From d68068ce966b5d2c3eb90dd321f8375109c831a4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Julio Biason Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2019 12:09:42 -0300 Subject: [PATCH] Book review: One Day on Mars --- content/reviews/books/one-day-on-mars.md | 74 ++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 74 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/reviews/books/one-day-on-mars.md diff --git a/content/reviews/books/one-day-on-mars.md b/content/reviews/books/one-day-on-mars.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ae54841 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/books/one-day-on-mars.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ ++++ +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. + + + +{{ 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.