Rebels of the Red Planet
Book Excerpt
They ate in silence. When supper was ended, the children scattered, some to play, others to chores. Goat beckoned to Adam and Brute to follow him. He led them down the corridor and into his study.
Goat turned on the light, revealing a book-lined, paper-stacked room focused on a huge desk. He removed his marsuit to stand in baggy trousers and loose tunic. Adam and Brute stood near the door, shifting uncomfortably, for the study was normally forbidden ground.
Goat stood by a thick double window, looking out over the desert to the west. The small sun disappeared beneath the horizon even as he looked, leaving the fast-darkening sky a dull, faint red. Almost as though released by the sunset, pale Phobos popped above the horizon and began to climb its eastward way. The desert already was dark, but a stirring above it bespoke a distant sandstorm.
Goat turned from the window and faced the pair.
"Well," he snapped harshly, "what happened?"
Adam smiled confidently.
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Readers reviews
First, there is an interesting story here. I wanted to continue reading until the end, and the ending wasn\'t really a let-down. So, for entertainment purposes, this gets a thumbs-up.
As for the bad, simply too many major plot points happen out of convenience for no particular reason. A major character suddenly switches sides in a conflict because of suddenly falling out of love with one character and just as suddenly falling in love with another. Yeah, right. That\'s believable - not. There are stupidities along the way. And the \"twist\" at the end is just way too convenient and unnecessary to be included. Throw in the sudden appearance of ESP and telekinesis, and you have a recipe for fluff. Additionally, I found the superficial treatment of the definition of humanity to be, frankly, repulsive.
This is the story of the attempt to colonize Mars permanently and economically. There\'s quite a complex play of interests involved, but it kind of boils down to the rebels and the government fighting for their respective control of the planet.
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A few characters are important for a few chapters, then disappear, and one I was most interested in--Shadow--never got explained. The final coincidence was a bit too much to believe, but a twisting, surprising story until the end.
>Takes place on a newly colonized Mars
>A wealthy and powerful powerful company vs. rag-tag rebels
>An attactive yet dangerous heroine.
Also includes a feature I always enjoy in 50's, 60's, and 70's sci-fi. They smoke cigarettes! (Example; not from this book)
Star Pilot Kral Drevl relaxed after landing his cruiser on Asteroid X-242 and lit a cigarette. He blew out a long stream of blue smoke into the cabin of the cruiser.
'Hey.' said the busty blue-skinned Princess Qwillia. 'How about giving me one of those.'
'Sure baby, sure.' replied Kral, lighting it for her.