Book Review: One Way by S.J. Morden
Mars with Bars
One Way is a sci-fi book set in the medium-distance future. The plot centers around a gorillion-dollar mega company being contracted to setup bases on Mars for NASA. Our protagonist Frank is one of several convicts serving life that are offered a unique deal---help colonize Mars in exchange for serving the remainder of their sentence in space instead of prison.
The story goes through the training and preparations the team endures before lift off, the construction of the base, the daily maintenance in the coldness of space, personal relationships with the colorful characters in such a harsh reality, and all of the corresponding setbacks that uncover themselves. Crew members start dying one by one: Some seem accidental, others less so. Perhaps some of the newly minted astronauts are more perfidious than previously believed.
Enough Summary, I'm Already Hooked!
I liked this book quite a bit. The genre is "hard sci-fi" which is a categorization I had never heard of before with a higher concern for grounded scientific plausibility. The plot is set roughly in the 2040s which means not much has changed from real life. They're obviously going to Mars but nobody drives flying cars1 or dates an AI girlfriend. That means that the book feels much more grounded.
The author is trained in planetary and science-y... stuff2... and it feels the part to the layman. In a good way. The technical details are incredible at tickling my 'tism and help keep the universe's logic feeling consistent. You never get the feeling of, "Well of course he has a dohickey that'll re-equalize the lock and fix the blubbum leak; you gotta have the dohickey." which turns me off of many other sci-fi stories.
The character development is solid, too. The tensions feel real, the bonding feels real, the motivations are usually internally consistent. It's all quite good. My only real complaint was that sometimes Brack3 acts so incredibly one-dimensional in his drill sergeant silo that he can make your eyes roll backwards.
I highly recommend this book, it makes for excellent small cozy reading material to get immersed in for a week or two straight. I'll be keeping an eye out for the sequel at my local library or used book store, No Way.