Martian Mist is a new idea based on an old trope; a boy and his dog strive to achieve a goal against seemingly impossible odds.
The book opens as we see our principal character, Zachary Grainger, engaged in some precarious business aboard his dirt bike and making a video for YouTube. As one might guess, the stunt doesn’t end well, but Zach is not seriously injured, except for his pride.
In the meantime, the first manned mission to Mars is returning to Earth. It was not a success by any definition of the word. All the crew are dead except for the mission commander, who has contracted some kind of alien disease. The onboard computer, an artificial intelligence capable of deciding, does everything it can to make sure the ship doesn’t reach home. It knows the disease is dangerous and could be catastrophic should the Daedelus reach home. Unfortunately, Mission Control signals the doomed spacecraft ordering the computer to override its programming. The Daedelus returns as ordered, and a massive plague infects the entire planet, creating air difficult to breathe and monsters larger than cars that prey on every living creature they can find.
Following the infection of the entire planet, Zach sets out on a journey to southern California where he hopes to find a real-life comic book character, Dr. Kai Rosebud, who has an army of robots ready and waiting to save the world. Zach’s journey picks up in the Arizona desert as he travels across the U.S. on his dirt bike with a canine companion he picked up along the way. Zach is looking for someone what may or may not exist in reality, but he has nothing else to hope for. He faces many deadly situations in his travels across the desert. Along with the alien creatures he calls “splizards” because they look like a cross between spiders and lizards, he encounters humans trying to survive as best they can, mostly through violence. Zach survives on his wits and what he has learned from his grandfather.
Martian Mist is a young adult story that I would estimate is appropriate for upper middle school and younger high school aged kids who would enjoy a science fiction story about a young man beating the odds while on a quest. The most terrifying aspect of this story is the encounters with the splizards. They are huge, can move fast, are extremely voracious, and they are relentless. They have a social structure that includes an alpha creature and several followers, and they are also intelligent. I enjoyed the way author, J Dallas Brooks, also included what the creatures were thinking as they tracked Zach and Blue across the desert and to their ultimate destination.
I enjoyed reading this story. The action starts from the outset and never slows until the end, leaving the reader with a sense of triumph. While it is YA Sci-Fi, I would say that anyone could enjoy this as a fun read. It is full of intense action scenes that will have the reader on the edge of their seat. I also think it would be a good story to introduce a young person to the Sci-Fi genre. It is a decent length book at 350 pages with a writing style that is easy to understand and follow while not being bogged down with a lot of technical jargon. Brooks does a good job of using words to help the reader visualize the action.
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
