NEW RELEASE - EMERGENT MARS (eBook)
Across the stark, unforgiving expanse of Mars, a unique future society unfolds, one that teeters on the brink of triumph - and catastrophe.
With relationships between Mars and Earth careening towards breaking point, Ailia Bax, a war-weary journalist haunted by flashbacks from her past, is thrust into the heart of the brewing conflict. A terrorist threat dogs her every step, and she must navigate a treacherous landscape of intrigue, the fickleness of human nature, and her own demons.
Set against the backdrop of a vividly imagined Martian society composed of humans and sapient robots striving towards a utopian future, Ailia is forced to delve deep into the complexities of Red Planet life. As she forges alliances, she becomes an unlikely ally in the Martians' fight for self-determination and makes decisions that will ultimately shape the fate of a new world.
Compelling and immersive from start to finish, with outstanding characters and superb world-building, Emergent Mars is a thought-provoking science fiction tale and a slow-burn political thriller rolled into one. A thoroughly engrossing read for adults that manages to combine real science, philosophy, psychology, and political economy into a stunning portrait that could completely change how you imagine our future beyond the confines of Earth.
What readers are saying ...
"Recommended for all Mars fans who enjoy detailed humanist political worldbuilding and are intrigued by how a functioning society might develop on the Red Planet in the near future."
"This book is extremely well written. The prose describing Mars is right on! It was a pleasure to read and made you part of the Martian experience."
"The books that it reminded me most of were Le Guin's The Dispossessed and Bear's Moving Mars, though it was definitely its own story told in its own way. It's a slow-boil political thriller... Even so, it's not at all dull and the author does a good job of bringing the settlements to life and also the beauty of the planet. The characters he uses to do it through, are both interesting and lovable."
Meet the characters ...
Ailia Bax
Born in Portland, Oregon, she's the orphaned daughter of US diplomats and also a burnt-out war correspondent struggling with graphic flashbacks and long-term PTSD. Accepting a reporting gig on Mars, she finds renewal and fresh purpose there. But the Red Planet isn't going to make things easy for her.
Reinhardt Gurooman
Born in Ipswich, Queensland and an Australian First Nations Yugembeh-Turrbal-Yagera man, he was originally an advanced warfare specialist in the Royal Australian Navy. Migrating to Mars to help with the construction effort he is now part of Martian Security.
Wu Hui Yin
Hailing from California, she's a Chinese American and the General Manager of Operations at Lineer Base and also the Chair of the Council of Mars General Managers, the planet’s current governing body.
Dr. Aarav Varghese
Born in Bihar and educated at a private school in England, Aarav spent time as the interim CEO at the South African National Space Agency in Pretoria. He eventually migrating to Mars and is now the General Manager of Operations at Parabo Base.
Ohm
A Martian-built sapient robot, or mecha, ey is the General Manager of Martian Tourism and Terran Affairs.
Tanginika Bouton
General Manager of Engineering at Retic Base, she’s an Earth-born African-American woman of French ancestry.
Ed Burrows
Earth-born CEO of a local Martian worker-owned start-up called Marzcon, a diversified business specializing in producing fuel for return rockets, inspection, maintenance, and refurb of Earth-return and Belt destination rockets, as well as asteroid mining operations.
Dr. Hiroto Tanaka-Jiryoku
Martian-born to Japanese and Canadian parents, he's the General Manager of Mining and Processing at Transver Base on the Martian moon of Phobos.
Reyna Vasques-Parsec
Martian-born to Hispanic parents, she's a high energy and particle physicist as well as one of the co-owners of the famous burlesque bar, Pubis Mons at Megari Base.