interesting was happening in another.. and at times .. it was both just as interesting.
Very cool way to tell the story and I really liked the AI being fleshed out the way it was. The end is abrupt, but I have the next book already to start it up.. so that is not a big deal.
Fair.. and small warning.. there is small sex scene, but not crass at all.. as well there are elements of Global Warming and evolution being explored as part of the prose. Really it is not something that one wouldn't expect in a story like this, but I feel I should mention it anyway.
I liked how the story was told in a way that .. when something mundane and boring was happening in one area.. something else that was interesting was happening in another.. and at times .. it was both just as interesting.
Very cool way to tell the story and I really liked the AI being fleshed out the way it was. The end is abrupt, but I have the next book already to start it up.. so that is not a big deal.
Fair.. and small warning.. there is small sex scene, but not crass at all.. as well there are elements of Global Warming and evolution being explored as part of the prose. Really it is not something that one wouldn't expect in a story like this, but I feel I should mention it anyway.
May 31, 2019
I could get past the author's use of global warming as a mechanism to motivate the book. But I could not get past his illustration of Christians being violent protesters against the US government when they learned there had been a previous civilization on Mars. First it was rude, second it made no sense as one didn't follow the other.
The bulk of the story was interesting and OK to read.
But the ending ... Be warned, this is a cliff hanger story that ends abruptly and far too soon. Very very poorly ended.
If I had the stomach to read the next book in the series, this particular challenge when the book ended could be resolved in no more than one more chapter. The author should have resolved this, ended the book properly and introduced a plot for his next book.
Not a good book. I won't read book 2.
The bulk of the story was interesting and OK to read.
But the ending ... Be warned, this is a cliff hanger story that ends abruptly and far too soon. Very very poorly ended.
If I had the stomach to read the next book in the series, this particular challenge when the book ended could be resolved in no more than one more chapter. The author should have resolved this, ended the book properly and introduced a plot for his next book.
Not a good book. I won't read book 2.
September 23, 2023
I am really hate that so many authors now tell their stories by jumping around the timeline, from past to present and even further into the past to the future, continuously. Just tell the story, from beginning to end, would that be so blessed hard?! And the overly exaggerated descriptive prose is just so pretentious. I'm giving this 3 stars just because it's well edited and not full of misspellings and grammar mistakes. If you think you'd like this at least you have that to look forward to. I was hating it by the end, which of course is not the end, just the first in the series. There were no characters that I even care what else happens to them.
November 6, 2017
The Ruins of Mars
I loved this book , from the first chapter I was hooked. The thought that went to the ship's propulsion,the ship design was great. The story was entirely believable and well written, and the characters were well rounded and wholly human, with all our faults and vices. But also with our virtues and strengths. The AL's fit well with the story too. I can't wait to read the next Instalment. Fab
I loved this book , from the first chapter I was hooked. The thought that went to the ship's propulsion,the ship design was great. The story was entirely believable and well written, and the characters were well rounded and wholly human, with all our faults and vices. But also with our virtues and strengths. The AL's fit well with the story too. I can't wait to read the next Instalment. Fab
January 3, 2020
I know that it's difficult for self published authors to find narrators for audiobook editions of their work, but still, it's best to show some caution. The wrong narrator can make your words wooden, or turn them into melodramatic mush. The latter, especially, when your prose verges on melodrama to begin with. This story has potential, but the characters verge on cardboard cutout drama queens.
June 25, 2020
Well structured and entertaining from the beginning all the way to its cliffhanger ending. The jumping between the past and present reminded me of the 2009 TV series Defying Gravity, at least from what I remember of it. If found author's approach to creating and evolving AI to be quite interesting and believable. This was certainly a slow burn, but well worth it.
February 12, 2022
audible:I totally enjoyed this super sci fi story!In a future society on Earth, Harrison makes an awesome discovery on land then he gets to be the archeologist on a venture to the ruins found on Mars.It is a great story! Steven Cooper was a really good narrator. was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
September 3, 2017
AI's in VR and and human error
The story got off to an interesting start then collapsed into a tangle of poor human technical design. Clogged air filters and AI's stuck in VR made most of the story fall apart and collapse
under a stream of tech failures.
The story got off to an interesting start then collapsed into a tangle of poor human technical design. Clogged air filters and AI's stuck in VR made most of the story fall apart and collapse
under a stream of tech failures.
November 29, 2018
Ancient ruins are discovered on Mars.
People and AIs are given visions of the Mars past.
The Chinese government sends a ship to attack the Mars expedition.
The Chinese ship is destroyed but one killbot survives,
People and AIs are given visions of the Mars past.
The Chinese government sends a ship to attack the Mars expedition.
The Chinese ship is destroyed but one killbot survives,
March 27, 2023
I enjoyed the trilogy. All of the characters were well-developed and well-written. The plot was interesting. I found that it had the right combination of science and human drama to keep me reading. I recommend it.
June 9, 2024
Enjoyable book, fast paced with good characters. I particularly enjoyed the AI characters and thought they were well done and believable. I was disappointed by two things, the spiritual or majical turn the book took toward the end and turn that this is the first book of a series.
January 1, 2016
Set in a not too distant future, mankind is running out of resources. Mars is starting to look like a better and better bet for terraforming and the future of mankind. Two AIs, Romulus and Remus, are sent out to scan and map Mars from orbit. However, they make an unexpected discovery, one that fires the need to send a manned mission to Mars sooner rather than later.
This was a really enjoyable scifi adventure. Even though it has a few issues, I just thoroughly reveled in it. The pacing is really great, keeping the plot moving forward at all times. There’s a ton of interesting characters, and from so many walks of life (different ethnicities, sexual orientation, etc.). The major plot points were riveting – exploration on Mars, humanity’s dwindling resources at home, the huge, big mystery found on Mars. Then there is all the awesome tech. Yeah, you heard me. The author does a most excellent job of integrating futuristic tech into the story seamlessly.
So let’s get my few criticisms out of the way to make run for me to gush over how much I enjoyed this novel. First, the ladies. None are major characters and none are plot central for more than a glancing moment at a time. The men get to make all the decisions and have all the adventures. In fact, for the first third of the book, the only female characters are an AI named Alexandria and someone’s mum on vidphone conversation. Finally, about halfway through, there’s several more ladies tossed in and they are all highly qualified folks, so I had high hopes that some of them would have plot-central roles in the second half of the book. Alas, they all quickly fall into the background and are there to provide comfort and care as needed. So, obviously, that was my biggest disappointment with the book especially since they each held potential – each has their own personality and background. Honestly, the author knows how to write female characters, so I’m not sure why he underutilized them so extremely in this first book.
The rest of my criticisms are all minor and can be lumped together. There appeared to be little to no cross training among the personnel heading off to Mars, which struck me as odd. Apparently the Mars astronaut suits don’t have built in safety systems and become completely useless if the suit loses contact with the governing AI – again this seemed odd. Redundancy equals safety in outer space, after all. There’s a few other minor things like that, but you get the point.
Now, even with those flaws, this was a hell of a ride. The constant sense of anticipation and mystery were excellent. I was never bored with this book, never rushing ahead because I found this character or that scene boring. The timeline starts in 2044 and then jumps ahead to 2048 and then back and forth a little, showing how the manned mission got pulled together. I thought this was well done and I didn’t find it confusing at all. The chapters and subchapters are nicely time stamped to keep you all straight.
The tech is awesome. I love all the 3D imaging and various surfaces that can be used as touch sensitive computer screens. Then there’s the AIs. Oh yeah. Nicely done indeed! I really liked that there were various types of AIs created for different purposes and having different limitations and skill sets. This of course gave them individual personalities. First, there are the brothers Remus and Romulus who are each embodied in their own unmanned space satellite. They were created to go out and scan Mars, looking for and analyzing water and mineral sources. Alexandria is a kind of chatty world-wide info AI that can be accessed by most humans. Copernicus works with the Mars Project and the related agencies, like NASA. Donovan is the AI for the CIA (and he is just a tad spooky). The author also added in genetically modified food crops to be grown on Mars and also gene manipulation for the Mars astronauts to give them greater tolerances to extreme conditions. I felt that all the tech was plausible and well used in the story.
The caste is large but not unwieldy. It was great to see that the mission to Mars was a world effort. Tatyana Vodevski, Harrison Raheem Assad, Xao-Xong Liu, YiJay, Aguilar, Ralph Marshall, Vivianna Calise, Elizabeth Kubba, James Floyd, Julian Thomas, etc. As you can see, lots of personalities to mix it up with. If this ever goes to audiobook, the narrator will have to be skilled in numerous accents.
Then there is the big mystery on Mars discovered by Romulus and Remus. From the title of the book, you might have already guessed that something was found on Mars that no one was expecting. Folks back on Earth have a variety of responses to this. It’s not all flowers and swaying in a large circle. It was great to see such a realistic response from the mass of humanity to this discovery. So after this big discovery is made, the Mars manned mission gets additional funding and is rushed into being. Further discoveries are made and one was beyond what I expected but was excellently executed. Now, I can’t wait to jump into Book 2 to see what else our Mars astronauts stumble across!
This was a really enjoyable scifi adventure. Even though it has a few issues, I just thoroughly reveled in it. The pacing is really great, keeping the plot moving forward at all times. There’s a ton of interesting characters, and from so many walks of life (different ethnicities, sexual orientation, etc.). The major plot points were riveting – exploration on Mars, humanity’s dwindling resources at home, the huge, big mystery found on Mars. Then there is all the awesome tech. Yeah, you heard me. The author does a most excellent job of integrating futuristic tech into the story seamlessly.
So let’s get my few criticisms out of the way to make run for me to gush over how much I enjoyed this novel. First, the ladies. None are major characters and none are plot central for more than a glancing moment at a time. The men get to make all the decisions and have all the adventures. In fact, for the first third of the book, the only female characters are an AI named Alexandria and someone’s mum on vidphone conversation. Finally, about halfway through, there’s several more ladies tossed in and they are all highly qualified folks, so I had high hopes that some of them would have plot-central roles in the second half of the book. Alas, they all quickly fall into the background and are there to provide comfort and care as needed. So, obviously, that was my biggest disappointment with the book especially since they each held potential – each has their own personality and background. Honestly, the author knows how to write female characters, so I’m not sure why he underutilized them so extremely in this first book.
The rest of my criticisms are all minor and can be lumped together. There appeared to be little to no cross training among the personnel heading off to Mars, which struck me as odd. Apparently the Mars astronaut suits don’t have built in safety systems and become completely useless if the suit loses contact with the governing AI – again this seemed odd. Redundancy equals safety in outer space, after all. There’s a few other minor things like that, but you get the point.
Now, even with those flaws, this was a hell of a ride. The constant sense of anticipation and mystery were excellent. I was never bored with this book, never rushing ahead because I found this character or that scene boring. The timeline starts in 2044 and then jumps ahead to 2048 and then back and forth a little, showing how the manned mission got pulled together. I thought this was well done and I didn’t find it confusing at all. The chapters and subchapters are nicely time stamped to keep you all straight.
The tech is awesome. I love all the 3D imaging and various surfaces that can be used as touch sensitive computer screens. Then there’s the AIs. Oh yeah. Nicely done indeed! I really liked that there were various types of AIs created for different purposes and having different limitations and skill sets. This of course gave them individual personalities. First, there are the brothers Remus and Romulus who are each embodied in their own unmanned space satellite. They were created to go out and scan Mars, looking for and analyzing water and mineral sources. Alexandria is a kind of chatty world-wide info AI that can be accessed by most humans. Copernicus works with the Mars Project and the related agencies, like NASA. Donovan is the AI for the CIA (and he is just a tad spooky). The author also added in genetically modified food crops to be grown on Mars and also gene manipulation for the Mars astronauts to give them greater tolerances to extreme conditions. I felt that all the tech was plausible and well used in the story.
The caste is large but not unwieldy. It was great to see that the mission to Mars was a world effort. Tatyana Vodevski, Harrison Raheem Assad, Xao-Xong Liu, YiJay, Aguilar, Ralph Marshall, Vivianna Calise, Elizabeth Kubba, James Floyd, Julian Thomas, etc. As you can see, lots of personalities to mix it up with. If this ever goes to audiobook, the narrator will have to be skilled in numerous accents.
Then there is the big mystery on Mars discovered by Romulus and Remus. From the title of the book, you might have already guessed that something was found on Mars that no one was expecting. Folks back on Earth have a variety of responses to this. It’s not all flowers and swaying in a large circle. It was great to see such a realistic response from the mass of humanity to this discovery. So after this big discovery is made, the Mars manned mission gets additional funding and is rushed into being. Further discoveries are made and one was beyond what I expected but was excellently executed. Now, I can’t wait to jump into Book 2 to see what else our Mars astronauts stumble across!
June 16, 2017
Wanting the sequel.
Very good sci-fi. novel. With likable characters. Would make a good movie. If you enjoyed The Martian, you will like this.
Very good sci-fi. novel. With likable characters. Would make a good movie. If you enjoyed The Martian, you will like this.
June 14, 2019
I enjoyed all 3 books. There was never a dull moment, and the plot kept me guessing the entire time.
If you enjoy first emergence space exploration books this is the series for you.
If you enjoy first emergence space exploration books this is the series for you.
October 4, 2019
Very interesting book⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Finished...
Finished...
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