Mars One

by Jonathan Maberry

Overview

Go on the adventure of a lifetime with a teen and his family after they are selected to colonize Mars in this thrilling new novel from multiple Bram Stoker Award–winning author Jonathan Maberry.

Tristan has known that he and his family were going to be on the first mission to colonize Mars since he was twelve years old, and he has been training ever since. However, knowing that he would be leaving for Mars with no plan to return didn’t stop him from falling in love with Izzy.

But now, at sixteen, it’s time to leave Earth, and he’s forced to face what he must leave behind in exchange for an uncertain future. When the news hits that another ship is already headed to colonize Mars, and the NeoLuddite terrorist group begins threatening the Mars One project, the mission’s purpose is called into question. Is this all worth it?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781481461610
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Publication date:	04/04/2017
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, five-time Bram Stoker Award winner, and comic book writer. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, fantasy, and adventure; and he writes for adults, teens, and middle grade. His works include the Joe Ledger thrillers, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, The X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, Mars One, and many others. Several of his works are in development for film and TV, including V Wars, which is a Netflix original series. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including the X-Files books, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Hardboiled Horror, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, and others. He lives in Del Mar, California. Visit him at JonathanMaberry.com and on Twitter (@JonathanMaberry) and Facebook.

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2017
Maberry (the Nightsiders series) falls short of his usual level of success in this sluggish SF novel. Sixteen-year-old Tristan Hart and his family are going on a one-way trip to Mars along with 38 other people as part of the privately funded Mars One project. The first half of the book is devoted to Tristan’s training, celebrity interviews, and appearances on the reality television shows that are financing the colonization effort, along with his interactions with his girlfriend Izzy, whom he loves deeply but has decided to leave behind. These scenes work individually but, in succession, leave the tale feeling rather flat. Things pick up once the ships leave orbit, particularly when unexplained malfunctions put the mission at risk, and Tristan realizes that the Neo-Luddites, a cult opposed to space travel, have planted agents on board. Tristan is very much in the Heinlein tradition of young heroes, levelheaded and highly competent, with genius-level engineering skills. But while Maberry handles the story’s conclusion well, some readers may lose interest before they get there. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—The year is 2026, and the world is preparing for its first manned mission to Mars. Forty individuals have been chosen to be the first Martians, and genius 16-year-old Tristan Hart is one of them, along with his brilliant parents, despite having to leave his high school sweetheart, Izzy, behind forever. Everyone's eyes are upon Tristan and the others participating in Mars One, but there are those who don't want them to go, including a radical religious terrorist group called the Neo-Luddites, who will attempt anything to sabotage the mission. On the flight to the Red Planet, the protagonist must deal with his feelings for Izzy, the weight of advancing humankind by becoming one of the first people to set foot on Mars, and the suspicion that someone on board is the enemy, trying to send them all to their death. Maberry's latest takes a while to get going (the Mars One crews lift off halfway through the hefty volume), but once it does, it cranks through a series of misfortunes on board that dial up the tension. Tristan is a believable narrator, and readers feel his distress and excitement. A diverse group of characters add to the overall feeling of unity that shines through the story. VERDICT A popular choice for sci-fi shelves, this is a thrilling albeit slow-starting adventure that will satisfy teens—if they can get through the first half before they make it to space.—Tyler Hixson, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2016-12-21
It ain't easy to get to Mars.It is the year 2026, and Tristan's family has been chosen for the (real-life proposed) Mars One program, a one-way mission to establish a colony on Mars. In order to raise the necessary funds, good-looking white boy Tristan Hart has become an all-American teen heartthrob as the star of the reality show Tristan and Izzy, which chronicles his impending lifelong separation from his childhood sweetheart. Having made millions from the show, Tristan donates a portion of the funds to the Mars One mission and sets some money in trust for Izzy and his best friend, both of whom will be left behind. Lurking in the backdrop of the media charade, a terrorist group known as the Neo-Luddites has launched bombing attacks to thwart the Mars mission. Tensions are further exacerbated when it is discovered that a competitor may have already launched a secret mission to Mars. Tristan capably narrates, the believable teen blending his sorrow at leaving his friends with the kind of excitement readers will expect from a space adventure. Maberry mixes sci-fi details with romance and satire of modern media, his Mars One mission hosting a diverse set of characters that will have readers wishing they could join up. Maberry wins with his on-the-spot dialogue, and his characters grace the page with ease. (Science fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews