One Day on Mars (Tau Ceti Agenda #1)

by Travis S. Taylor

Book Overview

It's24on Mars: a nonstop futuristic thrill-ride, all in one day, through the critical events which were the breaking point for the underclass of Martian citizens and precipitated a revolution to break... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416591575
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: Baen
• Length: 464 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.0" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

A Revolution on Mars

One Day on Mars (2007) is the first SF novel in the Tau Ceti Agenda series. In 2383 AD, the United States of America has expanded to include all nations on Earth and almost all inhabited parts of the Solar System. Colonies have also been planted on four extrasolar planets. One area not under US control is the Separatist Reservation. The Separatist movement on Mars has occupied the Reservation for thirty years or more. Their population was purged of all dissenters and then the populace multiplied to over thirty million individuals. Only their own people are allowed within the Reservation. The US public thinks of the Separatists as terrorists because of their original tactics. However, the Separatists now have their own Army and Navy. The US forces occasionally battle the Separatist forces across the frontier. In this novel, Nancy Penzington is a CIA operative trying to infiltrate herself into Separatist society. The Martian Squadron of the US Navy is attacking across the border as a diversion. Nancy flies through the battle toward the Phlega Montes in the back seat of an Ares fighter. Just before the fighter reaches Phlega, it launches a tactical nuke at the city and Nancy ejects from the plane. The bomb gives her a dose of radiation poisoning, but she has already taken an anti-rad shot. By the time she joins the survivors fleeing the city, Nancy will have a convincing case of induced radioactivity and fever. Meanwhile, the President of the United States of America -- William Alberts -- is a Democrat and is congratulating himself over his ninety-six percent approval rating after seven years in office. He almost cancels his daily intelligence brief (as he has done for the past thirteen months and four days), but decides that the briefing would make a good excuse for missing a meeting with the Reservation Historical Fund Society. General Elle Ahmi -- Commander of all Separatist forces and the head of state of the Separatists -- is directing the evacuation of the civilians from the Reservation. She is dressed in her usual public garb, martian camouflage BDUs and a red, white and blue ski mask, with her hair pulled back in a pony tail. She hasn't shown her face in public for decades. Senator Alexander Moore is a relatively junior member of the US Senate. He is also a member of the Republican party and a former Marine. He has been sent to Mars to negotiate with the Separatists. Of course, the Separatists take his appointment as a direct insult. In this story, Nancy -- now taking the name and persona of Kira Shavi -- has located the fleeing civilians headed toward a train station. She attaches herself to a man, woman, child and AI Kitty and accompanies them to the station. On the way, she learns that they will be leaving Mars and traveling to Tau Ceti. The timing is confusing, but she has learned to live with some confusion and just goes with the flow. President Alberts is shown some satellite photos of a Separatist militar

Outstanding Piece of Work!!!

Travis Taylor excells at blending the hard science with a throughly enjoyable story. While the scientific concepts depicted did force me to think outside of what I thought I knew, it was still an exciting read and a hard book to put down.

The New "Doc" for SF

Some years ago I passed by a hardcover book in the racks called Warp Speed. I only had a vague recollection of the author's name from a shorter work in an anthology. I don't normally buy hardcovers from new authors...but... I picked it up, took a look. Within a few pages I was hooked, bought the book, and did without coffee to go until I "paid" for the book. When the sequel came out (The Quantum Connection), I bought it without hesitation. When I saw that John Ringo's Into the Looking Glass was written in "consultation" with this author...I bought it (you'll notice a certain similarity between "Doc" Taylor and the main character in this book). When Ringo and Taylor co-wrote Von Neumann's War...well, you get the picture. Mecca! Mars! Big honking spaceships! Advanced theories in particle physics! Non-stop action and lots of explosions. This is the way SF used to be and it is nice to see it coming back. Buy the book!

Awesome, I want more.

Once I opened the book, I couldn't put it down. Great story, fast paced. Move over Ringo, I have new favorite author.

Hard Science & Hard Mil SF

Doc T. kicks mecha butt and takes name with his latest solo work. Imagine an episode of "24" but on Mars and in the midst of a rebel attack. Oh, and this time the "Jack Bauer" character has to take his wife and young child along. As always, with Doc's work, the hard science is spot on. Characterization was good ... you aren't sure who to root for most of the time and the final scene, while a bit pat, is a perfect lead-in to the next book. I would have enjoyed some more info-dumping regarding the political situation on earth and how it came to be. Hopefully that will happen on another day. Also, without giving anything away, I would've also liked some expansion around the motive for the rebel leader's actions. This is an old-fashioned, action packed, rockem-sockem, smoke 'em if you got 'em military adventure. I would highly recommend this for anyone that enjoys some hard science with their milsf. Regards, R