Richly Layered

Heirs of Mars - a tale of sacrifice and revenge on the red planet
Joseph Robert Lewis
Joseph Robert Lewis (2010),
Kindle Edition - Print length 368 pages
Rated 4 stars of 5 possible

Heirs of Mars, written by author Joseph Robert Lewis, is a tale of life on the planet Mars, both for those born on the red planet, and those who immigrated there from Earth. The novel alternates chapters narrated by six main characters, men and women who represent the various groups who inherit the planet from previous explorers. These six characters each have a unique point of view to relate, and as such, each character adds another layer of interest to the story.

I find multi-focal novels a challenge to read since the point of view changes as the chapters transition from one character to the next. Still, such novels provide more information and more in-depth knowledge for the reader than would be available if the story were told by only one character, as some characters see things and events that many of the other characters do not see and/or know nothing about. Transitions between the multiple viewpoints are well done in this sometimes suspenseful, always fascinating tale of Mars.

Artificial intelligence, cloning, and robotics, are well-depicted in this novel. These heavy science themes do not make the story too complex for the average reader to follow, yet they add another dimension to the atmosphere of the tale.  Over and over again in the literature of Earth, we see the same themes repeated. People fear that which they do not understand. This simple theme has been explored by many authors among many genres and is given a slightly different face here, in the colonist's fear of the newborn clones.

Recommended to readers age 14 and up who love reading science fiction.  While this review is based on the Kindle edition, this ebook is available in various other formats, but, alas, not yet in printed formats (or, at least none that I've been able to locate) and on several different websites.

Heirs of Mars - a tale of sacrifice and revenge on the red planet; was provided to me free by the author in exchange for this review. As always, accepting the novel only obligates me to write a review. No promises were made as to what the content of my review might be.  This review, for which no financial compensation has been received by the reviewer, appears on Dragon Views, LibraryThing, Amazon.com and other sites deemed appropriate by the reviewer.