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The Year is 2040.
The Marines have landed on Mars to guard the unearthed secrets of an ancient and dangerous alien race: Ourselves.
Scientists have discovered something astonishing in the subterranean ruins of a sprawling Martian city: startling evidence of an alternative history that threatens to split humanity into opposing factions and plunge the Earth into chaos and war. The USMC — a branch of a military considered, until just recently, to be obsolete — has dispatched the Marine Mars Expeditionary Force, a thirty-man weapons platoon, to the Red Planet to protect American civilians and interest with lethal force if necessary.
Because great powers are willing to devastate a world in order to keep an ancient secret buried. Because something that was hidden in the Martian dust for half a million years has just been unearthed . . . something that calls into question every belief that forms the delicate foundation of civilization . . .
Something inexplicably human.
Veektarius
Posted December 14, 2012
I picked out Semper Mars because I was looking for some military scifi with large scale battles. This isn't really what I got at all - instead, it's very focused on the small scale, particularly a small group of about 30 Marines who are sent to Mars. They're sent in order to protect an archaeological find with significance to human history that was discovered by Americans, but which the UN (of which the US is no longer a member) wants control of.
I have trouble seeing how non-Americans could enjoy this book. Though I can personally see some credibility to the projection of the future UN as this overly zealous, pro-regulatory juggernaut thanks to my political views, I can't imagine most people would agree. It really requires you go into this thing wanting America to win, because it doesn't spend a lot of time showing why America (and Russia, in this case, though rarely mentioned) is right and everyone else is wrong.
With my personal predispositions, I got some enjoyment over watching the political situation play out, with a little light sci-fi surrounding the scientists and their discoveries on Mars, and some derring-do on the part of the isolated Marines. However, the characterization was fairly thin and stereotypical. This is typical of military scifi, but the large share of the book dedicated to a young college woman and her Japanese boyfriend and how their allegiances are resolved is largely ineffective thanks to this shortcoming.
I debated between rating this a 2 and a 3. Because I enjoyed the book enough to finish it, I went with 3 stars, but though it is the first book in a series, I will not continue on with the second installment.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 20, 2012
A good read.
A must read.
Anonymous
Posted June 9, 2009
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Posted December 8, 2010
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Posted March 23, 2011
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Posted May 14, 2010
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Posted December 12, 2009
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Posted September 30, 2011
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Overview
The Year is 2040.
The Marines have landed on Mars to guard the unearthed secrets of an ancient and dangerous alien race: Ourselves.
Scientists have discovered something astonishing in the subterranean ruins of a sprawling Martian city: startling evidence of an alternative history that threatens to split humanity into opposing factions and plunge the Earth into chaos and war. The USMC — a branch of a military ...