In the Shadow of Deimos: A Terraforming Mars Novel by Jane Killick

​   It is my distinct pleasure to be the first to rate and review this book. An unusual but an inspired choice for this reader who has long made it a rule to stay away from movie/tv tie in novels, game to book adaptations, etc. It’s a sound rule, usually, but this time the siren song of Mars was just too much to resist. Who says sound doesn’t travel in space. So does a seemingly elaborate board game require a novel tie in? Yes, yes, it does. Because, you know, it’s Mars, people…how can a mere earthling say no to an armchair trip to the red planet. Who has that kind of restraint? And why would you want to? It’s a dream destination.
    And thus my reading of this book. And the bulk of enjoyment of it. Because…Mars. But to be fair it’s also a perfectly good read. It isn’t a great work of literary science fiction, but it isn’t trying or meant to be that. The author has dabbled in her own original sci fi serials and nonfiction sci fi tv guides, etc. and her narrative style has that slick pro, paid per word, write by numbers thing going for it with minimal internalization and maximum action, but it actually works really well here. Not sure if it’s because the world has already been staged and precreated through the game (I’ve never even heard of the game until finding this book), but this mystery set on a newly colonized Mars was well imagined, vividly rendered and, most of all and best of all, genuinely exciting. It read very much like a fun science fiction movie would. It had suspense, sabotage and some serious science…which is as far as I can stretch that alliteration.
     There was an elaborate plot, featuring a fresh arrival who stumbles into a clandestine plot conceived by rival Martian companies, all striving to commercialize the colonization of Mars. The end goal is making it habitable through (obviously, title) terraforming, but everyone has different ideas on how to go about it and are willing to do whatever it takes to get their way. Even on Mars business and politics rule. Because, of course, wherever people go…there they are, in all their greedy manipulative lying cheating stealing splendor. Can an honest person survive on this terraforming Mars and maintain their integrity? Can Deimos? Well, read and find out.
   So  yeah, this book…so much more than Elon Musk’s wet dream. By now you should be interested in checking this out, ideally, I suppose, depending on my powers of persuasion. But anyway, I enjoyed it very much, it was hugely entertaining and read very quickly for the age count. Overall a very fun space adventure. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.