DavidWeisman's Full Review: Ian Douglas - Semper Mars
The 'face on mars' is known to be artificial, and the United States has archaeologists at Cydonia base on Mars looking to learn about the makers - and the unknown technologies they used. The United Nations is also sending a ship to mars, and American intelligence indicates it is filled with fifty members of the French foreign legion in the service of the UN - which will outnumber the unarmed scientists. The USA sends a contingent of Marines. They arrive on mars and become involved in a huge discovery promising insights into human origins and new technologies much sooner than could have been imagined. The UN wants to prevent publication of the discovery, and monopolize the technology for themselves. While mars is still at peace, they treacherously take the marines prisoner and put them somewhere they consider safe. In order to communicate with Earth, they will have to cross mars without being caught, and win a battle at the end. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the UN is trying to stomp out the last vestiges of national sovereignty in the United States, one of the few nations still defying them.
The Good
This is military science fiction, very light and easy to read. If the politics written above sounds authentic to you, you might like it. The dialog, routines, and traditions of the Marines ring more authentic than the rest of the book, so if you enjoy both Marine traditions and futuristic military science fiction you might like this.
The Bad
Almost everything is two dimensional and black and white. Even the marines who snuck liquor and a flag to have everyone autograph and sell back on Earth seem to have had their roughest edges filed off. If you know much about the 'face on mars' that may right a false bell with you also. The motivations of the antagonists don't always make sense or feel real - they're just being what a certain segment of the American right would expect them to be.
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