An ad for this book appeared on
my Facebook feed and borrowed it through Kindle Unlimited.
As we get closer to a possible
manned mission to Mars, it is not surprising to see authors letting their
imaginations run with the trope. Also, as technology advances, those stories
are getting more intricate. As far as I have read, most of the travel to the
Red Planet stories are all pretty much the same in formula. People travel to
Travel to Mars, there is trouble along the way, there is trouble on the
surface, people have to leave and return to Earth or die on an alien world. All
of them have their own plots and characters, and I enjoy them all. But Colony:
Life on Mars stands out as one that is unique among many I have read.
I read this story in a single
day, just not able to set it aside, and completely engaged every single minute
I read. I was honestly on the edge of my seat the entire time and only took a
break from reading to have dinner with the family.
I enjoyed the richness of the
tale of an advance team of astronauts and specialists heading out to make ready
for a much larger craft to arrive with not just a few others, but enough people
to found a colony. I enjoyed the diversity of characters. I loved the
descriptions of the science and technology as it appeared. Colony is a fun and
engaging story with an interesting twist.
There are a few plot-holes and
some typographical errors in the Kindle text, but, if one can suspend their
disbelief and overlook the typos, one will find a fantastic story of the plight
of people making the impossible plausible.
In the not-too-distant future,
Kelly Brown leads an international team of six astronauts on a journey to Mars.
Her team comprises her second in command, a doctor, and other people with
special skills to set up for the colonization of the planet. Weighing heavily
on her mind, along with leaving her husband behind, is a previous unsuccessful
mission that resulted in a destroyed space craft and a dead crew.
Kelly has been assured the
problems that plagued the previous mission have been solved. With the crew's successful
landing on the planet, it would seem everything will work out. But wait,
there's more.
One of the characters pointed
out that Mars seems like the kind of place that was made for killing
people.
There are numerous problems
that arise, and one thing leads to another. It becomes a real struggle for
survival as Kelly and her team awaits the arrival of the colony ship.
The characters n Colony are six
astronauts who have training for the mission, and each has their own area of
expertise. No character appears more important than the others, as they have to
work together for survival.
I think the most prominent
character in this story is the planet Mars itself. One of the characters in the
story makes the statement that the planet seems to try to kill them. It also
might seem the same to the reader. Most of the problems that happen with the
advance crew results from the elements of the planet. Dust storms, seismic
activity, and radiation are the major problems they face as the story unfolds.
The timing of the incidents is also a major factor.
The human characters are
written to behave as real people would. They are all good people, and some are
more flawed than others.
My takeaway from Colony is the
man vs. nature theme. The members of the crew sent to mars are all prepared, in
theory. But how can anyone be completely prepared for life in a place so
completely alien to anything humans have encountered before? It is difficult
enough to survive when nature seems against one, but in this case, it takes
extra careful planning and resilience.
As I mentioned at the outset,
there are a few shortcomings in this story, but I will not belabor them. The
quality of the story is enough to forgive the few flaws I found.
Colony is a well-paced new take
on the mission to Mars type story. It is fresh, entertaining, and jam-packed
with action and plot twists. I recommend this book for those who enjoy a good
character-driven story.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
He started writing during his
breaks while working on the wards as a way of escapism from the harsh reality
of hospital medicine. 2019 saw the publication of his first novel, The Danzig
Corridor, which was followed by Colony in 2020. Now, his work frequently takes
him overseas, so most of his writing is done at 30,000 feet.
Paul is an accomplished public
speaker and entertains audiences with his witty but challenging presentations,
covering a wide breadth of topics from Avoiding Career Burnout to How to study
for examinations.
Paul's favourite quote is
"Don't let yesterday take up too much of today!"
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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