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3.5 AVERAGE
3.5 AVERAGE
I am honestly so sad. This could've been a 4, if not 4.5 star if it wasn't for the ridiculous reveal towards the end.
Let me put it like this (without spoiling anything): Imagine you're reading a fantasy story set in a world inhabited by angels and demons. There's a mystery going on and you're trying to figure out who or what is messing with the main characters. Now you get towards the end and you find out that is was the goblins all this time!
The thing is that up until this point you didn't even know that there were goblins in this world. It's something that, as a reader, you really couldn't have predicted. It had no build-up whatsoever and came completely out of nowhere.
Amazing book up until you get to the reveal and it all goes downhill from there and I'm feeling kinda salty about it.
Let me put it like this (without spoiling anything): Imagine you're reading a fantasy story set in a world inhabited by angels and demons. There's a mystery going on and you're trying to figure out who or what is messing with the main characters. Now you get towards the end and you find out that is was the goblins all this time!
The thing is that up until this point you didn't even know that there were goblins in this world. It's something that, as a reader, you really couldn't have predicted. It had no build-up whatsoever and came completely out of nowhere.
Amazing book up until you get to the reveal and it all goes downhill from there and I'm feeling kinda salty about it.
Summary: An international group of scientists is stationed on Mars. They live underground in four separate pods with a central skylight domed hub. Each of them has a specialty, although some specialties, such as medical, are duplicated for the safety of the group.
Late one night while drinking and playing a game in the Chinese pod, their leader screams at the two visiting Americans and shoves them back toward their area, locking theme out. When they get inside the American pod, they are informed that nuclear bombs have dropped on several major world cities. They quickly realize that their situation will become precarious when supplies dwindle without support from Earth.
The short communications with earth are full of disinformation and propaganda. Then everything falls completely silent. Some of the scientists realize they will have to overcome national allegiances and get everyone to cooperate if they are to survive. Others steal and stockpile valuable resources. They don’t start to fully cooperate with each other until a serious incident makes them realize that the war isn’t just happening on Earth: it is also endangering them on Mars.
Comments: Reading Retrograde brought me back to my childhood, when I read the Hard Sci-Fi books of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein. Back in the 60’s and 70’s Mars was still full of unknown potential and fanciful tales about the red planet were in print and film. While there are no longer stories written about little green men on Mars, the dreams of exploration still abound in science and story.
I admit I skimmed over the science facts, but the fact that they were there was enough to ground the novel for me. From the author’s descriptions, I was able to clearly visualize the colony, the landscape and environment. There was more than enough action to keep the story moving. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Reentry.
Recommended for readers of Hard Science-Fiction and those with an interest in novels about Mars and Planetary Exploration.
Late one night while drinking and playing a game in the Chinese pod, their leader screams at the two visiting Americans and shoves them back toward their area, locking theme out. When they get inside the American pod, they are informed that nuclear bombs have dropped on several major world cities. They quickly realize that their situation will become precarious when supplies dwindle without support from Earth.
The short communications with earth are full of disinformation and propaganda. Then everything falls completely silent. Some of the scientists realize they will have to overcome national allegiances and get everyone to cooperate if they are to survive. Others steal and stockpile valuable resources. They don’t start to fully cooperate with each other until a serious incident makes them realize that the war isn’t just happening on Earth: it is also endangering them on Mars.
Comments: Reading Retrograde brought me back to my childhood, when I read the Hard Sci-Fi books of Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein. Back in the 60’s and 70’s Mars was still full of unknown potential and fanciful tales about the red planet were in print and film. While there are no longer stories written about little green men on Mars, the dreams of exploration still abound in science and story.
I admit I skimmed over the science facts, but the fact that they were there was enough to ground the novel for me. From the author’s descriptions, I was able to clearly visualize the colony, the landscape and environment. There was more than enough action to keep the story moving. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Reentry.
Recommended for readers of Hard Science-Fiction and those with an interest in novels about Mars and Planetary Exploration.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thanks to HMH Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
Not going to lie, the cover to this book made me want to read it. RETROGRADE by Peter Cawdron is set on Mars and we follow the colony of people that are now inhabiting the red planet. We see them put to the test when tragedy strikes earth.
The colony on Mars is made up of people from all over the world. All are professionals but they span across multiple ethnic backgrounds. It's great to see the characters work together when disaster strikes Earth, but can they still come together as Martians when their colony is faced with losing their support?
It's really hard to write a review without giving away some spoilers - with it being a shorter and action packed novel. I will say this, Cawdron definitely did his homework and research for this one! Everything felt so real, and the fact that I'm not a scientist, I felt like what he put out there is completely plausible. With people already in the process of trying to get people to Mars, this doesn't feel like its in the too distant future.
Overall, this was incredibly well-written and had some memorable characters. Lots of action and a quick pace made for a good read! I would say that I wanted just a little bit more. The ending did feel rushed, but that's probably because of the length of the novel.
If you're a fan of all things science and outer space, then this is one you'll have to pick up!
I give this 4/5 stars!
Not going to lie, the cover to this book made me want to read it. RETROGRADE by Peter Cawdron is set on Mars and we follow the colony of people that are now inhabiting the red planet. We see them put to the test when tragedy strikes earth.
The colony on Mars is made up of people from all over the world. All are professionals but they span across multiple ethnic backgrounds. It's great to see the characters work together when disaster strikes Earth, but can they still come together as Martians when their colony is faced with losing their support?
It's really hard to write a review without giving away some spoilers - with it being a shorter and action packed novel. I will say this, Cawdron definitely did his homework and research for this one! Everything felt so real, and the fact that I'm not a scientist, I felt like what he put out there is completely plausible. With people already in the process of trying to get people to Mars, this doesn't feel like its in the too distant future.
Overall, this was incredibly well-written and had some memorable characters. Lots of action and a quick pace made for a good read! I would say that I wanted just a little bit more. The ending did feel rushed, but that's probably because of the length of the novel.
If you're a fan of all things science and outer space, then this is one you'll have to pick up!
I give this 4/5 stars!
Odd to read a book that starts off like a tense paranoid thriller and a combination of man vs man and man vs nature only to change halfway through into a complete sci-fi action tale like some movies from the 90s (complete with cheesy one-liner at the end). Some of the cheesiness of the ending almost ruined the whole book for me, but it's still a good ride with a sharp twist. I'm amazed at how much sci-fi novels are improving at incorporating more science into the stories, even just to describe details in a setting. Much like Andy Weir's The Martian, you learn a bunch about little aspects of living on Mars in this book. I will add that sometimes this book/author wanted to show off what he knew at awkward times, like pausing in the middle of built-up tension to talk about what sports would be like on a planet with different atmosphere and gravity. This tangent never held any real significance in the story but was just there to boast about what he had learned.
Peter Cawdron’s Retrograde immediately grabbed my attention and kept it. It made me want to finish it. (That’s rare lately.) I read Retrograde over the course of a few hours. It’s well-written, fast-paced, and while not entirely unique still completely interesting. (I can only think of one or two movies that I would liken this too.) The dialogue was believable. The connectedness something I wanted to root for. And the way it was written kept me feeling as isolated as the astronauts actually were.
Retrograde takes a left turn at Albuquerque that leaves the reader scratching their head for a bit. It’s interesting, and ultimately I really liked it, but there were definitely a few minutes of “Wait, what?” involved. The way Peter Cawdron handles it is not how one usually sees the subject approached. That handling (It wasn’t better or worse, just different) is probably a big part of why the happenings threw me off my game for a bit.
There are some sensitive subjects addressed in Retrograde, but they are deftly handled. The disaster on Earth is horrifying, but very little time is spent describing what happens. The action on Mars can get a bit bloody at times, but it’s nothing overly graphic. Death does happen, but the author does not linger on it. In short, even though this has some horrific elements to it, I would not call Retrograde a sci-fi horror novel. More of an exploration of the darker parts of science fiction.
A quick read with a nice twist and an ending that will leave you thinking, Retrograde isn’t your normal science fiction disaster book. Peter Cawdron does a good job of hooking the reader, and keeping them thinking about the book after the last page has been turned. Some of the questions asked are almost as old as science fiction themselves, and yet we still haven’t found satisfactory answers to them. Perhaps we never will.
Well done on Peter Cawdron’s part. Retrograde is a solid stand-alone novel. Can’t wait to read more from him.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
Retrograde takes a left turn at Albuquerque that leaves the reader scratching their head for a bit. It’s interesting, and ultimately I really liked it, but there were definitely a few minutes of “Wait, what?” involved. The way Peter Cawdron handles it is not how one usually sees the subject approached. That handling (It wasn’t better or worse, just different) is probably a big part of why the happenings threw me off my game for a bit.
There are some sensitive subjects addressed in Retrograde, but they are deftly handled. The disaster on Earth is horrifying, but very little time is spent describing what happens. The action on Mars can get a bit bloody at times, but it’s nothing overly graphic. Death does happen, but the author does not linger on it. In short, even though this has some horrific elements to it, I would not call Retrograde a sci-fi horror novel. More of an exploration of the darker parts of science fiction.
A quick read with a nice twist and an ending that will leave you thinking, Retrograde isn’t your normal science fiction disaster book. Peter Cawdron does a good job of hooking the reader, and keeping them thinking about the book after the last page has been turned. Some of the questions asked are almost as old as science fiction themselves, and yet we still haven’t found satisfactory answers to them. Perhaps we never will.
Well done on Peter Cawdron’s part. Retrograde is a solid stand-alone novel. Can’t wait to read more from him.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration.
A very interesting twist on the popular Mars colony SciFi theme.
Unlike The Martian, the plot kicks off in Retrograde when disaster strikes Earth. The Martian colony then becomes a pressure cooker of suspicion and intrigue from there as the colonists from dozens of countries eye each other up with doubt and suspicion.
Retrograde is a very good novel, I found the characters to be lifelike and the writing was fantastic.
The book deals with a lot of themes* though that could otherwise have over complicated the story or drowned out the narrative. But it was a pleasure to read - and the different themes and plot points were woven around each other well.
Read this if you enjoyed: The Martian, Red Mars, 2001, Encounter with Tiber or any other good Martian/Mars set book.
*Themes include: Nuclear War, AI, and Grief.
Unlike The Martian, the plot kicks off in Retrograde when disaster strikes Earth. The Martian colony then becomes a pressure cooker of suspicion and intrigue from there as the colonists from dozens of countries eye each other up with doubt and suspicion.
Retrograde is a very good novel, I found the characters to be lifelike and the writing was fantastic.
The book deals with a lot of themes* though that could otherwise have over complicated the story or drowned out the narrative. But it was a pleasure to read - and the different themes and plot points were woven around each other well.
Read this if you enjoyed: The Martian, Red Mars, 2001, Encounter with Tiber or any other good Martian/Mars set book.
*Themes include: Nuclear War, AI, and Grief.