The Red Planet President

By: William Graham

Narrated by: Richard Wilson

Length: 1 hr and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

In this continuation of the story line of The Red Planet Trilogy, author William Graham weaves a compelling tale of political intrigue as Dr. Jane Starling, the first president of the newly formed Martian Republic, takes office. Her political foes at the corporations, which founded the colonies on Mars, are aligned against her and devise ways to sabotage her political agenda. Against this highly charged political drama, the common citizens of Mars must make decisions about their own lives.

This fast-paced drama not only takes us into the future but casts a bright light on many contemporary events. It's a story with universal appeal and meaning.

©2014 William Graham (P)2015 William Graham

A Bit Dry

I couldn't get into this one. I imagine the style just wasn't for me because I absolutely love this genre. I fault myself for this and not the book!

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Condensed

I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

I liked the idea of the fight against corruption, spearheaded by the first Martian President, Jane Sterling. I don’t quite think that her policies were that great, but the plot was pretty good. It probably would have been better if it had been longer, as the storyline felt quite condensed.

great short story

I love the story it was short and sweet. " I requested this book and got it for free for my honest review"

"Mars need strong women ..."

Continuing the story of the development of Mars. The new President starts her term of office with the introduction of new policies to bring prosperity to everyone, but many conservatives think the measures invade and will stop at nothing to reverse them.
Written almost as a news record, this is an interesting vision of two opposing ideals. The narration is excellent, fast but clearly delivered, with the voicings of the protagonists, especially those of the women, captured perfectly by Richard Wilson.
A must for anyone who heard the earlier Red Planet Trilogy.

Continuation of the Trilogy

Would you recommend The Red Planet President to your friends? Why or why not?

I have a mars junky friend who likes to read anything and everything related to mars. I would recommend this to him.

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided a free copy of this book by the author / narrator / publisher and I'm leaving an unbiased review.

I had read "The Red Planet Trilogy" from the same author earlier. I had found that book to be more of a political dram than a sci-fi book. Compared to that one, this novella is definitely better. But since this one has just one short length story, I was left wanting more. Imo, the story could've been fleshed out more. But, if you are looking for a quick read, this book will meet your needs.

An examination of human nature

I find William Graham’s books fascinating. Each one has a different setting but they all make a point about greed, power corrupting and the need for people to stand up for what’s right.

This book is based on Mars about 100 years in the future when the first government is created and follows the power struggle between that government and the rich families who want to control the future of the planet. It’s a fascinating story that delves into a range of different human experiences seen through the eyes and actions of different characters.

I’m not someone who likes to talk politics but this book still enthralled me.

The narration is well done for the most part, occasionally a character voice struck me as a bit strange but this was always a supporting character who didn’t have much dialogue. The overall delivery including the pacing and phrasing were excellent.

This book was supplied free by the author/narrator/publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

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It would have made a great full lenght book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

"This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."
Yes, the length... I would have liked the great story line to be developed into a full length book. I'm not against the idea of a novella, but the story could have developed into a truly remarkable bestseller. It is the follow up to the Red Planet Trilogy which I have not as yet read, so that might be the reason it left me with wanting more.
The story is so closely related to what our actual "earthly" situation is like, that it made me reflect on the fact that humankind could ever change.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I would say Dr. Jane Starling just because she was the one whose character was developed the most in this short novella, but glimpses into other characters were really promising. Need to read the trilogy to see what I missed.

What about Richard Wilson’s performance did you like?

His narrative speech was great, but I wasn't completely taken with his rendition of female characters. They sounded weak when when they should have been strong and assertive.

Was The Red Planet President worth the listening time?

Yes, for sure...

Any additional comments?

Worth the reading

Continues the series

“The Red Planet President: A Novella” picks up and continues where the previous Red Planet books left off. It is the next in the “Detective Ace Sloan” series of books. The novella is written by William Graham and the narration, like with the trilogy book, is performed by Richard Wilson. Similar to the “Red Planet Trilogy” which I earlier reviewed, this book is not a science fiction thriller in the likes of “Total Recall” or the newer “The Martian” movies. If this is what you are hoping to get from these books, I would say that you should look elsewhere or you will be disappointed. A series beginning with the word ‘detective’, you can assume this novella will be better classified as a political or procedural thriller genre. Does that mean the book is not worth reading or listening too; not at all. Read on for reasons I think you might like the book. I say this upfront to ensure you know what you are getting into when the name implies it will be more of a sci-fi story.

This short novella consists of 59 pages in print form and 1 hour and 37 minutes of audio in the Audible edition. In this small number of pages, the author is able to craft a well-told story involving battling factions between the Martian Republic and the conservative group who first colonized the red planet; Mars. As these two parties collide in their beliefs and attempts to do what is best for the colony and the planet, some go to extremes to get their agendas heard or accepted. We see some of the members turn to ways of disrupting and interfering with the new leadership including both kidnaping and sabotage. Tensions and hostilities increase until something has to be done to put an end to it all. This is all packed neatly into a quick read or listen. Not only this core plot, but you also have sub plots involving a crumbling marriage, a bit of romance, and other newly introduced characters I believe we will get to know better in future books.

I do want to say that I would not recommend this book to younger readers as it does contain a fair amount of vulgar language at times and there is some graphic violence closer to the end of the book. Although language was not used everywhere, there were times that it flowed freely and some may take offense to it. Just be aware, if you are one that does not like the use of language like this in your books, you may want to find a different one.

The narration was decent, very similar to the Red Planet Trilogy also narrated by Richard Wilson. Because there are a few main female characters and I often listen to book at 1.5x or 2.0x normal speed, the women in this book sounded more like battling chipmunks at times. I understand it is often difficult for a male narrator to properly voice female characters, I think I can count on one hand the ones that have pulled it off, without them sounding rather quirky. Just note that at times it can be difficult when a female character is excited or action it taking place. Other than that, the audio quality was what one would expect from a professional recording.

In summary, if you like intrigue over adventure, political battles over ship battles, or political strife over traveling at light speed, I would recommend this short novella. That is if you can get past the use of vulgar language or some limited graphic violence. Because it is a rather short audiobook, I would not recommend one use a credit on it, but simply buy it outright and save the credit for a longer book.

Disclaimer: I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator.

This novella was good, it was great

Take up where The Red Planet Trilogy left off, and into the first years of the new Mars President. Follow different characters around her as her presidency is challenged, taken over, and then fought for in the end.

The narration, like the trilogy; done by Richard Wilson was great. His voice really lends a hand to this story. It is definitely studio quality work done by an excellent narrator. I will be looking for more books by Mr. Wilson in the future.

This novella was good, it was great, but it was damn good. If you are a fan of political issues and political fights for power, this book is for you. If you haven’t read/listened to the original three novellas, you will be able to follow this but will be missing BIG pieces of it (the murder case, the company, and a few other smaller details). I would recommended reading/listening in order. In order, these stories told a jumpy view of the Martian planet colonies existence from early creation to full blown independence. Overall, I would rate the story 4 stars, just as I did with the Red Planet Trilogy. I enjoyed the series, and will read more if more become available, but it just felt like it was missing something.

Audiobook provided for review by the author.

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8 of 17 people found this review helpful

An okay story

Red Planet President is a good continuation of the series. Its the culmination of all the events in the generation past of the first colony to the first election of mars. The story overall is fine, but there is an escalation of language and graphic content found from the other books I didn't care for. The first trilogy dealt with social and political commentary bluntly but this story trades in for a bat. For every change of scene in this story it just seemed to be more and more of just a stereotype to the point of a cartoon. Despite this I still enjoyed the story as a whole.

***I received a free copy from the author, publisher or narrator in exchange for an honest review***

0 of 1 people found this review helpful