• Semper Mars

  • Book One of the Heritage Trilogy
  • By: Ian Douglas
  • Narrated by: Ray Chase
  • Length: 13 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (453 ratings)

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Semper Mars  By  cover art

Semper Mars

By: Ian Douglas
Narrated by: Ray Chase
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Publisher's summary

The Year is 2040.

The Marines have landed on Mars to guard the unearthed secrets of an ancient and dangerous alien race: Ourselves.

Scientists have discovered something astonishing in the subterranean ruins of a sprawling Martian city: startling evidence of an alternative history that threatens to split humanity into opposing factions and plunge the Earth into chaos and war. The USMC -- a branch of a military considered, until just recently, to be obsolete -- has dispatched the Marine Mars Expeditionary Force, a thirty-man weapons platoon, to the Red Planet to protect American civilians and interest with lethal force if necessary.

Because great powers are willing to devastate a world in order to keep an ancient secret buried. Because something that was hidden in the Martian dust for half a million years has just been unearthed . . . something that calls into question every belief that forms the delicate foundation of civilization . . .

Something inexplicably human.

©1998 William H. Keith, Jr. (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about Semper Mars

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

GOT SH@T UP HIS CHAMBER

Lots of politics. Like bumblebee, I expected something a lot different. At least some Science Fiction with the politics. As Hadland, says, Mars has nothing to do with the plot. This is the second time I have wasted money on Douglas, there will not be a third.

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56 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

SPOILED EXPERINCE BECAUSE OF AUDIBLE

Because of audible's strange politics I already listened to "Star Carrier" Series and "Inheritance" trilogy.

Inheritance Trilogy events occur in the same universe as this series but years later, and all of the main events of this series are listed as historical facts in the first book "Star Strike".

I hoped I would have a bit better quality than Inheritance Trilogy, but it was on the same level maybe even worse.
I dropped the book after 1/4, Ian Douglas kept the style of writing and the same formulas all over "Star Carrier" Series, "Inheritance" trilogy and heritage trilogy, It gave the feeling like he cloned all this books and just changed some of their names.

PS
Maybe I will finish it on some rainy day but I doubt it !!!!

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It could have been a lot better

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The publisher probably should have had a real Marine ghost write it for William Keith (aka Ian Douglas)

Would you be willing to try another book from Ian Douglas? Why or why not?

Maybe, but I will not listen to anymore in this series.

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29 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Great title, misleading blurb

This book was great if you're a fan of sci fi space battles, and it scrupulously plays politics down the middle. If you're like me and you read the blurb and expected a cool alternate history that brings humans through Mars, though, don't buy it. I think that payoff is coming in book two or three, since it's barely touched on here. Instead, you get a futuristic series of military skirmishes with little levity and thankfully limited blood (sometimes these things become a gory body count - this book has a small number of casualties but makes them matter).

For that kind of book, this is a solid entry. I'm just disappointed because I was expecting something different.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

A Little Boring

I was a little bored with this book. I thought it would be exciting, it had all the pieces. Just soooooo slow! Not my favorite!

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

not bad

story line had a slow start but a good finish. not bad over all thougha

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book...

What did you love best about Semper Mars?

Always in the first book of the series it takes time to get all the players down... About midway through the book I was into the story... Thanks for the adventure and I will be downloading book 2 and 3

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fun space opera

If you like space opera this one is fun. Douglas puts an interesting twist on the future as the US gets a substantial dose of its own real politik. There are a lot of classic plot lines and good characterization for this genre. Definitely worth it.

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19 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Nice book and good narration

Like the book, although it features the author's familiar theme of "America good, Europe bad" (later copied in Star Carrier). Written in late 90's, certain mentioned events in the 00's and the 10's are obviously different from reality. The narrator does a good job, including foreign speech, but it's a little jarring not to hear any vocal changes between characters and no accents.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book and a wonderful series

A great sci fi book about the stars. one book I always love to back too. iys a great story that always keeps me thinking and involved with the story. one of my favorite story lines.

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13 people found this helpful