Publisher: Pumpjack Press

Pages: 318

Date of Publication: February 14th, 2021

Categories: Science Fiction / Hard Boiled Detective

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The year is 2188 and the Earth—long-ago abandoned for Mars by the plutocrats—is scorched by poverty, disease, and environmental collapse. What these wealthy elite don’t know is that on his last trip upuniverse, Detective Crucial Larsen stumbled onto a secret that could destroy them. But he doesn’t intend to use it. Fighting back against the ruling Five Families of Mars is a fool’s game destined for failure—or worse, he thinks. Plus, he never wants to set foot on that damn planet again. Then Melinda, his long-lost love and a staff scientist on Mars, begs for his help clearing her fiancée of a murder charge. Crucial jumps on the next q-rocket, hoping maybe this time he can patch things up with Mel. His investigation ultimately leads back to the radiation-blasted sunbelt, where cannibal lizard-people—a climate change mitigation genetic experiment gone terribly wrong—hold the key to a different future, if only Crucial can stay alive long enough to unlock it.

Praise for Scorched Earth:

“Others have attempted to blend the genres of an investigative detective piece with sci-fi, but few achieve such a seamless integration as do McFall and Hays … a compelling saga, edgy and different, thoroughly absorbing.” 

—Midwest Book Review

Purchase:Amazon

REVIEW 

Being a major fan of detective/mystery books and only have a small experience with Science Fiction, I looked forward to exploring new ground with the reading of this book.

From the first chapter I felt like it was pulling me in with an undercurrent of quirky and humor that carried on throughout by the character dialogue and even into the character’s names.

At a recent book club we were talking about symbolism and where sometimes the readers see more than the author intended or the other way around.  With this book you can’t help but question the character’s names and what the author may have been thinking.  Essential, Crucial and even Jynk all lend themselves to more thought as the names appear to line up with their personalities or situations.  Then there are the Five Families and my mind went right to the mob and the infamous 5 families.  Whether on purpose or not, these minor transgressions in my thinking led this reader down a path that might not have been intended but was enjoyable.

With travel between Earth and Mars, (treated like my going to Dallas), and the required technology and world structures that good Science Fiction can immerse you in, there is never a dull moment. There is something going on here that is beyond what each group is seeing and maybe between them all they could figure it out?  But there’s that little issue of working with others that might not be exactly like you.  This is a continuing challenge for us humans, not to mention if you add augmented populations to the mix.

This story takes place in a world where the idea of an all-seeing – all-knowing society is part of their everyday lives.  This idea as well as the plot of the book, leads to some great discussions and provokes some deep thinking.  Scorched Earth should be a consideration for any serious book clubs out there.  I’ve already recommended it to one of mine!

PS – Everyone needs a Sanders! If you find out where to get one – please let me know.

 

Clark and Kathleen wrote their first book together in 1999 as a test for marriage. They passed.  Scorched Earth is their ninth co-authored book.

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ALL THREE BOOKS IN THE HALO TRILOGY,

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3/15/21	Review	Chapter Break Book Blog
3/15/21	Review	The Page Unbound
3/15/21	BONUS Promo	LSBBT Blog
3/16/21	Review	Missus Gonzo
3/16/21	Review	The Clueless Gent
3/16/21	BONUS Promo	Hall Ways Blog
3/17/21	Review	Librariel Book Adventures
3/17/21	Review	Jennie Reads
3/18/21	Review	Reading by Moonlight
3/18/21	Review	Sybrina’s Book Blog
3/19/21	Review	Forgotten Winds
3/19/21	Review	Tangled in Text
3/19/21	BONUS Promo	All the Ups and Downs

 

 

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