In 2033 the United System Space Force not only wrecks the earth with the planet-destabilizing Xon bomb, but in evacuating the survivors to Mars, also discovers an indigenous race quite displeased by the arrival of two billion shellshocked humans.
The Martian Marauders is the first novel in the Jack Commer science fiction series, available as an eBook and in paperback from Double Dragon Publishing. eBook and paperback versions are carried by amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Inexplicable solar system disasters begin as early as 2028: the gas giants explode, asteroids are thrown into the sun, and nobody can figure out why. This forces the development of the United System Space Force and a panicky acceleration of space technology and weaponry.
But even after Mars exploration and the discovery of Star Drive, we haven’t learned much; in 2033 we wreck the earth with the new Xon bomb and have to evacuate the remnants of Earth’s population to Mars. And somehow we’ve overlooked an intelligent race on Mars which is extremely displeased at the arrival of two billion shellshocked humans.
By June 2034 the native Martians have risen in rebellion, led by their new emperor, Sam Hergs, a traitor to the human race. Captain Jack Commer and his three brothers soon find themselves in the deep desert battling Martian insurgents armed with shatterguns that crack their victims into millions of jagged pieces of glass.
Excerpt
“All right!” West shouted as he leapt from the rolling Rover 1. “Rover 4, I want you patrolling back and forth in front of the cave complex! All five of you remain in the vehicle! The rest of us, all out but the drivers! Leave the engines idling! Civilians! Reporters! Keep back from the vehicles! Back from the vehicles!”
Phil stepped from his rover. Further down the incline was a jumbled mass of rock forty feet high, with a wide cave entrance at the base. Around them were fifty or sixty civilians, including college students sorting through what appeared to be pieces of pottery. None wore Mars suits, apparently content to trust their personal EnviroFields in the open desert. Aggressive AresNet reporters shoved cameras at Jack and Joe.
“What’s the story, Jack?” a reporter called out. “How dangerous are these ancient Martians?”
“We don’t know,” Jack grunted, obviously dismayed at the number of civilians pressing into the military group as they moved for the cave entrance.
“What about General Douglas’s murder?”
“Do you have plans to Xon bomb these Martians?”
“Senator Barsdine has called for peace with the Martians! What’s the USSF position on peace with the Martians?”
“Dammit to hell,” Jack muttered.
“Dammit to hell!” the reporter yelled into a camera. “That’s the official word from the Kilpatrick Desert this morning, as an edgy crowd of archeologists from the University of Mars assesses the USSF military takeover of their astounding discovery!”
“Militarist Jack Commer has arrived to take charge of the militaristic theft of one the universe’s most incredible finds!” cried a woman wearing an AresNet gimme cap.
“Screw that!” Major West snarled at this woman, who also sported a transparent purple blouse with nothing underneath. Phil took a look but, like Major West, was too keyed up to care. “I’m in charge here, young lady,” West went on, “not Commer! Keep back! Reporters, civilians, keep back!”
“Hello, there, gentlemen!” said a pudgy little man in a Mars suit ridiculously camouflaged to simulate an Earth jungle. “What can I help you with today?”
“Who the hell are you?” West barked.
“Well, I’m Meintgeister, of course. Larold Meintgeister of the University of Mars, at your service, sir!” the man said, extending a hand. “I’m the leader of this team. Of course, I’m here to cooperate fully with the USSF in every regard.”
West stared at Meintgeister’s hand until the archeologist finally dropped it in embarrassment. “You can cooperate by getting these reporters off our ass before I have them all blasted down! And if even one of your little college girls gets in our way--”
“Uh … of course, sir! May I ask what you might require here today?”
“We’re going to require getting into that damn cave to take a look at your damn ruins. This where they are? Inside the cave, I take it?”
Meintgeister nodded. “Yes, yes … although there are some more structures behind this outcropping. Buildings and so forth, many leading underground, how far we don’t know yet. Fascinating, really! But the most astonishing treasures have been inside this cave here. Well, we’ve removed a few objects in order to get to others below them, you may have seen a few outside that our people are studying, but …”
“Fine. We’re going in. And if there’s any interference--” West made a slashing gesture at his throat. Meintgeister blinked and ducked his head.
“Larold, you can’t let the military desecrate--” some woman began.
“Shove it, ma’am,” West said as he ducked into the cave. “We’ll desecrate as we please.” The cave entrance was low and ten feet wide. Phil looked back to the idling rovers surrounded by civilians and reporters. The cave lay at the bottom of what struck Phil as a natural amphitheater culminating in this odd little stage in the shadows of the rock outcropping, complete with cave mouth for actor entrances and exits.
Phil didn’t like being at the bottom of a bowl. He was glad Rover 4 had also noted this problem and was moving to the top of the rill to take command of the entire amphitheater.
He entered the cave with the others. Red rock walls and ceiling were awash in lights never intended for them. At first Phil couldn’t make sense of anything but the lights and the dark shapes of USSF men blocking them. From outside the cave came the muted sounds of faraway conversations, rendered through their Mars suit microphones to simulate actual distances and volumes.
“So what is this crap?” Major West said.
“Looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics to me,” Harri McNarri mused. “That figure looks like it could represent a man. Or one of those Martian things.”
“C’mon, we really don’t know what those aliens are,” Joe Commer said. “We can’t say they’re Martians just because we’ve found this old tomb or whatever it is.”
The cave was fifteen by twenty feet and decidedly primitive. There was one pillar extending from floor to ceiling towards the back, and something like a table on either side of it, all apparently carved out of rock. The hieroglyphs were everywhere, on the pillar, tables, walls, and ceiling, and now that Phil nudged some dust aside with his boot, he could see they were even on the floor.
“Get that Mein Führer guy in the camo suit back in here,” West snapped.
Ken Garrison hurried out of the cave and returned in a moment with Meintgeister the archeologist.
“Uh, yessir, and how may I be of assistance here?” Meintgeister said.
West pulled a heat blaster and aimed it at the wall opposite him. “What’s all this crap mean on the walls and everywhere? You guys figure it out yet?”
Professional Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars - Loved it!
June 20, 2012 by F. Taylor
This story opens up with a startling image of men in a spacecraft looking down on the smoking remains of the Himalayas. These men are human, and numb -- because they just dropped the bomb that destroyed their homeworld. Under orders, of course. Jack Commer and his three younger brothers are treated as heroes, or at least formidable warriors, for having done such a thing. But they don't feel like heroes. They have issues. And when they discover that their fight is far from over, we get to see what they're really made of.
Human beings tend to hate and fear what they don't understand. This has not changed by 2034. When creepy things begin to happen on Mars, the new home for mankind's survivors, no one knows what's real and what's simply the stress of losing Earth to war and militaristic hardball. Now Jack and his men are facing the heretofore undetected, indigenous race of Mars, elusive, arcane creatures who are capable of things that are difficult to understand. This has the feel of futuristic swords and sorcery, the universal conflict between masculine and feminine forces in a psychological context.
The author's use of weaponry and technological systems is outstanding. Shatterguns, super bombs, death rays, spaceships, terraforming and advanced mind control are well thought-out, believable and nicely integrated into the action and politics of the story. But technology is always under development, it rarely works just as you want it to when you need it most -- and when it does, it often introduces new problems. This is good science fiction in that the technology reflects the strengths and shortcomings of its inventors.
The early parts of this tale are subtly shadowed by uncomfortable questions about events such as Uranus sailing by the Earth like a hockey puck or the moon exploding, irreversible cataclysms that have left an indelible, collective scar on the human race. But as it unfolds, a clever if not beautiful way to heal begins to reveal itself. This requires the heroes to be open-minded and to view what begins as evil, weird, and too different to accept -- not to mention dangerous -- in a more evolved light. The rub is that these are the selfsame trigger-happy soldiers who, until now, have only contributed to the problem.
Enter the shock of grief, the confusion that comes with knowing things are not as they seem, a wicked human warlord -- and the indecipherable wiles of a gorgeous, intelligent woman -- and Jack Commer is put to his greatest test as a warrior and a man. For he is not a perfect hero. He melts down, makes crazy decisions and throws his weight around with love and hate until it seems certain he'll doom everything. But somehow, his charming histrionics open paths that would have remained closed had he not punched a hole in the sky. This is a tale of hope, regeneration and evolution; anything is possible, the heart will prevail, and sometimes it takes a cataclysm to show us what's important.
4.0 out of 5 stars - Sci-fi story pits man against intriguing Martian enemy
May 22, 2012 by MarkusRex82
Author Mike Smith's book takes place in the not-too-distant future as man-kind realizes that Mars, the planet a vast majority of the human population migrated to after the Earth was made un-livable due to futuristic weapons wreaking havoc on the planet, was once the home for Martians... and now those Martians are seemingly set on taking the planet back.
A lot happens - a lot of action, a lot of developments, a lot of discoveries, and a lot of characters are introduced - in this book and it is all done with the goal of a trilogy in mind. I was entertained and liked how everything wrapped up by the final paragraph, although the trip, at times, seemed to hit turbulence in a few minor spots.
Warning: You Will Want to Read the Entire Series!
February 21, 2015 by Linda Nightingale
Various reviews here have summarized the story. I won’t repeat the details here. I’ll just say that there is much more to this book than is implied because you wouldn’t want a plot spoiler anyway, and no one had done that. I loved Jack. His ineptness with women was charming in a way, and his shaky fate with Amav was both intriguing—will he win the girl of his dreams—and amusing. From the first paragraph to the last, the characters and their tale will keep you turning pages. I read the book in one day. That’s a record for me. I got into Martian Marauders and couldn’t put it down. There are many smiles on the pages of the book—like the interview with Huey Vespertine. I actually laughed aloud, yet I shed a tear or two earlier. Mr. Smith knows his stuff, both the craft of writing and the technology required to fabricate an enthralling sci-fi. I’m on to the next in the series! Join me in following the adventures of Jack Commer. You won’t regret a single second.
