4 out of 4 stars
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Mars 2112 was written by John Ashcroft-Jones. It is the first book in a trilogy. The book was published in 2017 by Archway Publishing. The genre of the book is Sci-Fi/Fantasy. The setting of the book is in the year 2112.
Global warming went past its tipping point around 2060. The sea levels rose rapidly during this period and are still rising because of the melting of ice. The North Pole, which was once an ice field, is presently serving as one of the world’s busiest shipping sea lanes. Earlier on, in 2026, an Ebola outbreak caused a global pandemic that wiped out forty-two percent of the world population. The pandemic was brought under control after eight years. It ended in the year 2040. The grave crisis troubling the world is the rising tides. Max is the leading character in the story. He has a company, Aqua4, which is involved in seawater purification. The major project within Aqua4 is Luna2. It is the repository of excess water, and it is based on space. The main story is the attempt of Max and his team to make Mars habitable. This will involve the creation of an artificial atmosphere. Will Max succeed?
The book contains four hundred and seven pages. It is narrated in the third-person point of view. The story was slow-paced at first hence was a bit boring. However, as it progressed, it became more intriguing and fascinating. The technological advances in the book were astounding. The spaceships that existed eased movement in space, from one planet to another, and also from space to earth. The level of imagination was incredible and will leave the reader wondering whether the things being described will ever exist. Who can believe the journey from Mars to Saturn can take approximately three weeks? The adventures in space were thrilling. The description of features on various planets seemed more real than fictional.
The book addresses an urgent and sensitive issue. No one can overlook it. Global warming is real. The impact of what it can cause is brought out well in the story. Many islands were submerged as sea levels continued to rise. Therefore, the reader will be challenged to act reasonably and enlist in the global effort to combat climate change. Pollution of seas through dumping plastics was also brought out well. This threatened all forms of marine life. It was handled well and it will certainly ignite a spark in the fight against marine pollution.
The book was professionally edited. The characters were adequately built. The author took time to reveal their strengths and weaknesses. The plot was also well developed. However, there were instances where the story moved back and forth in time. Since the characters were few, it was easy to connect all events when this happened. There were a few grammatical errors that included misspellings, wrong use of words, and repetition. However, I found that the story was still enthralling. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. Themes such as exploration, technology, pollution, family, revenge, and recycling were interwoven in this story. These themes made the story more interesting than if it was exclusively based on one theme alone. I recommend the book to fans of science fiction stories, especially those who are fascinated with space explorations.
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Mars 2112
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