Having survived Red
Venus a few months ago, Captain Nadezhda Gura of the spaceship Krasnyy Sokol and crew are dispatched to Mars on a rescue mission. Thanks to
the Russians recovering the prototype V-5 fission powered engine in the last
days of World War II, they gained a significant advantage in the space race. The
people living in the American colony, Chrystetown, are in serious trouble. The Krasnyy Sokol is the closest rescue ship
at a mere eight million kilometers distance.
As the only colony on
Mars, there is no one else on the planet to assist. An American spaceship, Fist
of Freedom, is on the way from Callisto, but it will take more than
three weeks to get to Mars. As Admiral Onegin points out, any gesture of
goodwill by Russia to help Americans could help ease tensions a little bit with
their superpower adversary. That is the public position. Something else is at
work behind the scenes and only the good Captain knows what was said to her privately
by the Admiral.
What the plan is and
what is happening at the colony are just two of several major points of this
highly entertaining story. Part adventure, part science fiction tale, and with
pieces of a mystery and a western added in to the mix, Pale Mars is another
highly atmospheric tale by talented author Garnett Elliott. More than
anything, as he did so well with Red Venus, once again there is that
certain pulp fiction space adventure style technique that makes this one another
very good and very fun read.
It is still really
cool.
Pale Mars
Garnett Elliott
Beat To A Pulp Press
August 2016
ASIN:
B01K2CBW1G
eBook (print format available)
136 Pages
$1.99
Material was supplied by the publisher
to read and review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2016
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