Before Mars

De: Emma Newman

Narrado por: Emma Newman

After months of travel, Anna Kubrick finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist-in-residence. She'll be on Mars for over a year. Throwing herself into her work, she tries her best to fit in with the team.

Anna finds a mysterious note, written in her own handwriting, she can't remember writing. Her wedding ring has been replaced by a fake. A footprint in a place the colony AI claims has never been visited by humans. Is she caught up in an elaborate corporate conspiracy, or is she actually losing her mind?

Written and read by Emma Newman.

©2018 Emma Newman (P)2018 Tantor Media LLC

Not an easy reading

The book was a slow, hard reading for me, especially at first. Even though I could sympathize with the heroine's thoughts and struggles about motherhood, social expectations, and her other struggles, it was merely intellectual and not new to me to be gripping or thought provoking.

I was thinking, "OK, I'm not enjoying this honest and depressing thing but it must be important for some people. But for me it felt a little bit dull and dragged. I just could not – and didn't want to – connect with the heroine, Anna. And then it hit me out of the blue: I felt her pain, how hard it's to be her, almost unbearable, and at this moment I was her. A couple of minutes later it hit me again, this time I was empathizing with her from the outside. I shed tears both times (and at least one more time close to the end).

Some of the reveals were to be expected with the knowledge of the previous books, but in a good way. I also could guess some plot twists, yet it was a strong mystery overall.

This book is honest and personal, and that it's read by the author herself is only adding to this impression.