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Post by: Helena Trooperman Dated: 29th March 2023
A propulsive Sci-Fi thriller with the right mix of adventure, emotional resonance, and speculative science … reads like Dean Koontz meets Andy Weir.
~ Susan Furlong – Shattered Justice, A New York Times Top Crime Novel of the Year
Dallas Gordon and his crew crash landed on Mars. Ex-EPSILON employee Randy Porter put them there, hacking the mission on behalf of chief rival BMAC. If Dallas can traverse the seventy-five kilometers across the Red Planet to Prospector Base – can he identify and disable Porter’s traps before disaster dooms the crew 200 million miles from home?
Get Crimson Lucre or the entire trilogy.
Brian H Roberts writing draws deeply on his lifelong loves of science/technology and adventure sports. The EPSILON Sci-Fi Thrillers is Brian’s first series. Here’s Brian’s website.
Crimson Lucre, the first book in the Epsilon sci-fi Thriller series, hits the mark.
I’m a skeptic when an author is compared to another, and I’m an Andy Weir fan. He writes in first person, so his main characters are up close and personal–big time. Brian H Roberts may write in third person but his characters are fantastic! I loved the team vibe of Captain Dallas Gordon and his crew. (Flash to his friends.) The hint of humour helps to balance the minute to minute, hour to hour danger they’re all in. Danger they can’t unravel alone.
You will particularly love this if you like fast paced code hacking stories or you’ve enjoyed climbing as a hobby giving the story great originality.
Of course, if Martian stories and near-future are your thing anyway or if you just love a story with thrills and spill this is a no brainer for you.
The Earth-side Control Team took a wee bit longer to gel for me, but they soon have a serious crime to solve of their own heaped on top of everything else. Ann Waters, Flight Operations Director can’t help reevaluating who she trusts in her team given the cyber attacks against their Epsilon Mars crew. Fast paced cyber attacks, and a brilliant backstory woven through the mashed techno and crime thriller stories.
Brian had me burning the midnight oil big style to find out what happened as the story became bigger and bigger.
An imaginative, must read with plenty of tech details that’s interesting and easy to follow.
Only one word of warning, there is a rape scene, the author deals with it deftly and it is a significant part of the plot.
Ann is swiftly back in control of the situation and makes them pay. Driven by the lives in her hands on Mars, she sets aside her trauma and is a great Earth-side heroine with what she does next.
I knew I’d want Red Dragon, the next in the series, a few chapters in, and kicked myself I hadn’t taken the opportunity to get the series bundle. Don’t make the same mistake!
I would normally give such an excellent story four stars because of the rape scene, but it really was over fast and this is such a big story that I know I will definitely read this awesome story again. It gets FIVE stars from me.
Protopian series – No matter what goes wrong the Epsilon crew, first on Mars, work based on cooperation and value each other over profit regardless of their employer, as their decision making shows. There’s a lightheartedness to their banter that shows it’s all in the way you choose to see things.
Setting is Mars for Dallas Gordon & his crew, Earth for Ann Water’s & her crew.
This is a mashup of crime and techno thriller. It also includes spaceflight, humour, with a hint of romance and I think it would be amazing in audiobook format. Can’t wait!
Brian’s newsletter, JOTH, for sharing tech updates and short stories is worth subscribing to. Why not try a free download story to check them out? You can get this by going to his website and choosing to sign up in the right hand panel of his home page.
You can get a copy of Crimson Lucre at your Amazon store.
This is a first in the series, but I’ve also included the link to get the trilogy as well.
Click on Brian’s Amazon Author page. Following is a great way to hear about future releases, offers on his stories, and improved recommendations.
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Afterword:
(I live in Canada & my stories are in Canadian. 😘 That’s why some of the spellings are British rather than American. These are not typos, although occasionally, I still make those – oops! But not too many.)
BUY at: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098J3JC16
Join Brian’s newsletter at: www.brianhroberts