Red Planet Run
The third Star Svensdottir novel takes the feisty heroine and her twins through a series of fast-paced adventures that begins with trouble over the design of an asteroid she is turning into a space habitat. There follows, in rapid succession, piracy, a trip to Mars, a crash landing on the red planet, finding a secret colony there, and fighting off the pirates again while defending an archaeological expedition that is discovering the history of alien habitation on Mars. Stabenow throws in events by the double handful, so a good many of them remain undeveloped; but the action is brisk, the characters engaging, the many details well chosen and frequently humorous, and the book overall a rousing success. Star may soon be running Kate Shugak (Stabenow's mystery series heroine inA Cold-Blooded Businessand its predecessors) a close second in generating readership for their creator.Roland Green