I'm always up for a space colonization story and I have read other books by Lerner and enjoyed them very much so, I was happy to jump into this. While I enjoyed all aspects of this, I must admit that the politics was what really drew me in. There was an antagonist group that did not want any remnants of Mars brought back to Earth, making all outbound trips one way. No returns at all. They added an interesting element to this story and not something I've encountered in other colonization stories. That some of them were so radical as to undertake terroristic actions to achieve their ends was very interesting. As always, watching the groups on Mars figure out how to ally up and work out where their loyalties and fates lie (on Mars or on Earth), was very well done also.

I'd of course read another by Lerner (have some of his books waiting for me now) and I'm glad I read this. My only regret is that I usually save books of this length for my summer vacation but alas, I needed to read this and review it before August. I'd definitely recommend this.

Many thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for an Advance Reader's Copy.

Thanks to Edward M. Lerner, ARC Manor, Caezik SF & Fantasy and Netgalley for access to the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Excellent SF story on the colonization of Mars and the rivalries between the US, China, and the private sector. Realistic challenges and politics abound with imaginative resolutions. The main characters are likeable, and the story moves along well. Recommended.

Review posted on Goodreads manually due to technical issues:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6249332871

Edward M. Lerner https://www.edwardmlerner.com is the author of more than 20 books & novels. Life and Death on Mars was published in mid-December. It is the 114th book I completed reading in 2023.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to some minor scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as PG.

It is 2035, and a new Cold War has arisen. This time between the US and China. When US intelligence learns that the Chinese government will soon announce a mission to Mars, the US president preempts them by proclaiming a US mission. Joining those two is an effort funded by New Earth Partners. A consortium of the world’s wealthiest people.

Opposing all of these efforts is the PPL (Planetary Protection Legions). They are not against exploration, just against any material or people returning to Earth after touching foot on Mars. Some in the movement are radical enough to use terrorism to achieve their goals.

The US effort succeeds, in large part, due to the efforts of NASA engineer Alexander ‘Xander’ Hopkins. At the President’s request, Xander reluctantly agrees to become one of the US astronauts. His out-of-the-box approach to problems and technical abilities are instrumental in the success of the US mission.

Brazilian mechanical engineer Maria Theresa ‘Teri’ Rodriguez has been billionaire Blake Wagner’s project manager. He and the New Earth Partners selected her to command their independent mission to Mars.

Systems and computer engineer Wang Kai is a Major in the Chinese Strategic Support Forces. He is the second in command for the joint China, Russia, and India Mars mission.

The plot revolves around these three. Obstacles are encountered to just leave Earth. All endure a nine-month flight to Mars. Once on the red planet, life gets even tougher. The three teams suffer accidents, as well as treachery and rivalries.

[NOT a spoiler] The first vessel leaves Mars to return home to Earth with samples that indicate that Mars had life in the distant past. Those onboard the spacecraft catch a mysterious and lethal virus. The spacecraft is destroyed long before reaching Earth.

By this time, there have been casualties. The toughest challenges for those remaining on Mars lie ahead. Contrary to their respective chains of command, the three groups begin to cooperate. Will they survive internal conflicts within the teams? Will they be resupplied from Earth? Will more colonists arrive?

I enjoyed the 13.5 hours I spent reading this 551-page science fiction novel. I enjoyed this novel. It reminded me of Andy Weir’s novels Project Hail Mary and The Martian. The plot is a combination of science, intrigue, and betrayal. The chosen cover art is OK. I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

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I have enjoyed several of this author’s books. This one is one of his best.

Go to Mars!

From the early stages of the idea, the implementation and all of the intrigues, politics and challenges that go along for the ride are included in the story. You see the story unfold from multiple perspectives, and get to watch as the folks on the front lines are impacted by forces greater than them, and ultimately return the favor.

The science underpinning the story seems solid, the characters are well developed and experienced significant personal growth along the way and the story keeps you guessing. Often with such a large cast of characters, things can get confusing. That was not the case as the characters became real and you could follow their individual threads without issue.