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Mars Girl
The White House and MASSnews collude to make the first colonial mission to Mars a hit reality show so President Shari Flanagan can fulfill her promise of a viable Martian colony and a baby born on Mars before her first term ends – all without spending any taxpayer dollars to make it happen. What could go wrong?
Ray Barker is what passes for a broadcast journalist a few decades into the future and he finds out that the death of all but one colonist, 15-year-old Mirellen Garasovic, was part of the president's plan. Barker has made a career of disregarding the truth and doing and saying anything to attract as many eyeballs as possible, but his friend Cecilia knows they need to tell the world what really happened on Mars. With the White House and a huge media company against them, the odds aren’t good, but Mirellen’s life depends on it. And so does the truth.
Mars Girl is a fast ride into the future where information is everywhere, facts are scarce and no one knows anything. Sound familiar?
Ray Barker is what passes for a broadcast journalist a few decades into the future and he finds out that the death of all but one colonist, 15-year-old Mirellen Garasovic, was part of the president's plan. Barker has made a career of disregarding the truth and doing and saying anything to attract as many eyeballs as possible, but his friend Cecilia knows they need to tell the world what really happened on Mars. With the White House and a huge media company against them, the odds aren’t good, but Mirellen’s life depends on it. And so does the truth.
Mars Girl is a fast ride into the future where information is everywhere, facts are scarce and no one knows anything. Sound familiar?
240 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Garrity
1 bookMars Girl is my first novel, but the follow-up novella (Barker Must Die) is available at my web site:
jeffgarrity.com
You'll also find short stories and a children's story there.
"Mars Girl is fast-paced, insightful, inventive and very, very funny. Its vision of where the mutual dependence of politicians and media producers will end is both hilarious and a little frightening. Put Karl Rove and Groucho Marx in a smoke-filled room, spin well on a 24-hour news cycle, and you get Mars Girl."
-Marc J. Sheehan
jeffgarrity.com
You'll also find short stories and a children's story there.
"Mars Girl is fast-paced, insightful, inventive and very, very funny. Its vision of where the mutual dependence of politicians and media producers will end is both hilarious and a little frightening. Put Karl Rove and Groucho Marx in a smoke-filled room, spin well on a 24-hour news cycle, and you get Mars Girl."
-Marc J. Sheehan
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 17, 2015
Too many characters, too boring in the beginning, but started to be more and more interesting as I was closer to the end of the book. I was quite amazed how this book differs from The Martian (by Andy Weir), I expected something at least a bit similar, but Mars Girl was more about politics and money.
June 18, 2011
The teenage sole survivor of a Mars colonization mission is the cynosure of all TV screens, much to the delight of the corporations selling the ads, and the US Government, which is taking a little off the top. A bit reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut, but the satire's a little too one-note, and the story is simultaneously too stretched and too surface, and too rushed at the end. But it's a fun read, and it's free via Feedbooks.com and the author's website.
The ending is unbelievable and doesn't deliver the punch suggested by the rest of the book; it feels like the author went, "uh-oh, now how do I get out of this?" The writing is decent, though with a few errors (IT IS SIGHT NOT SITE DAMN IT); the biggest issue I had with the form is that the chapters are on the order of 500 words long, barely entire scenes, and as they alternate among the various characters this is irritating and frustrating. It would have been much better to have agglomerated 3-8 sections focusing on one set of characters for a single chapter, then go on to the next. Perhaps the author is trying to make a clever point about the media-driven lack of attention span in the slightly-future world he writes about, but it is annoying to the reader in this world, or at least, to me.
The ending is unbelievable and doesn't deliver the punch suggested by the rest of the book; it feels like the author went, "uh-oh, now how do I get out of this?" The writing is decent, though with a few errors (IT IS SIGHT NOT SITE DAMN IT); the biggest issue I had with the form is that the chapters are on the order of 500 words long, barely entire scenes, and as they alternate among the various characters this is irritating and frustrating. It would have been much better to have agglomerated 3-8 sections focusing on one set of characters for a single chapter, then go on to the next. Perhaps the author is trying to make a clever point about the media-driven lack of attention span in the slightly-future world he writes about, but it is annoying to the reader in this world, or at least, to me.
May 18, 2016
This novel has some biting satire of our materialistic society and how commercial everyday life has become. If we can have major ballparks named for corporations (e.g. the Pepsi Center here in Denver), then why not have a Mars rover branded for a restaurant? Or NASA taking sponsorship? Why wouldn't action figures of someone in mortal peril be quickly created and sold in stores?
The prevalence of reality shows and internet video does not escape being satirically skewered. All news is delivered by one of two corporations - Disney being one of them. Reporters are hard-wired with cameras and communication equipment, and cover such things as public executions and love triangles. A stringer stumbles upon a sinister plot to kill the defenseless girl stuck on Mars.
The eponymous Mars Girl is stuck on Mars after the rover she is riding in is destroyed, killing everyone in it but her. Earth scrambles to rescue her. Kinda, sorta. If you are expecting another The Martian (as I was), prepare to be confused. Mars girl's story is relegated to a minor subplot, as the novel focuses on Earth.
Does it work? Yeah, I would say I was quite entertained. The satire is, at times, lathered on so deeply that it's annoying, but in the end, I'm glad that I read this.
The prevalence of reality shows and internet video does not escape being satirically skewered. All news is delivered by one of two corporations - Disney being one of them. Reporters are hard-wired with cameras and communication equipment, and cover such things as public executions and love triangles. A stringer stumbles upon a sinister plot to kill the defenseless girl stuck on Mars.
The eponymous Mars Girl is stuck on Mars after the rover she is riding in is destroyed, killing everyone in it but her. Earth scrambles to rescue her. Kinda, sorta. If you are expecting another The Martian (as I was), prepare to be confused. Mars girl's story is relegated to a minor subplot, as the novel focuses on Earth.
Does it work? Yeah, I would say I was quite entertained. The satire is, at times, lathered on so deeply that it's annoying, but in the end, I'm glad that I read this.
August 19, 2010
short review in ukrainian:
http://www.tivasyk.info/2009/09/blog-...
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подумки «перемотайте» історію на 50 років уперед і уявіть світ, в якому демократія досягла такого розвитку, що світом, де факто, правлять медіакорпорації, а редактор новинарського каналу має більший вплив, ніж президент сполучених штатів. в цьому світі близького майбутнього ціна вдалої «теми» настільки висока, що покладатися на природу, чекаючи від неї катастроф та інших інформаційних приводів — недопустимо: новини треба створювати, і лише журналіст, здатний переступити через власну совість, зможе не просто бути успішним, але й вижити.
повість mars girl (jeff garrity) розпочинається як оповідь про непросту роботу тележурналіста, але досить скоро сюжет набуває карколомної динаміки і перетворюється на справжній детектив національного масштабу, який розвивається непередбачувано і тримає в напруженні до останньої сторінки.
якщо читаєте англійською — дуже рекомендую. книжка вільна, доступна в різних форматах, включаючи epub (відкривається fbreader'ом), pdf та html.
http://www.tivasyk.info/2009/09/blog-...
----->8-----
подумки «перемотайте» історію на 50 років уперед і уявіть світ, в якому демократія досягла такого розвитку, що світом, де факто, правлять медіакорпорації, а редактор новинарського каналу має більший вплив, ніж президент сполучених штатів. в цьому світі близького майбутнього ціна вдалої «теми» настільки висока, що покладатися на природу, чекаючи від неї катастроф та інших інформаційних приводів — недопустимо: новини треба створювати, і лише журналіст, здатний переступити через власну совість, зможе не просто бути успішним, але й вижити.
повість mars girl (jeff garrity) розпочинається як оповідь про непросту роботу тележурналіста, але досить скоро сюжет набуває карколомної динаміки і перетворюється на справжній детектив національного масштабу, який розвивається непередбачувано і тримає в напруженні до останньої сторінки.
якщо читаєте англійською — дуже рекомендую. книжка вільна, доступна в різних форматах, включаючи epub (відкривається fbreader'ом), pdf та html.
January 31, 2009
Although the title might lead you to think that this is a science fiction, it's everything but. Yes, the story is set a little bit into the future, but not far enough to qualify as SF. And there's not much action on Mars, either. Instead the action takes place in the the oval office, broadcasting studios, and the small town of Okinisee, Michigan. The author is offering free downloads (under a creative commons copyright) at his web site. An
August 12, 2012
Interesting idea and moderately amusing satire of the government and corporations, especially media. The bite-sized chapters, become extremely irritating after a while, and the ending is anticlimactic, to say the least.
Recommended, if you really have nothing better to do with your life.
Recommended, if you really have nothing better to do with your life.
February 5, 2010
Quirky and surprisingly captivating. The ending surprised me a bit--but not really in a good way.
Overall, I'm impressed with the author's skill and look forward to other work by him.
Overall, I'm impressed with the author's skill and look forward to other work by him.
July 15, 2010
Interesting and entertaining!
February 20, 2011
While a bit choppy, I enjoyed this book that clearly sets up for a sequel. I will say that some of the satire was a bit over done. It certainly was worth the read.
May 11, 2012
Good book, nice action/sf story with a slightly expected twist at the end. A real page turner. (finished it in 2 days)
April 5, 2018
The political thriller style reminds me of John Grisham.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews