No Way

Pros: gets you quickly up to speed with regards to the events of book 1, interesting characters, some ethical dilemmas, hard SF, variety of conflicts

Cons:

After building the base on Mars and surviving XOs attempted assassinations, Frank cuts at deal with the company to impersonate Lance Brack and help the NASA astronauts arriving in a few months with their mission. But XO has others secrets on Mars, and they intend to keep their malfeasance unknown on Earth.

No Way picks up immediately after the end of One Way. If it’s been a while since you read the first book, the author does an excellent job of reminding you of the ending and the more important elements within the first few chapters of book two.

Frank is a sympathetic protagonist show more despite his past. He faces a lot of ethical dilemmas before the NASA crew arrive, and a few more afterwards. The crew themselves face some tough decisions later in the book.

I appreciated that the conflict was a mix of man vs nature, man vs himself, and man vs man. The book is well paced, with sections where things are going well followed by tense chapters where things go very wrong.

Descriptions of life on Mars circle around the constant danger, the monotonous scenery, and the utter excitement of being on an alien planet. While I personally can’t vouch for the scientific accuracy of everything that happens, the author is a rocket scientist with degrees in geology and planetary geophysics.

There is some thematic overlap with The Martian, though the tone here is more serious. If you like survival stories, or Mars, this is a fantastic book. show less

The sequel to his brilliant Sci-Fi debut 'One Way', this time we find Frank Kitteridge stranded and alone on Mars. At least he's got some tasks to keep him busy, the hab's running well and it's safe, and he's finally got some leverage over XO - the company responsible for him being there in the first place! All he's got to do is sit tight and wait for NASA to turn up and he's heading home.... but things begin to go awry and Frank begins to suspect that he might not be alone on the Red Planet, and that could spell disaster! Great sense of place in these books, and you really get behind the protagonist, but it's the page turning tempo and pacing that get you! If you liked 'The Martian' or Hugh Howey's 'Beacon 23' then get into these show more books, you're going to love them! show less

Not as good as the first book. This really did not add to the story. I would recommend book 1 but not this one. Book 1 can stand alone.