All that Glitters is not Gold: Reviews by jonbrain

Infinity on Mars, by triciabird

Note: pending a possible title change, this work may no longer be titled Infinity on Mars when you read this review. However, as always, the work will be placed in my ongoing reading list, jonbain Reviewed, and it may be found there. The new title will probably include Mars or Infinity.

I don't suppose it should surprise anyone that ultimately, the fragile age of relative peace that began with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 collapses into fire. Anyone who reads the politics of the modern era, no matter the political affiliation that they cling to, can see that even now, twenty years hence, when the age of major warfare between powerful nation states is a memory fading from the memory of our lifetime, that the peace may not last. But there is hope. That hope finds us in the years that we have still between us and that inevitable decay. And it is born on Mars.

Infinity on Mars tells the story of the Infinity Mars colony, a tough frontier outpost cocooned in biodomes and concrete bunkers beneath the red, iron rich dust of Mars. Here, a collection of men and women from across the globe congregate, research, train, and basically do astronaut stuff. It's meager existence, and nobody stays for long. Four Earth years is standard for most people, although most who come wish that the stint were much shorter. Mars is just a bit short on creature comforts, since weight is at a premium and almost everything on Mars is flown over via spacecraft from Earth. So life is uncomfortable.

Adamina Campbell is just one of these scientists. Brilliant, beautiful, and just about as done with Mars as anyone else on this colony, even though she's only halfway through her stint. Until, that is, she's recruited by the colony's administrators, along with about a dozen other scientists, in the colony to work on a secret project. Call it a threat assessment, or a doomsday scenario. They want a team to put together a plan in case Earth is destroyed and Mars has to survive on its own, without supplies from Earth. Adamina would say no; her roommate and best friend is leaving for Earth shortly, and she wants to say goodbye. But as it turns out, she doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

Adamina soon comes to know her fellow scientists as they wrestle with the vast problem facing them. In particular, notorious heartbreaker Ansel Snow, who takes an immediate liking to her (and the feeling is mutual, trust me) and Sofia Toscano, a thirsty Italian scientist (with no interest in Adamina, so we're clear).

What follows is essentially two complementary stories; the budding romance between Adamina Campbell and Ansel Snow, (come on, you had to know we were going there) and the team's attempt to engineer a way to keep Mars and the human race alive in case of a nuclear war on Earth. And the need for such engineering may be nearer than they once thought. War is brewing back home. Some have said the first shots are already made. And what secrets might Infinity itself hold? More than Adamina once thought, that's for sure.

Infinity on Mars is, first and foremost, a fine read. The writing is snappy, the characters are vibrant and the plot is intriguing. I particularly liked Adamina; she was a very good narrator and her inner dialogue made me smile a whole lot. The characters, as I've said, popped out of the pages with their own unique and interesting personalities and dialogue that seemed but clever enough to be beyond most people I've met and grounded enough to be realistic and believable. The plot has numerous twists and turns that keep me guessing, and the stakes are high enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. The mounting disaster on Earth reveals itself slowly, unfolding more like origami than a pop-up book, piece by piece. It's a very good way of handling it, and one that I don't see too often. Even the science is well handled; the author seems to have put a good deal of thought into the details of her scenario, which is always a good thing, especially with a science fiction piece like this one. There's overall a lot to recommend about this work, as it stands on Wattpad. It's got heart, it's got action, it's got a head full of facts and it knows how to use them.

I'm honestly not as sure about it's use of romance though. Those of you who have read a number of these can attest to the fact that I have some...opinions when it comes to portraying romance, so you really shouldn't be surprised that I'm talking about it now. Ansel and Adamina's relationship (Adsel? Ansamina? Andamina? Is there a ship name I should know about?) does two things that I'm not fond of. First, it cuts into what...for me...is the more interesting story, the impending nuclear war on Earth. You remember how Pearl Harbor asked "what if we used one of the biggest disasters to ever befall the United States as the backdrop for an odd love triangle between two guys with bad southern accents and a Nurse?" Well, this seems similar. For a decent portion of the story, they have no idea that open war is beginning on Earth, and for that period, I don't have much of an objection for the romance. But as we go forward, the urgency of the war on Earth increases, and we still have to deal with their couple cuteness (I say deal with, although it is very well written and cute). I would have been much more impressed had the narrative set their emotions aside at that point and focused all in on the problem at hand.

The second problem is that there never seems to be much substance to the romance. In past reviews, I've written about some very good couples, couples that I think have a very strong romance. Well, Ansel and Adamina have chemistry all right; I wouldn't deny that. But I never got the idea that they had more than that in common. Everything is surface level for them, and the author plays with circumstances to support that. For example, Ansel, a native born Hawaiian, teaches Adamina how to swim. They have the pool all to themselves. They're stripped to their underwear (no time to pack swimsuits to the secret underground bunker). She has this lacy, insubstantial underwear that covers even less than a more ordinary pair might. Why is she wearing these? I don't know. It makes for a steamier moment, although when she got dressed that morning, I doubt she realized this. But nothing happens. Later, she sprains both of her ankles scuba-diving. So when she has to bathe later, who gets recruited to "help" her undress without looking at her exposed body "out of respect" (although it should be noted she has a female roommate more than capable of doing the job). And they themselves never go beyond gasping at each other's beauty and basic background information. So, while it is of course an intoxicating romance, I'm left wondering, what happens when they realize if they really don't have much in common? Sure, we get a reassuring talk about their hormone levels and how they're committing to one another with brain chemistry, but I feel that this might just be a nerdy way of saying "love at first sight." And, hey, I'm fine with love at first sight. I just want there to also be love at second sight, and I don't get the impression that we've gotten there.

Otherwise, a couple of odd moments made me wonder what this book wanted to do; once, for instance, we learned that Ansel had suggested killing half the inhabitants of Infinity to free up resources and space for the survival of the colony, which sounds sinister even without it being Thanos's plan. When I read that, I got excited, because I thought it was Chekhov's gun, and I like Chekhov's gun. I had hoped that Adamina would, as she got to know this heartbreaker, learn that he was more than just a hot loverboy and end up in opposition to him (because a serious plan to kill half the people to save the rest is pretty evil). But I was disappointed on that count. So, I'm confused. A couple moments with one of the guards had me wondering something similar, but again, no dice. It was disappointing because I think that it would have been a very nice plot line. But oh well. Freckles are rubies I suppose.

Final score for Infinity on Mars is 3.6 out of five weighted biosuits. That's kind of a misleading score, as it turns out, because I actually think that this is a rather well done story, and I'm definitely reading the sequels. I just haven't been sold on Adamina and Ansel, and I don't like the way it teases, inching closer and closer to having a full sex scene without actually doing so. Doing none of it would weaken the story, actually portraying it would do the same and force me not to read it; straddling the line between them (if I may use the expression) is just kind of annoying. I also think that there are a bit too many characters to care about. But that's just me. Like I said before, I like Adamina, I like all the supporting characters, the writing is some of the best I've seen on Wattpad, and the story itself has a lot of merit. I'd even recommend it as one of the better things I've read here. I just can't quite give it full points.

Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below. If you liked the review, please check out the rest, and let me know what you think of those. Thanks a bunch! Sincerely, the real jonbrain.