Jeff Ferry

ABR's original The Dawn of Mars audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

In the not too distant future, Mars has become the bastard child of Earth, ignored and abused. The thousands of inhabitants living and working in the several large domes are beholden to the corrupt and abusive mining corporation. Everyone mines for the energy rich mineral earth will pay dearly for, or die trying, not much else matters.

Because of its distance from earth the corporate leadership has devolved into a dictatorship drunk with its own power. They devise a plot to release a mind control virus into the air system so they can use the workers to mine the energy rich ore faster and more cost effectively. Unfortunately, the virus is released prematurely and life devolves into a zombie apocalypse on a Martian scale.

Zombie plots are always ridiculous, dead or dying humans who eat brains, defying physics and physiology. But that doesn’t mean we don’t love reading, listening and watching them. They are just fun. So as Mars crumbles into a civil war, the zombies are eating everyone’s brains, and all is mayhem. That’s the good part.

Dawn of Mars isn’t a bad book, but it is kind of cringe worthy at times. Many of the characters are two dimensional, such as the evil hit man with no redeeming qualities, who just loves killing and torture; or the corporate leader who wants to destroy everyone and everything so he can be in power. There isn’t much logic in being king of a junk pile, but that seems to be his goal. On the other side, the good guys continually get out of impossible jams while simultaneously forming a new government, fighting overwhelmingly superior fire power, beating back hungry zombies and devising a cure for the pandemic.

The story is read by Roberto Scarlato. He has a good, clear voice, but tends to read somewhat slowly and with strange inflections, getting in the way of the story, never quite transparent, so that you always know he’s there.

OK, the plot and science aren’t exactly plausible, but it is a fun story none-the-less. If you go in knowing what you are getting, you’ll enjoy the ride.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.… (meer)