jbronderbookreviews

Reentry (Mars Endeavour – 2) by Peter Cawdron

After almost dying on Mars, astronaut Liz Anderson returns to Earth, but not to a hero’s welcome. America is in turmoil. The war is over, but the insurgency has just begun. So while life on Mars may have been deadly, at least up there she knew who the enemy was. Along with her, Liz has brought the remnants of the artificial intelligence that waged war on two planets. Buried somewhere deep within the cold electronic circuits lies the last vestiges of her dead partner Jianyu. Liz is torn, unsure whether he’s somehow still alive in electronic form or just a ploy by an adversary that will go to any length to win. Heartbroken and treated with suspicion, she finds herself caught up in the guerrilla war being waged on Earth, wondering if the AI threat is truly gone, or if it has only just begun.

Amazon     Barnes and Noble     Goodreads

About the Author

Peter is an Australian science fiction writer, specializing in hard science fiction.

Hard science fiction is a misnomer as far as categories of literature go, as it sounds harsh and difficult to understand, but that is far from reality. Hard science fiction is simply plausible science fiction, fiction that is written in such a way as it conforms to the known laws of science, and that makes it more interesting, as there’s no magic wand the protagonist can wave to get out of trouble. Peter’s forays into hard science fiction could best be described as informative science fiction or enjoyable science fiction.

Peter is a fan of such classic science fiction writers as Philip K. Dick, Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton and their influence on his style and story lines is readily apparent. You can follow Peter on Facebook or Twitter or find him posting some interesting tibit on his blog

Website     Facebook    Twitter

My Review

4 Stars

After the fight on Mars Liz Anderson and two other astronauts have been called back to Earth after to discuss the AI war. Liz is bringing back the hard drives that contain the information on the AI but also contain he deceased lover, Jianyu’s brain. Liz explains and argues about what happens to the American government she also wonders if Jianyu is still alive or if it is just a plan for another attack. At the same time we see Lucifer and Nyx, they survived the war and Lucifer has plans for Liz.

When I saw this was the sequel to Retrograde I was excited to read Reentry. Reentry picks up right where Retrograde finished and doesn’t spend much time revisiting the first book so I recommend reading them in order or you will be lost.

I think this is a great continuation of the story. Now Liz has to come back to Earth and share what happened on Mars. While on Earth she has some strange events happen that make her not trust anyone and crank up the tension of the story. Are we really safe from the AI or are they going to come back and finish their job?

I think this was a great read. The science was sound and showed that Cawdron really did his research. It also makes you think twice about how helpful AI could be.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the opportunity to read and share this book.