Larry Richardson – författare

We live in a world of 'what if?'The book takes place in world created The Colonisation of Mars in which the Americans sent a mission to Mars in the 1970s by a nuclear-pulse powered spaceship - Orion. While this was actually planned in 'our' world this did not happen for a number of reasons. Number one was probably the creation of NASA and their involvement in the Race to the Moon. Also, President Kennedy was evidently opposed to it and the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty blocked it.The world of this book saw nuclear bombs used to end World War II in Europe too and become an everyday fact of life to build canals, to dig ditches, for mining and to resolve border disputes.

It is 2040 and the 'Race to Mars' is long over. A large group of 'expendable' senior scientists has been sent on a one-way trip to establish a permanent Martian colony. Eccentric recluse Sam Aiken shuns the soft life in the 'Tube'. With his quirky Rollagon AI he explores the polar caps, Valles Marineris, climbs 'The Face' and Olympus Mons, digs through the wreckage, cast-off equipment and graves of early explorers and finds an ancient Martian lifeform. Delusional, manipulated by unseen forces and tormented to the edge of madness he drifts aimlessly through the Mars of Bradbury, Heinlein and others in search of sanctuary. He uncovers instead the shocking ruse behind the Colony and the ultimate reason why he was spared.If you found the many acronyms confusing you can get the Glossary of Terms from my Blog at colonisationofmars.com