Merge branch 'release/20191213'

content/reviews/books/one-day-on-mars.md

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++++
+title = "One Day On Mars - Travis S. Taylor"
+date = 2019-12-13
+
+[taxonomies]
+tags = ["en-au", "books", "reviews", "travis s taylor", "sci-fi", "mars"]
++++
+
+[GoodReads Summary](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20638066-one-day-on-mars):
+A nonstop futuristic thrill-ride, through the critical events which were the
+breaking point for the underclass of Martian citizens and precipitated a
+revolution to break the Martian colonists free from the formidable Sol System
+government. The formerly red planet—now in danger of again becoming red, blood
+red—would never be the same, nor would the human race.
+
+<!-- more -->
+
+{{ stars(stars=2) }}
+
+Ok, let's try something different here:
+
+* (-) Long paragraphs, that just make things hard to read and with lots of
+  useless information, sometimes, running out of topic.
+* (-) Macross, without acknowledging Macross or the Macross world or anything
+  Macross, really.
+* (-) Super-powerful rebellion, which manages to be even stronger than a
+  super-country army + navy.
+* (-) MURRICA, FUCK YEAH!
+* (+) Good descriptions of the action, even with the huge amount of cruft in
+  them.
+* (=) Weak sci-fi, even if the world is "sci" in a way -- which could be
+  related to the Macross-but-not-Macross thingy.
+
+Mars, under the influence of the huge "UNITED STATES OF FUCKING AMERICA" (not
+actual title, but actual feeling given by the author), is being terraformed.
+But rebels, which think America diverted from the forefathers ideals, think
+it's better to move to somewhere else and make the "REAL AMERICA" (again, not
+actual title in the title, but feeling given by the rebel characters).
+
+What happens is a clusterfuck of information and lack of information at the
+same time: It starts with one event, in which the backstory is giving in long,
+incredible tiring paragraphs of text, and then some action happens and the
+initial event is mostly ignored. What did happen? Oh, a glimpse! And then...
+nothing.
+
+"Incredible, tiring paragraphs" is a nice way to put "wall of text". Instead
+of focusing in some point, the paragraph starts and then derails on into some
+backstory, character development or some stupid description of something
+instead of focusing on what it started. So the next paragraph -- which is,
+again, another wall of text -- picks up and then derails again.
+
+In those walls of text, there is some Macross, and by that I mean there are
+actual descriptions of the Valkyries robots, which turn from plane to robot
+and an "in between" mode. But they are never called Valkyries, the world of
+Macross is never acknowledged or mentioned. Simply, the design for the massive
+weapons are "borrowed" from the series, without ever making any connection
+with it.
+
+And, while we are talking about the weapons, the descriptions put a massive
+army of robots against another huge army of robots. Now, think we me: You have
+an army. A well funded army. By a country that loves the army. And then you
+have some rebels, that don't have the proper tech or research for creating
+such weapons. Which side do you think would amass a larger numerical
+advantage? THE REBELS, OBVIOUSLY! /facepalm Sure, they found a way to
+interrupt the well-funded, well-researched army communication at the start,
+but even with that, the well-funded, well-researched army would simply be too
+large for that to even be a problem. But, then again, the well-funded,
+well-researched army gets almost completely obliterated in the end. Suuuure.
+
+There is a series for this book -- in which it is the very first one -- but
+considering how tiring it is to read, how bullshittery the "MURRICA, FUCK
+YEAH" feeling it passes around, the absurdity of rebels amassing a force
+stronger than the whole "MURRICA, FUCK YEAH" army and navy, I'm not sure I
+actually want to read the next chapter.