Finding Life on Mars

A Novel of Isolation

By: Jason Dias

Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya

When the last man on Earth reveals he has a nuclear weapon pointed at the tiny Martian colony, the colonists can only survive by working together. Jaye, a Trueborn Child of Mars, isn’t like her father, Merlin. Like all the Trueborn, she is cursed with perfect memory and deep sensitivity. But not even the knowledge that Merlin killed her mother can change the fact: They need each other for more than survival.

©2018 - Jason Dias (P)2019 Jason Dias

Interesting concept but difficult to connect with

Finding Life on Mars tells the story of the last men alive, who traveled to Mars escaping from a devastated Earth. The second generation, or true born, as the ones born in Mars are known, have very different behavioral and cognitive patterns than the ones of their parents. Jaye is one of these true borns, and the story is told from her perspective. They one day discover that there is still one man left on Earth, but in his madness, he only seeks the destruction of the Mars colony.

I really wanted to like this book. I think the idea of creating a whole generation with autistic traits was a great idea to make us understand how autistic minds work. I just had troubles believing it. For somebody who has lived abroad, these differences and the attitude of wanting to be different from their parents do not feel realistic. On the other hand, I wanted to find an explanation to why many (but not all) of the true born were autistic, but this was not clear.

I also had issues with the madman wanting to annihilate the last survivors. I know it is a figure often used in post-apocalyptic stories and thrillers, but it does not feel credible to me.

I found very difficult to connect with Jaye, and her detached view of the world. I wanted to understand her and justify her actions but I was just not able to.

Jennifer Jill Araya did a great job narrating this book, providing a quite plain speech for Jaye, which was what the text just needed, although this made it hard to focus on the book. I

It was an interesting book, but no the easiest to get into. It was okay, but there were too many issues preventing me from fully enjoying it.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

very good book

cant wait for the sequel. this book stands alone, but I'm anticipating more to come.

Eulogy for Earth

Earth is dead, one of the last residents is wanting the rest of the colonists to be destroyed with them. Life was never supposed prosper on Mars. Especially human life. Also, what does it mean to be human. This book is has philosophical and emotional tones that weave an interesting narrative. I definitely enjoyed the deep thoughts this provoked and recommend a listen.

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Odd and endearing

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Overall I enjoyed this, there were some odd points or hangups, but I ended up finding them more endearing to the book than a problem.

Avoiding spoilers this book takes place on Mars, with an end of the world style backdrop. They're trying to find ways to survive and come to grips with their life on Mars.

I'd call this more a character piece in a Sci-Fi setting than a straight Sci-Fi novel. I got a far better feel for the characters than I did for the overall world, not a problem per-say by different from other Sci-FI novels.

The narrator is great, varied voices, and makes for an enjoyable listen.

If you're looking for a change of pace, while maintaining the Sci-Fi setting this would be a great pick-up.

Good story the unfolds naturally

This is a good book which develops in a logical, yet not totally predictable fashion. It does make you think about where we as a world are headed. The narration is great! It doesn't detract from the story at all. It adds to it. I was expecting a bit more science than it had. This is the first book (which I requested promising to review it) from this author, so I'm not completely sure what genre he typically writes from. I read it in 2 days, so that should help you know how that I enjoyed it.