GATES OF MARS
The Halo Trilogy #1
by
CLARK HAYS AND KATHLEEN McFALL
Date of Publication: June 16, 2020
Number of Pages: 336
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Scroll down for the giveaway!
IN THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE, HOW CAN A PERSON GO MISSING?
The year is 2187. Crucial Larsen, a veteran of the brutal Consolidation Wars, is working as a labor cop on Earth. The planet is a toxic dump and billions of people are miserable, but so what? It’s none of his business. He’s finally living a good life, or good enough. But then Essential, his beloved kid sister, disappears on Mars. When Halo—the all-powerful artificial-intelligence overseeing Earth and Mars on behalf of the ruling Five Families—can’t (or won’t) locate his sister, Crucial races up-universe to find her.
PRAISE FOR GATES OF MARS:
"An indelible introduction to an interplanetary saga and its sublime characters."
—Kirkus Reviews
In the Choke, the frigid, airless expanse outside the luxury domes, Crucial uncovers a deadly secret from Essential’s past that threatens to shatter his apathetic existence … and both planets. Blending science fiction with the classic, hard-boiled detective story, Gates of Mars is a page-turning, futuristic thrill-ride featuring a gritty, irreverent anti-hero, Crucial Larsen. The first book of the Halo Trilogy, Gates of Mars is the eighth novel by award-winning authors, Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall.
PRAISE FOR GATES OF MARS:
"An indelible introduction to an interplanetary saga and its sublime characters."
—Kirkus Reviews
"The authors' imaginations again run wild, this time a science fiction/detective series looking at what our lives may hold in the not too distant future if everything that can go wrong does go wrong. And they've done it with their trademark undercurrent of humor that lifts an otherwise dreary future into something resembling—do I dare say?—hope. Their best work to date. And the giraffes? You'll have to read Gates of Mars to find out. I'm already wishing they could write faster." —Renee Struthers, East Oregonian newspaper
"With twists and turns true to some of the best noir detective pieces—but with an other-world setting and futuristic society—along with psychological insights and connections, Gates of Mars is a riveting, unexpected story, filled with intrigue and change. Sci-fi and detective story readers alike with find Gates of Mars one of a kind, worthy of avid pursuit." —Midwest Book Review
"With twists and turns true to some of the best noir detective pieces—but with an other-world setting and futuristic society—along with psychological insights and connections, Gates of Mars is a riveting, unexpected story, filled with intrigue and change. Sci-fi and detective story readers alike with find Gates of Mars one of a kind, worthy of avid pursuit." —Midwest Book Review
Howdy, y’all! I hope
all’s well with ya’ll. Yesterday, the
Govnah of the Great Republic of Texas released an Executive Order that all
Texans must wear “face coverings” at all times in public. (Rest assured that my rebellious self has been
wearing a mask since day one. So calm down!) While I know this is probably wise in the
scheme of things, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s a weird thing to be thrust
upon the residents of The Lone Star State. We’re an independent, rebellious lot
… well those of us who have true roots here are. Transplants from other states … not so
much. So there’s lots of tension in the
air.
And that’s one of the things that connected me to some of
the themes in GATES OF MARS by Kathleen McFall & Clark Hays.
I know … I know … y’all are shocked that I’m not bogging y’all
down with a bunch of my usual rambling. Well, I’m just too dadblasted excited to give
y’all a run-down on some sci-fi deliciousness.
So wipe that shocked look of y’all’s faces, and listen up!
It’s no surprise, surely by now, that I lurve me some
sci-fi. I mean … it’s what I write! So when the confounded book siren … y’all
know of whom I speak … posted up the call for reviewers in the blogger group,
well, I signed up lickety split for this here book.
And I’m glad I did.
The authors of this book must have some sort of pre-knowledge,
or something, because there’s a feel to this book that’s timely for our current
events. Are they time travelers or fortune telling writerly folks with a magic
deck of sci fi Tarot cards? I know not.
All I know is, they are darn good writers.
This story begins at 10:20 A.M. on August 31, in the Year of Our Lord 2187. (I have a sneaky hunch that McFall & Hays hopped into a time
machine and visited this very date. Just sayin’)
Well, I lurve me some futuristic, sci fi, time traveling,
post-apocalyptic stories in which AI is reigning supreme, so tumbled right on
down the rabbit hole and landed smack dab into the middle of an inquest in
which an all-knowing AI system robot thingie is interviewing the main
character, a man named Crucial Larsen.
That name spoke volumes to me. It whispered to me that this
dude was born to do something important … something, well, crucial. And the hook dug right on into my jib and
reeled me in.
NOPE! I ain’t telling
y’all any more spoilers or hints. Y’all
keep on trying to drag ‘em outa me. You’re
gonna have to score a copy of this book to find out all the deets y’all’s-selves.
However, there are some things I will tell y’all about GATES
OF MARS. *Le Gasp*
The feeling of this story is engrossing. To me, it’s Terminator (think Skynet) + Blade
Runner + AI + Altered Carbon + Matrix + The 5th Element + Dune (the
books, not that wacko movie) + some others I’m too lazy to name.
The world building in GATES OF MARS is
immediate and tangible. I was actually
there while reading this book and suffered a bit of book hang-over when I
finally put it down. The shift from the
story to reality was a mind trick. I think the authors may have done that on
purpose, yo!
In fact, I was truly impressed with the crisp, intelligent prose
in this book. Some hard sci fi books are
flat out boring and bog the reader down in too many unnecessary deets as an
attempted mode to trick the reader into thinking the writer knows what he/she
is talking about. But that’s not a necessity
when writing fiction. And it’s also why
I choose to write soft sci fi, myself, because who wants to purposely read
something that’s going to bore them out of their minds? (Now y’all might be surprised to hear me ask
that question, seeing as how I’m working toward a PhD in History. Hush up! History is fascinating I tells ya!)
This book is the first installment in The Halo Trilogy, and
I cannot wait to get my grabby hands on the next two books! (If you wanna know what “Halo” is, well, you’re
just gonna have to read the book! I promise, you’ll love it!)
McFall and Hays successfully
spun science fiction elements into their prose in such a way that the reader experiences
them instead of just reading about them.
That’s what makes GATES OF MARS deliciously engrossing.
And that’s why I’m granting
GATES OF MARS
By
Kathleen McFall + Clark Hays
5 Trillingly Sci Fi Brooms
-------------------------------------
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TWO WINNERS: One Winner: First edition copy of A Very Unusual Romance
One Winner: All four books in The Cowboy and the Vampire Collection
June 29-July 8, 2020
(U.S. Only)
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Excerpt
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BONUS Post
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6/30/20
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Review
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6/30/20
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7/1/20
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Author Interview
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Review
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7/2/20
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Excerpt
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Review
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7/3/20
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Review
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7/3/20
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Review
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"Deliciously engrossing." I love that and can't wait to read this book. Thanks for the post.
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