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Martha's Sons #3
Under the Earthline
He’s a pawn between a politician’s vengeance and his family’s safety. In a space settlement on the verge of turmoil, he’ll play to win… or die trying.
With only a slender hold on their alien world, human settlers from a marooned starship inhabit a single terraformed valley. As technology frays, as the second generation of settlers cannibalizes its past, and as the governor cancels elections again, tension grows between the city and the western farms.
One Dawe son dead, one in exile, and Thaddeus Dawe now slated to serve as a hostage for his younger brother's crimes, Thaddeus has a task. He must locate the colony’s last terraseeder for the secret enclave another brother works to carve from the northern wilderness. But with the governor's men harboring no love for Dawes, and First Landing’s bureaucracy and its preeminent practitioner having other plans, Thaddeus is not the only one whose life is at risk.
Pick up Under the Earthline now for a tale of adventure, loyalty, and love!
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 26, 2020
24 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2021
UNDER THE EARTHLINE is Book 3 in the MARTHA'S SONS Series, an ongoing Science Fiction series authored by a Space attorney. The Series title references a Rudyard Kipling poem, "The Sons of Martha," which in turn draws on the New Testament anecdote of Jesus and the sisters Mary and Martha, one who listened and one who worked. Kipling's poem sees the Sons of Martha as being "of the careful soul and the troubled heart," those who perform manual and menial labour while the sons of Mary dance through life light-hearted and carefree.
In UNDER THE EARTHLINE, it is young Thaddeus Dawe, who on Earth would have been an academic and brilliant intellectual; but on the bizarre planet the unexpected settlers named Not What We Were Looking For, he is youngest son and farmer only, now about to be hostage to the ruling powers in place of older brother Peter [also a Martha's son, albeit one with a mission].
Although UNDER THE EARTHLINE can be read on it's own, my recommendation is to read the entire series in order to get the full flavor. I am impressed by how deep is the character revelation.
In UNDER THE EARTHLINE, it is young Thaddeus Dawe, who on Earth would have been an academic and brilliant intellectual; but on the bizarre planet the unexpected settlers named Not What We Were Looking For, he is youngest son and farmer only, now about to be hostage to the ruling powers in place of older brother Peter [also a Martha's son, albeit one with a mission].
Although UNDER THE EARTHLINE can be read on it's own, my recommendation is to read the entire series in order to get the full flavor. I am impressed by how deep is the character revelation.
November 24, 2020
If you want to read a more comprehensive, somewhat chatty, review of this book, click here for Papa Pat Rambles. What you are reading now is the condensed version, and is very close to what has been submitted as an Amazon review.
This is the third book in the “Sons of Martha” series, and to be properly understood, you must have read volumes 1 and 2. A prior series, Waking Late is set on the same world. I’d recommend that you read that series for background, but it’s not required.
The series title, “Sons of Martha,” is taken from the Rudyard Kipling poem of the same name Kipling took his inspiration from a Biblical incident in which the hard-working Martha chastises Jesus for allowing her younger sister to ignore all the dinner preparations. Kipling pretends that all who serve others in dark, dirty jobs are the spiritual children of Martha, condemned to labor while others play.
All of the characters are human, with some differentiation. The ruling class is descended from settlers on Mars. Beneath them are Earth stock, further divided into those with Earth-normal physiology, and those with enhanced strength and senses, distinguished by a pair of horns growing from their heads; these are called ‘pan’.
Additional differentiation of the populace: a mostly-urban class; the WestHem farmers; those who split off and started a second settlement; and finally, the unfortunate Sleepers. This last are original colonists, kept in suspended animation, and revived one at a time as near-slaves.
Montgomery has killed mainline characters just enough that her stories have an element of suspense; not the jump-scare type, but you can’t be sure the hero will escape in the final reel. In previous installments, Peter Dawes, a young pan farmer, grows resentful of the government men who invaded WestHem, and disarmed the population. He develops a plan to steal the blasters back, but is forced by his tyrannical father to take his abrasive brother Simon with him. Simon is killed on the otherwise successful expedition, and Peter is labeled an outlaw by the oppressive governor and his cadre. To avoid capture and prevent reprisals against his family, Peter flees to the outskirts of settled land, where his oldest brother has a farm. Things happen, but the event of primary significance is the discovery of a new territory being developed by some of the more adventurous settlers.
As this story opens, Peter’s older brother Thaddeus must respond to a request/demand by Dietrich Bainbridge, the governor’s chief agricultural officer. Ostensibly, Bainbridge wants Thaddeus to come advise him on agricultural policy, but the threatening tone used shows that he will atone for Peter’s actions, or at least be punished for them. Thaddeus agrees, after he extracts a promise that he can access the print library, and the computer network.
Maxwell, a friend of the deceased Simon, will also be going to the palace. There they will contact the beautiful Harriet, Maxwell’s cousin and object of Bainbridge’s affections.
Conflicts over class distinctions, and access to technology, provide the structure for the story, but the individual players do all the driving. This is NOT a gadget story; it’s a people story. The main characters become alive, as Montgomery gives us access to their thoughts, and thus, WE never have any confusion about the reasons for their actions. Sometimes they are confused about each other, a truth of human nature. It makes them real.
Montgomery leaves ONLY the overall story development to be resolved in future installments. Human interest conflicts and alliances are given enough closure, that readers will not feel cheated. I recommend this for all audiences, without reservation.
This is the third book in the “Sons of Martha” series, and to be properly understood, you must have read volumes 1 and 2. A prior series, Waking Late is set on the same world. I’d recommend that you read that series for background, but it’s not required.
The series title, “Sons of Martha,” is taken from the Rudyard Kipling poem of the same name Kipling took his inspiration from a Biblical incident in which the hard-working Martha chastises Jesus for allowing her younger sister to ignore all the dinner preparations. Kipling pretends that all who serve others in dark, dirty jobs are the spiritual children of Martha, condemned to labor while others play.
All of the characters are human, with some differentiation. The ruling class is descended from settlers on Mars. Beneath them are Earth stock, further divided into those with Earth-normal physiology, and those with enhanced strength and senses, distinguished by a pair of horns growing from their heads; these are called ‘pan’.
Additional differentiation of the populace: a mostly-urban class; the WestHem farmers; those who split off and started a second settlement; and finally, the unfortunate Sleepers. This last are original colonists, kept in suspended animation, and revived one at a time as near-slaves.
Montgomery has killed mainline characters just enough that her stories have an element of suspense; not the jump-scare type, but you can’t be sure the hero will escape in the final reel. In previous installments, Peter Dawes, a young pan farmer, grows resentful of the government men who invaded WestHem, and disarmed the population. He develops a plan to steal the blasters back, but is forced by his tyrannical father to take his abrasive brother Simon with him. Simon is killed on the otherwise successful expedition, and Peter is labeled an outlaw by the oppressive governor and his cadre. To avoid capture and prevent reprisals against his family, Peter flees to the outskirts of settled land, where his oldest brother has a farm. Things happen, but the event of primary significance is the discovery of a new territory being developed by some of the more adventurous settlers.
As this story opens, Peter’s older brother Thaddeus must respond to a request/demand by Dietrich Bainbridge, the governor’s chief agricultural officer. Ostensibly, Bainbridge wants Thaddeus to come advise him on agricultural policy, but the threatening tone used shows that he will atone for Peter’s actions, or at least be punished for them. Thaddeus agrees, after he extracts a promise that he can access the print library, and the computer network.
Maxwell, a friend of the deceased Simon, will also be going to the palace. There they will contact the beautiful Harriet, Maxwell’s cousin and object of Bainbridge’s affections.
Conflicts over class distinctions, and access to technology, provide the structure for the story, but the individual players do all the driving. This is NOT a gadget story; it’s a people story. The main characters become alive, as Montgomery gives us access to their thoughts, and thus, WE never have any confusion about the reasons for their actions. Sometimes they are confused about each other, a truth of human nature. It makes them real.
Montgomery leaves ONLY the overall story development to be resolved in future installments. Human interest conflicts and alliances are given enough closure, that readers will not feel cheated. I recommend this for all audiences, without reservation.
August 23, 2022
Doing what is right never gets easier, particularly when those in power want to stay in power. Our hero certainly has his work cut out for him.
This is book three of the series. It does pretty well as a standalone. You will be missing some of the background, but the essential pieces are covered early on.
This is a science fiction story with a somewhat dystopian setting on an alien colony world. The story is well written and very deep, with a well developed setting and lots of intrigue. Perhaps in spite of that, the plot moves along at a good pace and is very engaging, which makes for an enjoyable read. Overall, I enjoyed this latest addition to the series and look forward to seeing where it goes next.
Highly recommended
I received an ARC from Hidden Gems for review purposes.
This is book three of the series. It does pretty well as a standalone. You will be missing some of the background, but the essential pieces are covered early on.
This is a science fiction story with a somewhat dystopian setting on an alien colony world. The story is well written and very deep, with a well developed setting and lots of intrigue. Perhaps in spite of that, the plot moves along at a good pace and is very engaging, which makes for an enjoyable read. Overall, I enjoyed this latest addition to the series and look forward to seeing where it goes next.
Highly recommended
I received an ARC from Hidden Gems for review purposes.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews