“He knew he’d swapped one cage for
another, and had simply shifted his brown cardboard box between prisons.”
If anyone wonders why the heck I’m so tired today, you can
blame the author of this rather riveting read! 330 pages melted away like
butter in the sun. It grabbed my attention and didn’t let go. How lucky I am to
have received a free pre-release copy through www.Goodreads.com
and how disappointed am I that they’re not doing any more of those style
giveaways for the moment to Australia!
My initial impression was one of trepidation when I opened
the box and uncovered the book’s cover. It reminded me considerably of that
recent bestseller and Matt Damon vehicle, The
Martian. I loved both the book and
the film and was worried that this might be too close for comfort. While it
shares the quest for survival inherent in establishing a human colony on Mars,
it strays into rather different thriller territory with a real whodunnit
flavour.
I love a book that combines multiple genres. They always
seem more compelling to me, the reader. Here we have a prison lifer given the
ultimate opportunity to get out. Frank Kittridge is expendable. He and a group
of other convicted criminals will become the initial construction team to set
up a human base on Mars. It won’t be easy and yet it seems like a welcome
respite from the confines of a maximum-security prison for life. Little does
Frank know that his life might be in danger from more than just the brutal
conditions of a foreign planet.
The atmosphere between the pages is charged with the sense
of imprisonment and fear that the prospect of dying on an unfamiliar planet
conjures up. I really enjoyed this one, despite the somewhat chauvinistic
undertones inherent in the female characters’ fates.
5 out of 5, in space
no one can watch you die.
No comments:
Post a Comment