Before Mars

Paperback, 340 pages

English language

Published July 5, 2018 by Ace.

ISBN:: 978-0-399-58732-0
OCLC Number:: 995129319

(1 review)

"Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a standalone dark tale of a woman stationed on Mars who slowly starts to doubt her own memories and sanity. After months of travel, Anna Kubrin finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist-in-residence. Already she feels like she is losing the connection with her husband and baby at home on Earth--and she'll be on Mars for over a year. Throwing herself into her work, she tries her best to fit in with the team. But in her new room on the base, Anna finds a mysterious note written in her own handwriting, warning her not to trust the colony psychologist. A note she can't remember writing. She unpacks her wedding ring, only to find it has been replaced by a fake. Finding a footprint in a place the colony AI claims …

"Acclaimed author Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a standalone dark tale of a woman stationed on Mars who slowly starts to doubt her own memories and sanity. After months of travel, Anna Kubrin finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist-in-residence. Already she feels like she is losing the connection with her husband and baby at home on Earth--and she'll be on Mars for over a year. Throwing herself into her work, she tries her best to fit in with the team. But in her new room on the base, Anna finds a mysterious note written in her own handwriting, warning her not to trust the colony psychologist. A note she can't remember writing. She unpacks her wedding ring, only to find it has been replaced by a fake. Finding a footprint in a place the colony AI claims has never been visited by humans, Anna begins to suspect that her assignment isn't as simple as she was led to believe. Is she caught up in an elaborate corporate conspiracy, or is she actually losing her mind? Regardless of what horrors she might discover, or what they might do to her sanity, Anna has find the truth before her own mind destroys her"--

"Hugo Award winner Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a dark tale of a woman stationed on Mars who starts to have doubts about everything around her. After months of travel, Anna Kubrin finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist in residence--and already she feels she is losing the connection with her husband and baby at home on Earth. In her room on the base, Anna finds a mysterious note, painted in her own hand, warning her not to trust the colony psychiatrist. A note she can't remember painting. When she finds a footprint in a place that the colony AI claims has never been visited by humans, Anna begins to suspect that she is caught up in an elaborate corporate conspiracy. Or is she losing her grip on reality? Anna must find the truth, regardless of what horrors she might discover or what they might do to her mind"--

2 editions

Tak! reviewed Before Mars by Emma Newman (Planetfall, #3)

5 stars

This is my third Emma Newman novel, and I am now down to read anything she writes.

Before Mars follows geologist and hobby painter/streamer Anna Kubrin, who has been sent to join a small group of scientists at Mars's only research station, at the behest of her employer.

As usual with Newman's novels, it's very difficult to discuss what I loved about it without stomping all over her masterful unfolding of the plot, but she has followed her previous pattern of weaving an engrossing scifi story through a handful of Serious Themes - postpartum depression, psychosis, coercion, betrayal, and surveillance capitalism. With this one, I was a bit less in the dark throughout because of my experience with the previous two, and because the universe is getting more filled in.

Go read Planetfall! Read them all!

Subjects

Space colonies
Fiction
Conspiracies
Life on other planets

Places

Mars (Planet)