Before Mars

May 21, 2018
Strange events prompt a geologist on a Mars base to question her mission in Newman’s suspenseful companion novel to Planetfall and After Atlas. In a future defined by corporate greed and hubris, Dr. Anna Kubrin is sent to Mars by the head of the powerful GaborCorp to both work as a geologist and paint unique Mars vistas that will sell for enormous profit. Anna finds a note in her room, painted in her own hand, that warns her not to trust the base’s psychologist, Dr. Arnolfi; she later discovers a footprint in the Mars dust that doesn’t belong. She is puzzled by the crew’s strange behavior and her undeniable, familiar attraction to her colleague Dr. Asil Elvan. As Anna’s paranoia builds, so does pain that stems from her ambivalence about being a mother and her family’s dark past. Devastating news from Earth turns up the heat considerably. Newman has constructed a captivating puzzle of a tale that, while harrowing, concludes on a poignantly hopeful note, leaving the door open for further adventures in an all-too-believable future. Agent: Jennifer Udden, Barry Goldblatt Literary.

March 15, 2018
Picking up after the events in After Atlas (2016), the latest Planetfall novel is told from a research station on Mars via the resident artist and geologist. Dr. Anna Kubrin works for GaborCorp (series readers will catch the implications that go along with that name) and is on a long-term assignment to draw Mars landscapes and conduct geological research for her lab back on Earth. It's difficult for her to leave her husband and newborn child behind, but she's excited to fulfill her dream of studying on Mars. From the beginning, however, there are numerous signs that things are not what they seem at the station, and soon Anna begins to question her grasp on reality as mounting evidence suggests that there is a dark side to Mars. Similar to After Atlas, Before Mars is an expertly woven story that includes elements of science fiction and intrigue to keep the reader guessing from page to page, and while the references to the other books in the series are appreciated, it's also very accessible for readers who are new to the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)