Retrograde: A Novel
3.5/5
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About this ebook
“For lovers of Andy Weir’s The Martian, here’s a true hard-science-fiction tale set on the red planet — a terrific blend of high tech and high tension, of science and suspense, of character and crisis.” — Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award–winning author of Red Planet Blues
“Post-apocalyptic disaster meets fractured utopian space exploration in this terrifying tale, which Cawdron (Anomaly) sets in a scientific outpost on Mars . . . This tense cat-and-mouse game plays off fears . . . to satisfying result.” — Publishers Weekly
Venturing into space and traveling to Mars sounds like an exotic adventure, but the reality of living on a rocky, frozen, lifeless planet is exacting on the Mars Endeavour crew. The exhilaration of reaching the surface of Mars has worn off for the public, and the exploration has moved into its scientific phase. The only viable option for long-term habitation lies hundreds of feet beneath the surface, in lava caves that shield humans from harsh cosmic radiation.
Connor, Harrison, and Liz are senior members of the U.S. module. When war breaks out on Earth and rumors spread to Mars, their core principles are rocked by the devastation and loss of friends and family. Whom can you trust on an international mission when your countries are at war? As colonists from different nations struggle to figure out what really happened on Earth, grief and anger become pitted against camaraderie and the spirit of exploration.
“Science fiction as it should be. Retrograde combines realistic characters with depictions of Mars as our explorers will one day find it in a powerful story. A must-read!” — Ben Bova, Hugo Award winner and author of the Grand Tour series
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Reviews for Retrograde
37 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chinese, Eurasian, Russian and American teams have established a colony on Mars. It's built into existing lava tubes under the surface, where they grow crops with grow lights and mechanical harvesters and tenders, in the intersection of the four pods, under a sealed dome. Shortly after the opening of the story, nuclear war breaks out on Earth, with key cities destroyed, all over the planet. It's not clear who bombed who, but all the colonists are ordered back to their respective tubes, and suspicion of each other stops any cooperation. A resupply ship scheduled to land and replenish the colonists' supplies, additionally bringing another 3D printer, is reported by the computer systems to have missed rendezvous. But the protagonist has her doubts, so she takes a river out on an unauthorized trip to the landing site, and nearly dies, as the life support systems show a nearly drained battery when she has the return trip still to make. It looks like sabotage, and back in the colony, members start dying. Now the colonists start questioning who started war on Earth, and who is killing colonists on Mars?
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Good characterization and seemingly-strong science (seemingly only because I'm no scientist and wouldn't know one way or the other) are done a disservice by an under-developed "villain"/conflict. The book is short, at under 250 pages, so perhaps a few more pages to allow the plot to really develop would have been helpful.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5RetrogradeBy: Peter CawdronNarrated by: Sarah Mollo-ChristensenAnother favorite book by Cawdron...Earth has many colonist and scientist on Mars then one day the Mars groups hear bits and pieces of bad new then nothing. War, nukes all over the world. No one knows who started it, each nation's pod is given different info. Now on Mars, no one trust each other. But now, whoever started the war on Earth is starting the war on Mars. It is so freaking exciting!!! Sci-fi, mystery, and so much more! With his books it is always that more that gets you... that is what keeps me coming back to his books. What is life? Such a good book.The narrator is such a great actress, had me on the edge of my seat! Wonderful job!!!