Not what I was expecting.
It took me a couple of gos to get stuck in to this. I’m not a voracious reader, and it often takes time for me to get into a book, let alone start one properly. I think maybe I was trying to read it while I was too tired.
Once I got over the hurdle of the first few steps, though, I was hooked and i managed to read this surprisingly quickly.
The book follows Frank as he travels to Mars to establish the first structures there in preparation for the first fleet of the ‘real’ settlers. Things, of course, don’t go according to plan. There weren’t any really surprising plot-twists or turns, and I could have handled some Neal Stephenson-esque deep dives into some of the science around the space suits or habs or something, but it doesn’t happen. There are hints of it, and they were enjoyable, but I would have liked more.
Actually. There was a surprising plot-twist, right at the end. It turns out there’s a sequel. I’m on to that next.