Glory on Mars

Glory on Mars is an imaginative and creative story about the colonization of Mars. It follows the launch, arrival, and settling in of the second crew sent to colonize Mars. The main character is an Engineer named Emma and much of the story is about her adapting to living on Mars, dealing with a number of problems, and befriending the first crew, or colonists.
The Science and technology is an interesting mix of real and Scifi.
The story, by Kate Rauner, is an easy and enjoyable story to read and is the first of a 5-book series about colonizing Mars.

I definitely enjoyed this book, which has stretches of action and suspense mixed with everyday life on Mars. The colony is expanding by 4 people every 26 months, so that new capabilities arrive for a new aspect of colonization. My interest was kept by the problems and tensions within the colonists but also by the more everyday aspects – how do these people live, build their shelters, feed themselves? Of course they have technology, not all of which is presently available, but they don't have limitless energy and are just starting to grow a greater variety of things for food.

What also impressed me was the idea that these people were on Mars forever – no chance of ever coming back, quite like pioneers and emigrants on Earth 100 and more years ago. Recommended! P.S. There's a sample available if you want to try it first.

The author struck a perfect balance... the science is most definitely there in all it's glorious, taken for granted style. It is so flawlessly interwoven with the narrative that it becomes the backdrop of the story; part of the scenery, as it were, leaving the author free to tell a tale about life, love, strife and sacrifice instead of explaining just exactly how FTL or inter-dimensional travel is really possible.

What makes this story so enjoyable is it's solid grounding in reality. The author makes fine use of technology that is in widespread use every day, tech that is in development right now and she quite intelligently extrapolates from that what will surely exist in the future.