Climbing Olympus

by Kevin J. Anderson

In order to terraform Mars, Earth first had to transform people...
The Red Planet is a harsh place, and normal humans cannot survive there during the many years of taming the planet. But a group of humans—called “volunteers,” even though they were taken from prison gulags—have been surgically altered to survive the environment.
They are exiles, never again able to breathe Earth’s air.
But for all their work, as they make Mars a place where normal humans can live, these altered humans are no longer suited for their own home.
They are obsolete people.
They sacrificed their humanity to become the first Martians. And they will not stand by as humans come to take their home.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Science Fiction Fantasy

257 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Yes, I have a lot of books, and if this is your first visit to my amazon author page, it can be a little overwhelming. If you are new to my work, let me recommend a few titles as good places to start. I love my Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. series, humorous horror/mysteries, which begin with DEATH WARMED OVER. My steampunk fantasy adventures, CLOCKWORK ANGELS and CLOCKWORK LIVES, written with Neil Peart, legendary drummer from Rush, are two of my very favorite novels ever. And my magnum opus, the science fiction epic The Saga of Seven Suns, begins with HIDDEN EMPIRE. After you've tried those, I hope you'll check out some of my other series.

I have written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files, and I'm the co-author of the Dune prequels. My original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. I have also written several comic books including the Dark Horse Star Wars collection Tales of the Jedi written in collaboration with Tom Veitch, Predator titles (also for Dark Horse), and X-Files titles for Topps.

I serve as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.

My wife is author Rebecca Moesta. We currently reside near Monument, Colorado.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting story about human's terraforming Mars. It revolved primarily around the "normal" human settlement but also half the story was about the "adin" modified humans as well. It is primarily a story of conflict between the leader of the adin and the humans. I remember years ago, vaguely, reading Pohl's Man Plus about a human bioengineered to live on Mars. That said the thing I probably didn't care for too much in this book was the very limited plot. With an entire new planet to tell a story it is limited to a very small basic plot and doesn't delve too much into so much more. That made it a fairly easy read and decent but somewhat of a let down in totality. So if you like a fairly easy and quick read with good science but limited plot and stories about Mars it's worth a go.

[Liam Proven · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the single worst novels I've ever read. Avoid at all costs.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kudos to Kevin J. Anderson for using science fiction as a medium to explore the human condition. Issues such as where to find meaning when one's life work is done and is being carried on by others, of carving out an existence of one's own despite pressures not to upset the status quo, and coming to grips - or not - with aging and the realization that the place in the world you once had, or thought you had, is vanishing.

And kudos as well for using Russia and it's "heroic" tales as backdrop. It's a nice touch that fits in well with the themes of obsolescence and stoicism.

If such themes are of interest, I certainly believe that Climbing Olympus is well worth a read.

If one is looking for hard sci fi, though, I believe you'll find it of less interest.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book could have been a lot more attractive if the author had added either his trademark humour to it, or made it a hardboiled drama with wisecracks. Alas! All that he created here was a very diluted, slow, and flat story following predictable lines. In fact, the blurb says all that's to be found here!
Frustrating.

[Becky Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It was a story of terraforming Mars with lots of struggles and humanity. It had lots of action and great plot lines. If you enjoy stories about Mars colonization this is a great read. Perhaps a sequel…

[Becky Rosas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It was a story of terraforming Mars with lots of struggles and humanity. It had lots of action and great plot lines. If you enjoy stories about Mars colonization this is a great read. Perhaps a sequel…

[J.C. Crumpton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff from Mr. Anderson. I was afraid it was going to be predictable...but it swerved at the end.

[LeAnn Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Great plot twists, believable characters, interesting background. What more needs to be said?

[Emily Goodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an intriguing read with INCREDIBLE plot twists. The story was riveting and mind boggling that kept pulling me back in for more!

[Charl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. The concept was interesting, the characters believable, and the science was, for the most part, seemingly sound.

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fair followup to Fred Pohl's landmark novel Man Plus (which you should actually read first before you read this). In fact, Anderson deftly slips in a reference to the Pohl novel at one point, so it's nice to see him acknowledge those who had the ideas first.

The story is actually decent, and Anderson handles the plot details fairly well. The weak part of this novel involves the characters. They are well-developed, but uniformly negative and morose. Only in the last 100 pages or so do we finally meet anybody who has a bit of spark and enthusiasm.

And the bad guy is just way too crazy. Hopelessly insane, and incapable of any accomplishment beyond sabotaging the work of others. Perhaps the archetypical terrorist, but I would have appreciated a villain with more depth, and at least an attempt to make his struggle worth considering. The reader never gets to ponder the merit of his quest, because he's just so crazy.

This is the first novel I've read by Kevin J. Anderson, and it's one of his earlier works. I'll check out some more sometime and see what I think.

[Prester · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a kid, I always wondered what it would be like on Mars. This book gave me a good idea.

The storyline of a possible community on the red planet made me wonder again if it could happen in my lifetime.

This story moves quite well and deals with some human emotion as well as science. It even gives a miracle or two. I hope that Kevin J. Anderson revisits this story in the future.

I would recommend this one for all Sci-Fi fans.

[Dmadden · Rating 3 out of 5]

An actually not too bad book from a guy who's main gig seems to be writing Star Wars/X-Files stuff.

[Warren Liebeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable to some degree, but very enjoyable. Believable.

[Keith B · Rating 2 out of 5]

Early Anderson. Not the best,actually pretty predictable.

[Roo · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF