Phobos

PHOBOS is an excellent read for the regular reader of SF as well as those like me, who are new to it. Interesting, believable characters, a plot that takes you for a tense ride, and careful attention to the fascinating details of this unique setting kept me engaged. I didn't want to put it down. Way to go, Mr. Drago!

I can't believe this book is not selling better. Somehow word of mouth is just not getting out. This is a great story. It's fun, exciting, and everything you want in an SF novel. The mystery part keeps it moving, the characters are fully developed and interesting. Do yourself a favor and buy this book. It's a great read and I can't wait for whatever Ty Drago comes up with next.

The biggest mystery in Phobos may not be the case Peace Corps lieutenant Mike Brogue is sent to solve, but the universe in which Phobos is set. Some of the backstory is filled in, but many questions remain unanswered (at least for now--the ending suggests a sequel).The mystery itself is an engaging one, reminiscent of another debut novel, Matthew Delaney's Jinn. While that novel used writing gimmicks to create shocks (such as withholding necessary information), this one doesn't. If anything, the book reminded me of an episode of "Scooby-Doo" (and this is a compliment): before long it is clear that there *is* a rational explanation for everything that's happened; it's up to Brogue et al. to find it.The book moves along at a fair clip, with enough suspense and intrigue to carry you through to the last pages. If Drago writes a sequel, I'll definitely read it.

There is bad blood between the earthlings and their Martian colonists so the promotion of the first Martian to a Peacekeeper officer job may be a token action, but one heck of a large token. However, Lieutenant Mike Brogue does not wish to be the Jackie Robinson of peacekeepers; he just wants to do his job and help change a broken system from within.Mike resolved a potentially nasty situation when Freedom fighters held a mayor hostage with enough dynamite to place the city at risk if an assault occurred. Following that success, Mike travels to the Martian moon Phobos where the Agraria Research Station is under attack by a serial killer somehow residing beneath the surface dust. Mike takes command of hostile earth born Peacekeeper soldiers who resent a Martian in charge. He makes inquiries and learns that the station has made incredible leaps in nanotechnology including developing a deadly artificial life form that someone controls as a killing machine. However, Mike is not any closer to determining who would use murder to drive everyone off the moon or why?PHOBOS is a great police procedural science fiction tale that that hooks the audience from the moment Mike works the mayoral abduction case until he completes the dangerous moon probe. The story line works for both genres as Mars and Phobos feel genuinely colonized and in dispute with the mother planet while the investigation seeks to uncover the villain behind the homicides. The key cast members whether they are from earth or Mars are fully devolved so that the audience receives a great tale reminiscent of Sean Connery's Outland.Harriet Klausner