One Day on Mars

The Tau Ceti Agenda #1

by Travis S. Taylor

Critical events on Mars threaten to engulf the entire planet in violent revolution as the underclass of Martian colonists plots to free the Martian citizens from the control of the powerful Sol System government. By the author of Warp Speed

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Space Opera, Adventure, Ebooks

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 2, 2007

About the author

Travis Shane Taylor is a born and bred southerner and resides just outside Huntsville, Alabama. He has a Doctorate in Optical Science and Engineering, a Master’s degree in Physics, a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, all from the University of Alabama in Huntsville; a Master’s degree in Astronomy from the Univ. of Western Sydney, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Alabama.

Dr. Taylor has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past sixteen years. He is currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and systems, and next generation space launch concepts. He is also involved with multiple MASINT, SIGINT, IMINT, and HUMINT concept studies.

He has published over 25 papers and the appendix on solar sailing in the 2nd edition of Deep Space Probes by Greg Matloff.

His first science fiction novel is, Warp Speed, and his second is The Quantum Connection published by Baen Publishing. He is also working on two different series with best-selling author John Ringo also by Baen Publishing. He has several other works of both fiction and nonfiction ongoing.

Travis is also a Black Belt martial artist, a private pilot, a SCUBA diver, races mountain and road bikes, competed in triathlons, and has been the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of several hard rock bands. He currently lives with his wife Karen, his daughter Kalista Jade, two dogs Stevie and Wesker, and his cat Kuro.

Reviews

[Glenn O'Bannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't bother.

Ugh! DO NOT believe the comparison with the TV show 24. The only thing this book has in common with 24 is the one day time period. No hero really. No political intrigue. No spycraft. Not even any plot twists.

There is very little interpersonal communication beyond military comm and chit-chat. Certainly no romantic relationships.

Instead what we get is chapter after chapter of profanity-laced interaction between--well, in any communication that goes on between any people of any kind. I get the impression that the author doesn't himself know how to communicate without f-this, g d-that. And I mean CONSTANTLY.

Then there is the ultra (read: painfully, excruciatingly) detailed descriptions of battles, mech, machinery, and spacecraft. Right down to mathematical formulas and vomit-inducing g-forces. Page after page of it. This author loves his technology.

Too bad he doesn't love his characters nearly as much. Nor I suspect even his plot.

Wow, did the book description ever fool me! But the misery is over now. Maybe a little Pepto Bismol would help.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Big, bad government is set against terrorist rebels. Both sides think they are representing the ideals of the U.S. I kept asking myself, "Why is this
a science fiction book?" It seems like it could have been a story set in the current world or even the recent past. There was really no reason for Mars to be in this nor anything to do with spaceships. It is one battle, beginning to end. A simplistic war novel.

It read to me like the author wanted to write something in this genre because he felt he could sell it in the genre, not because he actually likes science fiction. To be fair, this is the first in a series of books, so maybe it gets more sci-fi and/or more interesting later in the series. That said, I'd rather take my chances with a series with a more promising start.

[Julio Biason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, let's try something different here:

(-) Long paragraphs, that just make things hard to read and with lots of useless information, sometimes, running out of topic.
(-) Macross, without acknowledging Macross or the Macross world or anything Macross, really.
(-) Super-powerful rebellion, which manages to be even stronger than a super-country army + navy.
(-) MURRICA, FUCK YEAH!
(+) Good descriptions of the action, even with the huge amount of cruft in them.
(=) Weak sci-fi, even if the world is "sci" in a way -- which could be related to the Macross-but-not-Macross thingy.

Mars, under the influence of the huge "UNITED STATES OF FUCKING AMERICA" (not actual title, but actual feeling given by the author), is being terraformed. But rebels, which think America diverted from the forefathers ideals, think it's better to move to somewhere else and make the "REAL AMERICA" (again, not actual title in the title, but feeling given by the rebel characters).

What happens is a clusterfuck of information and lack of information at the same time: It starts with one event, in which the backstory is giving in long, incredible tiring paragraphs of text, and then some action happens and the initial event is mostly ignored. What did happen? Oh, a glimpse! And then... nothing.

"Incredible, tiring paragraphs" is a nice way to put "wall of text". Instead of focusing in some point, the paragraph starts and then derails on into some backstory, character development or some stupid description of something instead of focusing on what it started. So the next paragraph -- which is, again, another wall of text -- picks up and then derails again.

In those walls of text, there is some Macross, and by that I mean there are actual descriptions of the Valkyries robots, which turn from plane to robot and an "in between" mode. But they are never called Valkyries, the world of Macross is never acknowledged or mentioned. Simply, the design for the massive weapons are "borrowed" from the series, without ever making any connection with it.

And, while we are talking about the weapons, the descriptions put a massive army of robots against another huge army of robots. Now, think we me: You have an army. A well funded army. By a country that loves the army. And then you have some rebels, that don't have the proper tech or research for creating such weapons. Which side do you think would amass a larger numerical advantage? THE REBELS, OBVIOUSLY! /facepalm Sure, they found a way to interrupt the well-funded, well-researched army communication at the start, but even with that, the well-funded, well-researched army would simply be too large for that to even be a problem. But, then again, the well-funded, well-researched army gets almost completely obliterated in the end. Suuuure.

There is a series for this book -- in which it is the very first one -- but considering how tiring it is to read, how bullshittery the "MURRICA, FUCK YEAH" feeling it passes around, the absurdity of rebels amassing a force stronger than the whole "MURRICA, FUCK YEAH" army and navy, I'm not sure I actually want to read the next chapter.

[Hakan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not really sure whether I like that book. On one hand, the idea with an embedded AI as a constant companion is nicely thought through and presented. On the other hand, the battle feels like even more bolter porn than some Warhammer books. I am using the singular in "battle" intentionally, the one day presented in the book feels like one extended slugfest from the beginning to the end. Even the more sciency parts of the battle, e.g. where the AIs take over work from humans where human biology simply cannot keep up with the stresses and speed demands of space battle, cannot make up for all those long stretches which feel like an anime cartoon.

Still, I might look out for other books in this series, and if only to see what happens on A... Ah, *spoiler* :)

[Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a novelty to me as a leftwingish European, since the book has a clear pro-Republican US political position, complete with heroic war hero Rep senator and comically incompetent, spineless and ratings obsessed Democratic president in charge of an Earth where every other country has been subsumed into the United States. It doesn't affect the quality of the story at all, it was just a notable difference in perspective for me.

The story is a fun sci-fi romp with lots of action and colourful if slightly flat characters. Apparently marines communicate 80% with 'hooah' and 'guns guns guns' - especially the latter could have appeared far less in favour of trusting the reader to know that the characters would be using these kinds of shorthand communication as part of the fight, without writing it out every time.

I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt with 3 stars when I'd say 2.5 really. It's not the very best writing, but almost a year after reading I remember it fondly enough. Not sure I'll bother continuing the story with the next book, but the thought has crossed my mind. If nothing else, 'guns guns guns' is somewhat stuck in my brain now.

[Roberto · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's well written.. But is all over the place' how are we to care for anyone when the point of view jumps all over the place, what to take from the picture that this book described? everyone is an ass in the future, there is a lot of cool tech like personal A.I embedded in the brain, A.I are more likeable than people (Spider Trash bots are awesome) that it'.

From the entire cast I likeded an adrenaline junky, a smart kid and a trash bot.. that it.

P.D: no one explained how the colonies terrorist did have such an advanced technologies, but i kinda don't care.. so do I read the next one, most likely because my friend will lend it to me, if I did have to buy it? then it would be a no.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an enjoyable read for the most part, and the world-building is fantastic. There is a sense of enticing chaos throughout the novel which draws you into the plot.

Unfortunately, I feel the chaos sometimes detracts from the book as well. There is a balance, and I think Taylor missed it-not by a mile, but by a margin. The book flickers around so much that in the end it's almost impossible to really feel connected or care about any of the characters. I need someone to root for, and although there were a few (the Senator in particular) that fit the bill, I never felt familiar enough with anyone.

All in all though, it's a fun romp.

[Luis Gonzalez · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just one very long descriptive battle. There are no breaks between story sections and sometimes I was not sure which area of the story I was reading.
I guess this book was a set up for the senator aspirations and future wars but the reading was tiring.
One book in this series was enough for me.

[Crystal L Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Non Stop Action

This is a great story. The characters are very well written and in a very complex situation. They are easy to identify with. You are transported into the future and you see the intriguing view of very real problems that still exist in the future.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb read

This is an outstanding book, action-packed and with well teal see characters. I look forward to reading the whole series.

[Dantegideon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Make like a tree, Nancy, and get out of here.

[Daryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so filled with swearing that I could barely get through it. Probably would have been a good story except this ruined it.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[BBFlyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story, but way too much swearing. Also, no explanation of a war that is taking hundreds of thousands of lives.

[Doug · Rating 1 out of 5]

just didn't do it for me.

[Donna Hornick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate it 3.5 stars if I could! There are more in the series, on to the next.

[Leons1701 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every SF fan knows that the Rebels, be they Lunies, Martians, Belters or the Outer Colonies, are the good guys. They will be smarter and more clever than the minions of the uncaring, corrupt, EarthGov, Central Planets, whatever. And at the beginning of "One Day on Mars", this seems to be the case. The central government is certainly corrupt and uncaring and the rebels are certainly clever. But then we start to find out how they treat captives. And how they are willing to massacre civilians. And suddenly they aren't quite so sympathetic.
This is not Taylor's strongest work here. He's at his best when explaining how some amazing piece of advanced tech might work, something he really doesn't do in this book. Having just read "Warp Speed" and it's sequel, I have a pretty good idea how most of the tech would be explained, but it isn't. This is full on, non-stop action. Frankly, it reads like the novelization of an anime, one that didn't get made because Harmony Gold objected too much. I could never picture the FM-12 as anything but a VF-1 Valkyrie Veritech fighter, and it's not the only transformable mecha, just the best described one. Plus, the political background is just the sort of sketchy, easily described idea (America is the world government) one might expect from such a show.
This is primarily the story of two people on the same side who never meet. One is a minor Senator sent to handle negotiations with the Separatists. His selection is an indication of just how seriously Earth takes their demands and he spends most of his time vacationing with his family because, well, the Separatists aren't talking. But when it all drops in the pot, a very mediocre politician reveals that once upon a time, he was a pretty good Marine. And you don't threaten a Marine's family.
The other is a CIA agent sent to infiltrate the Separatists. Unfortunately, her half of the book is mostly a setup for the sequel, while interesting, it really doesn't get anywhere conclusive.
I was tempted to give this book two stars, but I had too much fun picturing everything Macross/Robotech style in my head and I had to give it three. And I will check out the sequel, even if I suspect it won't be much better, because I did have fun reading this.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Day of Mars starts off in a most interesting manner. There is a spy story to be told... And then, from there, the novel moves into a HUGE military conflict that takes place in ONE DAY- hence the title-- and the spy is all but forgotten.....

This is military Science fiction. If you don't like that sort of thing that avoid it like the plague. I tend to be interested in it-- but not interested enough to continue with this story. Why? Because like many soldiers in battle, I was overwhelmed by the action. The action began to become filler to me with the real plot going on in the background. The theme would be the sacrifice of noble soldiers, prepared to give their lives for their nation. In that manner, the novel is very fine.

However, the problem is that the author already had a three book deal (apparently) and therefore the Spy story (which was really the most interesting part to me) gets back -burnered until the end of the book where we find that her mission has only just begun. It makes sense with the plot that her mission is going to be one that takes time and obviously she cannot find all the intelligence she needs in just ONE DAY...

However, books that are going to be the first in a trilogy ought to be marked as such across the cover. Sometime like "The First in the Exciting New Series" I hate reading what appears to be a stand-alone novel only to find out I've got to read two more to get the whole story. However, if I know it going in I would be more inclined to do so.

Further problems, for me, was the FM-12 units-- which made me think that the author watched too many episodes of Transformers and got too involved in the mechwarrior RPG and miniature games from long ago. Units which go from a robot type mode to a Space fighter in nothing flat just sounded extremely absurd to me.

There was one early on discussion about a spaceship's septic system. It seemed to go on too long-- As I read that section, I felt like it would play an important part in the story... And it did... kudos to the author for that interesting twist. Funny and cleverly worked into the story.

I won't continue on, though... this is where we part. To me-- this was just too much like an episode of Transformers.

[Ben Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. After reading some real garbage I really wanted to like this book. This was supposed to be my military-science-fiction salvation...but it wasn't. I gave this book three stars and I truly believe it deserves no less. No, it didn't blow me away but it was a entertaining and that's nice. The downer here is the prose and characterization. Stereotypical in almost every dimension, reading this book is like listening to a wannabe Marine brag about "teh Corps". First of all, as known to anyone ever in the military, even the grunts don't curse as much as the servicemen and women in "One Day On Mars".

And it sure doesn't help that the dialogue is so cliched and gung-ho it makes for reading that compares to attempting to swim in peanut butter. In a few centuries, when humans are colonizing Mars, I really doubt the nations that exist today will exist then. So calling your fictional nation The United States Of America is not so good an idea if your going for believability. Artificial Intelligence is not too big a deal with me unless it takes the form of a microchip implanted inside pretty much everyone. Putting aside the fact that there is no practical reason to have a companion intelligence inside your brain (much less a computer) the implications of a brain dwelling AI computer if not fully explored tend to make a novel rakish.

Despite the annoying details "One Day On Mars" still managed to captivate me but as soon as I read something like "The seppie motherfuckers surrounded the Captain of the Warboys leaving him no place to go but Hell" it knocked me back to frustrated. There are elements of this book that make for what could have been a knock 'em to the floor read and for those reasons I wish I could give it four stars but I won't. What bugs me most about Taylor is that I can tell that he is capable of doing so much better...or maybe I just picked up on someone who edited the book. In any case the book was good, better than some in fact but the writer doesn't articulate the story into a masterpiece even though it was so close to being one.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

"One Day on Mars" is a SciFi thriller more than any thing else with lots of action and a lot of detail. Unfortunately this has more action than I care for. I wanted more story so the author lost one star for that one.

The story: It is 24 hours on Mars and Earth. The President of the United States wants information regarding the rebels on Mars and just as that spy operation gets stared an all out revolution takes place, or so it seems.

Any Problems? As I recall they use the F-word quite a bit. It is in context, so it is not gratuitous. Children are in danger but the children are protected by adults as much as possible. No sex is portrayed in the story. There isn't time.

Things are moving fast and that is one of the problems. If this were a movie I'd call this a fast-paced movie. But it is a book and I am not a speed reader any more. So... even though it seems as if problems are being solved slowly, when I look at the time stamp, these problems are solved amazingly swiftly. I simply can't read that fast.

I was disappointed that there wasn't more time to develop the characters. (Of course there wasn't time. It's a Day on Mars.) Nevertheless, I would have preferred to spend more time with the Senator and his family trapped in the middle of a revolution.

The ending is reasonable given that the title warns the reader that this is only one day. Therefore many issues will remain unsolved at the end of the day. It is left with an intriguing question, otherwise known as a cliffhanger, but it's not too bad. The major immediate issues come to a reasonable place by the end of the book.

Would I read this book again? I'm not sure. I certainly want to read the next book in the series, "The Tau Ceti Agenda".

[Andreas · Rating 2 out of 5]

The entire plot is set, not entirely unexpectedly, during one day on Mars. The United States is now a Solar System wide government that even extends to a few extrasolar colonies. However, a nation of separatists exists in a “reservation” on Mars. On this day, the separatists attack the United States. The book follows the military actions, and the unexpected plan of the separatists.

As a military science fiction action book, this is a pretty good one. Stuffed with action scenes involving futuristic weapons like shape-shifting robots (think Transformers that can become fighter plane, robot, tank), the book drags you along at a furious pace. So far so good. The backstory, filled in over the course of the novel, is interesting, telling how the United States has become ever more detached from its original ideals of true democracy and representation. The president runs instant polls to figure out how to deal with crises instead of making decisions on his own. The separatists don’t shy away from atrocities. They also decry the current United States, and see themselves as defenders of the freedom of individuals to make their own choices. One thing that bugged me was the sub-par editing, especially in the first half of the book. There is an excess of spelling and grammatical errors, as well as some poor style. This is especially irritating given Baen Books’ typically high standards in that department

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=1415

[Thomas Clemen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll give it two stars for its imaginative universe and fast paced action. Interesting to make a book a bit like "24".

Here are the reasons it does not get the remaining three stars from me:

One, questionable use of third person omniscient - the book sports in-scene head-jumping (POW switching) and I even spotted several instances of in-paragraph head-jumping. That would be ok if it was used for effect or if it was some sort of literary piece. In this book it just felt confusing and annoying to the reader, like the author was being lazy (show it, don't tell it and all that jazz).

Two, it is fine that an author has a political stance and uses it in his art, but here it might have been used with a LITTLE bit more subtlety - the Democrat fat cat in the white house, the flag waving underdogs being suppressed by "liberal" media, the hero is a former marine GOP senator that is as good as the day is long and comes in and saves the day by kicking ass, the sanctimonious praise of the American Constitution ... a few times during the book the American Conservative nutjobbery becomes a bit much for this Euro reader.

Three, the book could have benefited from a stricter proof and editing. There an above average number of grammar / spelling issues and repetitive wording episodes.

That being said, I'll read the next installment and see if it gets better.

[Chris Scala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather silly, yet enjoyable for what it is. The story is good, there are engaging characters and the world-smithery interesting but I found it loaded with silly tropes (and perhaps soon-to-be tropes). Artificial gravity, acceleration compensators, "structural integrity fields", c-fractional hand weapons, sunflower-seed sized sentient AI, and more... At least the "hyperdrive" requires months and months of travel to go even a single light year - even if that is inconsistent with some of the ridiculously high technology otherwise posited....and I'm still trying to figure out why the author felt that "Mecha" were a realistic extrapolation of military technology. I mean, they're cool I guess, who doesn't want their fighter plane or tank to be able to transform into a gigantic robot? They just don't make sense to me.

I liked it, but I'm hoping the writer matures as the series goes on...

[Bryan457 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know what to say about this book. There was a lot, and I mean a lot of action. There was no real protagonist; it just followed groups of people through the fog of war during a revolution that lasted for one day or Mars. There did not seem to be any clear good side or bad side to root for. Although there were a lot of heroic individuals and actions. The set up for the next book was interesting, feels like the story was just getting started.

One annoyance that kept catching my attention was the sound effects the pilots made when clenching their muscles to withstand high G maneuvers (oooooooooog aaaaaaaaagh uuuuuuuunnnnnh grunted the pilot as he pulled another maneuver). I think I saw that 5 times in the space of 5 pages.

[Wampuscat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fairly good book. A rebellion on Mars against the ultimate power in human space, the United States, is kicked off by those who at first glance appear to be terrorist bad guys. The politics was a definite right slant, which I liked, but kind of hard to follow until the reveal at the end. The science & tech was good. The action was prevalent and intense, but not great. The characters were ok, at least the main ones, but there were many and they were not developed enough to get to appreciate them. Many of them ended up being red shirts, so there's that grain of salt to take with it. Overall, the writing style was kind of clunky, but I would call this one a fun read, and I may follow up with the next in the series to see how it goes. 3 stars, and I call it a Fairly Good Read.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Day On Mars is a fun, action-packed, satisfying military science fiction novel. This book is full of battle and action sequences, and is more interesting then the run-of-the-mill military science fiction novel. Taylor does an excellent job at describing the battlefield from a number of perspectives, in such a way, that the reader is able to appreciate the story by having the different opinions, motivations, and justifications of the different characters. The ending of this novel made me eagerly look forward to reading the sequel because Taylor is good at balancing the action and writing style with technology, politics, a interesting setting, and a good plot.

[Robert D · Rating 2 out of 5]

A combination of "24" and "Robotech". While the book takes place over 24 hours, there are far too many characters and sub-plots to make the format workable. As a reader you are simply taken along trying to figure out what is happening. There are a few plot twists to keep it interesting but with the multitude of characters and the finite time frame there is no character development. There is simply the battle and tales of survival. Once I finished the book, it was apparent that in reality this was a setup for everything that I assume is too follow.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book more. It has a lot of elements I tend to enjoy. Unfortunately it just doesn't feel like it flows well enough. And it needed another look through by an editor. I think a few years ago I wouldn't have had a problem with this book, but having now read a lot of incredible space fiction, I just find this one lacking. To give it a description, I'd say the Robotech novels meet Tom Clancy meet Keith Douglass.

[Jenn Mercer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note: audiobook
I confess, when I marked this book as "finished," I meant that I was finished with it. I tried, I really did, but I did not care at all about what was happening. The author made basic science errors, the characters were carciatures, and I started twitching every time the Senator/former marine said ooh-rah. I decided to switch over to a book by Scott Sigler (Nocturnal), and my sense of relief was so strong I knew immediately that I had made the right decision.

[Nathan Balyeat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doc can tell a good story. The only thing that really weakened this one is his use of transformable fighting machines. I just wasn't really able to suspend my incredulity in what would otherwise be a great, hard sci-fi action book.

It's a fun read if you can get past transforming robot fighting machines though.