Give Us This Mars (As It Is On Mars series) (The Saga Begun in As It Is on Mars Counter Pack Series, 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am a member of a book club of twelve, and we try to read as diverse a selection of books as possible. That includes SF books, which few of us would read without a prod.
"Give Us This Mars" is as good a page turner as I have ever read. Reading it was like being on a long and wonderful visit to Mars. I began on a Saturday morning and could not put it down. I continued until night, when I was forced to stop, with poor Astrid clinging to life by a thread. Next day brought more excitement, with Don giving me a big surprise. What happens is brilliant.
This unexpectedly thrilling read took me into a world of political intrigue, armed conflict, power politics at the highest level, and the physics of trebuchets (medieval artillery, which I understood even though I am not a scientist), with a light sprinkling of Zen philosophy.. All this combines to give a futuristic reenactment of events that took place in the years following the discovery of the Americas by Columbus. The way the trebuchet comes into the plot is not what you might think.
I got a sense of the alien landscape of Mars, and the experience of the dangers of Mars made for exciting reading. At times I even experienced an emotional involvement with the characters and events in the story. The author is usually thorough in his narration of events, but on occasion he shows sophistication, in leaving out the details of events that are best left to the reader's imagination, such as a long journey Captain Derk and his military go on to carry out a surprise attack. There is not much technology/science detail in the story, and if you do not have a science background, I would recommend reading Book Two before Book One. You had better be ready for the directions north, south, east, and west, which are common in the story. I needed the maps and diagram at the end to help me keep track.

There is a discussion early in the book between Derk and Denise about land ownership on Mars. They have very opposing ways of looking at how land/territory is acquired and retained, and it explains many conflicts on Earth. I thought it was the most thought provoking part of the story. The book is definitely not far-fetched science fiction, and this non science-fiction reader closed it with a satisfied feeling, and many things to ponder. Did I see hints in the book of an interesting installment to follow?

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