Just Finished Reading: Red Genesis by S C Sykes

Graham Kuan Sinclair has it all, wealth, power, prestige, enemies – on a green and pleasant future Earth. But when toxic waste erupts from the ocean floor killing thousands he is accused of crimes against nature. Despite his stated innocence, enough paperwork exists to tie him into decisions that led to tragedy and mass death. Avoiding the death penalty, Sinclair is exiled to the struggling Mars colonies to spend the rest of his life away from everything and everyone he loves. Without any skills the colony needs Sinclair trains as a doctor and begins to impress those around him with his dedication and eerie calm. Convinced by others to teach them Tai Chi he starts a craze for Eastern mysticism that moves through the colony like a virus. But it is only when he gets involved in local politics that things really get interesting and very dangerous for everyone he gathers to his cause – a Free and Independent Mars.

Political SF is a comparatively rare beast so it’s a real pleasure when you come across one such book that is also well written. Sinclair is a great character with multiple layers that are worth exploring. He’s the kind of person that you would like to get to know and be friends with. His interactions with the myriad characters in this book have a feel of realism about them that can’t help but involve you in their particular stories. The author’s depiction of Mars itself – one of my favourite SF subjects – also has a realistic feel to it as Sinclair and others around him explore, mine and modify the Martian environment to their needs. Whilst not in the same league as Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson this book adds enough nuance and difference to the Mars Colonisation sub-genre of SF that makes it worth hunting down and reading. Although not as ‘hard’ as some hard-SF I’ve read in the past it does contain quite a few interesting technological, political, artistic and sociological ideas to make the reader ponder our future here on Earth and on other planets in our System. Recommended.