Skip to main content

#Indie Intro

#Review: RED DESERT by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli




4 Star reading

I must confess a certain attraction to the inhospitable red planet ever since I saw Total Recall. The Arnie version of course. There simply is no other. As many of you know, I’ve even squeezed a mention of Mars into my very own little eco SciFi number. So I was delighted to come across this translation of Deserto Rosso. It is written in diary format from the perspective of Anna Persson, an astronaut landed on Mars together with several colleagues. Together they are hoping to set up a primary colony.

The opening is dramatic as use of the present tense and the narrator’s situation draws the reader in. The story line switches between events on Mars and flashbacks, in the past tense, in which we learn a great deal of backstory. I found these details and the relationships Anna has with other characters very engaging. I wanted to read on and in fact finished the book in only 4 sittings. Anna's complex character is well rounded and Monticelli details her motivations, actions and feelings to perfection.

Where things were not so great for me was in the large sections of didactic information about Mars itself. I understand it is necessary for these crucial facts to be there as they pinpoint the difficulties the astro-team has waiting for them on this hostile planet. However, these chunks of information felt rather stilted. This may well be due to the fact they are in translation. Writing in English is complicated enough. I can’t even begin to contemplate how difficult translating an entire novel is. But sometimes the very fact of the translation made itself evident in clumsy phrasing, overlong sentence structures and perhaps the odd word or two with questionable context. And there was also the odd proofreading issue.

Despite this I enjoyed the story very much and would certainly read the rest of the series once I’ve finished this crazy Goodreads challenge I’ve set myself. If you like SciFi and stories with great characters then this book is the right one for you.

Other books in this series


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Faetaera: Through The Rabbit Hole

  Larell’s heart was full to the brim.  His audience with Aurelia had been unexpected and full of wonder.  He was not surprised she was aware of his plans to send a force through to the other side.  Aurelia always knew everything going on in her world.  At times he thought he saw the weight of it bearing down upon her.  Then he wished to take her in his arms and carry her as well as the burdens she bore.  But of course he would never do this, merely imagine it.  It made him love her all the more.  She thought he did not know how she came by her information and he planned on keeping it that way.  It was the only way he knew to express his love for her without feeling foolish.   In the crystal lined chamber he felt her load more palpably than usual.   He knew it was simply his foolish love-sickness for his Queen but he let the feeling soak through him regardless.   Aurelia's lips twitched briefly as though she was amused.   She was kind in her tolerance of his ridiculous obsess

Faetaera: A Triumvirate

  A Triumvirate Brairton’s minions slipped through a barely noticeable fissure.  The tear would close shortly.  Despite the increase in their regularity the breaches rarely stayed open very long.  To the three insidious spies, the stink of the new world was almost unbearable.  But in time the triumvirate would each become so used to it they would scarcely notice it at all.  That it poisoned them they did not know.  Brairton was not in the habit of informing his operatives of fatal consequences.  Their programming precluded any thought beyond the mission they must complete.  In this Brairton had been exact and had performed the necessary rituals himself. Each had their mission branded into their being.   They would travel together for some time but then slip off to their secret destinations one by one, never to see each other again. The threesome latched on to their individual targets and began their particular brand of individual mischief immediately. Minion one skulked off to en

Aphasia - Phase 1

It was one morning of May 2021. I woke up and I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know I had a stroke. I carried on as though I was okay. I even tried to negotiate with my guest when she was leaving. I tried to talk but only mumbles came out of my mouth. She left me with a big hug. I knew something was wrong. I tried to call my cousin, Michelle. With a few grunts, I convinced her to come round to my place. In the end she came round and she was very worried. She stayed with and we had lunch together. After she left, I called my friend in Sheffield, Bev. I tried to say what was wrong with me. I couldn’t speak. She rang my neighbour, Kathy. Kathy was out with Nelson, her fabulous dog. Bev rang her so she came round. When she came to my house I was sitting in the dark. Bev said she should call an ambulance. I took the phone from her and shook my head. Before long my neighbours Lizz and Leo came to see how I was. Kathy told Leo to ring the ambulance because I took her phone. She did not know w