First published 2009
Lieutenant John Kane pays the price for defying orders. The former special ops Marine loses his rank and gets shipped to Mars City, where he works security for the Union Aerospace Corporation. The year is 2145, and Kane expects nothing more than routine guard duty on the red planet's research facility. Instead, he discovers that scientists have awakened something terrible while probing Mars' ancient secrets. Grotesque creatures roam the corridors, twisted hybrids of organic tissue and machinery that should not exist. Violence erupts throughout the complex as these abominations spread. Kane teams up with other survivors, using every combat skill he possesses to stay alive. Meanwhile, corporate executives pursue their own secret agenda, determined to control whatever power source the researchers have uncovered. Kane must navigate both the immediate threat of the creatures and the longer game being played by those in command.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Mars, Mars City
Period: 2145
336 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Pocket Star
Content warnings: body-horror, graphic-violence