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In April of 2009,"The Guns Of Mars" was selected as semi-fnalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, making it one of only 7 Science Fiction novels to achieve that high status. During the contest, it was given the following review by a writer at Publishers Weekly:
What's not to like about a feisty young woman who goes into a virtual reality, encounters her childhood hero in danger, helps rescue him, and falls in love? Lorna Forsyth and her wealthy hero, Morgan Asher, emerge from simulated world Fantasan and embark together on Lorna's dream of space exploration. But moments later, Morgan's alone on Mars, near death, and the reason, which involves a tantalizingly mix of futuristic science and social-engineering, occupies the next two-thirds of the book. The discovery of a DNA alteration that reverses aging, a push for planetary colonization to deal with Earth’s overpopulation, forced teleportation that may alter personalities, espionage, and war all play a part in this exacting, exciting fantasy thriller. In short order, the Mars colony where Lorna and Morgan have been sent becomes the battleground for a clash between Earth's major political factions. While the book sometimes stumbles on awkward language, the author is skilled at revealing a new character with just a few words or a single line of dialogue, which makes for colorful, fast-paced reading. The first two-thirds of this ambitious, and cleverly plotted SF novel is in a league with Robinson's "Red Mars." The final third feels a bit rushed, though there are certainly plenty of spine-tingling surprises as characters employ futuristic weapons and old-fashioned double- and triple-crossing to win the Martian war.
That review was given to the original, rough draft of this work. The manuscript has since been refined, and transformed into a veritable masterpiece of speculative fiction. It is clear the reviewer still enjoyed "The Guns of Mars," despite the early flaws in the first draft. I wonder what the reviewer will think of the finished product. |
