My rating: 4 Stars
Genres: Science Fiction
Date Read: 3/3/17
Publication Date: 1/10/16
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A bog may be Earth’s undoing, but it will be a gift to Mars.
Digging up bog bodies and analyzing corpses are the last things archaeology graduate student Felicity Cratchett wants to do. And when unusual mummies are discovered in the subpolar region of Polar Bear Provincial Park, it’s the last place she wants to go. But since her faculty advisor insists that she log more hours in fieldwork, she has little choice. In a remote bog with a small team of scientists, Felicity unearths the greatest secret of our time—a secret with ties to ancient Rome, roots in Botswana, and a link to the first people to exercise abstract thought. This revelation will challenge the conventional theory of human origins and human evolution.
Meanwhile, astronaut Lucas Wilson, a man tormented with a deep-seated anger, is terraforming Mars. He reluctantly descends to the Red Planet’s surface with his fellow astronauts, preparing to direct their exploration. Mars, in its birth pangs, will challenge every step he takes, with gas explosions and raging rivers, with damaged fuel processors and limited oxygen supplies. In the midst of these disasters, Lucas must keep his companions from discovering a feat of genetic engineering that will transform Mars like nothing has in over a billion years. The double helix of this masterwork twists all the way back to Earth and Felicity’s mummies. But if he fails, Lucas must decide whether to take up Mars’s sword, or to cast the weapon into a bog.
My review:
This really reminded me of the The Atlantis Gene series - and not because of similarities, but something really just made me think of that particular book when reading this. If you have read both of these books, then you will know what I mean. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this (thank you!) and it was totally different to what I expected.
Genres: Science Fiction
Date Read: 3/3/17
Publication Date: 1/10/16
Synopsis from Goodreads:
A bog may be Earth’s undoing, but it will be a gift to Mars.
Digging up bog bodies and analyzing corpses are the last things archaeology graduate student Felicity Cratchett wants to do. And when unusual mummies are discovered in the subpolar region of Polar Bear Provincial Park, it’s the last place she wants to go. But since her faculty advisor insists that she log more hours in fieldwork, she has little choice. In a remote bog with a small team of scientists, Felicity unearths the greatest secret of our time—a secret with ties to ancient Rome, roots in Botswana, and a link to the first people to exercise abstract thought. This revelation will challenge the conventional theory of human origins and human evolution.
Meanwhile, astronaut Lucas Wilson, a man tormented with a deep-seated anger, is terraforming Mars. He reluctantly descends to the Red Planet’s surface with his fellow astronauts, preparing to direct their exploration. Mars, in its birth pangs, will challenge every step he takes, with gas explosions and raging rivers, with damaged fuel processors and limited oxygen supplies. In the midst of these disasters, Lucas must keep his companions from discovering a feat of genetic engineering that will transform Mars like nothing has in over a billion years. The double helix of this masterwork twists all the way back to Earth and Felicity’s mummies. But if he fails, Lucas must decide whether to take up Mars’s sword, or to cast the weapon into a bog.
My review:
This really reminded me of the The Atlantis Gene series - and not because of similarities, but something really just made me think of that particular book when reading this. If you have read both of these books, then you will know what I mean. I'm really glad I got the chance to read this (thank you!) and it was totally different to what I expected.
So, lets start with the good points of this book. I enjoyed finding out about the bodies that Felicity is sent to work on. I would even say that was my favourite part of the book. The second storyline involving Mars does seem quite out there and doesn't feel like it fits within the overall book until it suddenly does. The writing is really great too, definitely on par with many established writers out there. I found that the writing was quite fast paced too. There is quite a bit of description which is usually not as a fast, but I don't think it puts you off. I don't think I had any favourite characters as such or any characters that I didn't particularly like. Well, I didn't particularly like Felicities faculty advisor for some reason! She just gave me that impression for some reason. I really enjoyed the science that went on here and that's why I found the similarities (not literally) between this and The Atlantis Gene series - I enjoy a bit of science and what could be next, origins, survival etc.
My only reason for any negative aspects for this book is that it is quite a longish read. It's definitely not something you can read and finish in a sitting, or even two or three for that matter. I read this over quite a few weeks as I found it was quite heavy to keep at it for anymore about 70-100 pages at a time. I think that the book needed this to an extent as it would just be a complete mess without all the science and slow pacing here and there.
Also a note on Jackson, the theorising behind this book is quite interesting. Jackson did take online course at MIT and has been critiqued by an aerospace engineer - I find this utterly amazing that she has taken so much time and effort into this work. It has definitely paid off!
Also a note on Jackson, the theorising behind this book is quite interesting. Jackson did take online course at MIT and has been critiqued by an aerospace engineer - I find this utterly amazing that she has taken so much time and effort into this work. It has definitely paid off!
Overall, I did enjoy this and I think many science-fiction/mystery readers will enjoy it too. It is definitely a solid piece and will hopefully pick up!
Happy reading :)
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