Mars Now! Ltd.: Evidence of Life

Coming

Q1 2027

Watch the newsletter for the cover reveal.

There’s no life on Mars. We’ve proven that. Right? 

Before the Mars terraforming project can proceed, Captain Jane Silver must make a final survey mission to prove there is no existing life on the planet. The world’s nations demand it and the investors want to show due diligence. While Jane dots every “i” and crosses every “t,” everyone closes their eyes and crosses their fingers, hoping there’s nothing there to see.

For the mission, Jane’s newly christened ship MN!1301, Mars Explorer comes fresh out of the shipyard with a fresh crew and a first generation impulse engine. The crew must become familiar with each other and their captain, master their proficiency with the ship, and meet the mission objectives. Would it be too much to ask for any of that to go smoothly?

Mars Now! Ltd. is book 1 in the Colonial Contest: Mars series, which is included in the broader Flashing Lights series. Mars Now! Ltd. and the Colonial Contest: Mars series are typical of the Flashing Lights series, a classic sci-fi story with a heavy dose of humor. Although the story includes some hard science for those who enjoy it, Mars Now! Ltd. is closer to the space opera end of the sci-fi spectrum. More about the science of terraforming, myself, Mars Now! Ltd., Colonial Contest: Mars, and the Flashing Lights series follows the story.

If you enjoy Mars Now! Ltd., you will certainly want to read the rest of the Colonial Contest: Mars series, which includes the novels Hunting Ice, Areforming Earth, and Gathering Stones and four short story interludes. You may also enjoy the many short fiction stories included in the Flashing Lights: Short and Weird series, available in collected volumes.

(Cover design by Ross Flaven. Cover images by NASA Images and sondem/shutterstock.com).