The year is 2188 and the Earth—long-ago abandoned for Mars by the plutocrats—is scorched by poverty, disease, and environmental collapse. What these wealthy elite don’t know is that on his last trip upuniverse, Detective Crucial Larsen stumbled onto a secret that could destroy them. But he doesn’t intend to use it. Fighting back against the ruling Five Families of Mars is a fool’s game destined for failure—or worse, he thinks. Plus, he never wants to set foot on that damn planet again. Then Melinda, his long-lost love and a staff scientist on Mars, begs for his help clearing her fiancée of a murder charge. Crucial jumps on the next q-rocket, hoping maybe this time he can patch things up with Mel. His investigation ultimately leads back to the radiation-blasted sunbelt, where cannibal lizard-people—a climate change mitigation genetic experiment gone terribly wrong—hold the key to a different future, if only Crucial can stay alive long enough to unlock it.

“Don’t stay mired in this wretched way of living because you can’t conceive of something else. People deserve better. Building our systems on empathy instead of greed is the first step.”

Scorched Earth by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays is book two in an interplanetary trilogy destined to become a favorite among all readers, no matter what genre you love the most because it covers a lot of bibliophilic ground.

Crucial Larsen has effectively achieved the status of beloved character by being witty and pragmatic and filled with unlimited hope cleverly disguised as pessimism and sarcasm. He loves to drink, especially Martian absinthe; knows how to tick all the wrong people (and even some of the right people) off and live to tell about it; and has a way of saying all the wrong things at all the wrong times, yet he remains endearing and actually quite lovable.

“I’m used to living right on the edge of always giving up.” ~ Crucial Larsen

Reading book one, Gates of Mars, in this trilogy first is highly recommended because it is terrific, and the history and backstories of the main characters will come in handy. Book two references events in book one and continues several relationships, in addition to building new ones. Moreover, that obnoxious contrast between rich and poor/Mars and Earth remains a steady theme throughout both books. In Scorched Earth, Crucial is a labor cop on Earth, but he receives special investigative privileges into the murder of one of the mega rich members of the Five Families on Mars, giving him access to pretty much everywhere and almost everyone. How fortunate! And a bit dangerous. Through Crucial’s droll point of view, the reader sees firsthand how all humans (and modified humans and other beings) on both Earth and Mars live, either barely hanging onto a life not worth living or languishing among the glittering richness of greed and useless wealth. And then there is the Resistance. There will always be a resisting group in any have/have not world, right? And what about those mutant blizards/Saurians in the Sunbelt on Earth? So much going on, but every page is a treat for readers who love a good science fiction, mystery, romance, adventure, and cautionary tale all rolled up into one fantastic story. I did say it covers a lot of ground, right?

“But can anything that offers relief really be voluntary for the desperate?”

Scorched Earth is an entertaining sojourn into the year 2188, where Earth is a total mess, and the poor and eternally indebted are scratching out a bleak existence. The red planet is the place to be if you are born rich or win the get-out-of-debt lottery, and all of these so-called lucky ones will do anything to preserve their selfish, opulent lifestyles and their health, apparently. Hays and Clark are expert world builders and have created many well-rounded and lively characters. I am happy to report that the delightfully funny and sweet bromance between Crucial and Sanders, who is the cybanism assistant/companion assigned to Crucial while he is on Mars, continues in book two.

As part of his investigation, Crucial and historian Lauren Valentine stumble onto some stranger-than-normal activity in the undesirable and practically uninhabitable Sunbelt on Earth, and as the mystery deepens and as Crucial creeps ever closer to the truth, the danger level ratchets up to an almost impossible level. Never fear! Crucial and several other characters have a way of landing on their feet…maybe…sort of. Well, read the book and find out who survives this latest interplanetary adventure. Word of caution! Don’t be surprised if some aspects feel a little too real and hit too close to home in this work of fiction because of our current real-life scenario of viruses, social distancing, and digital connections/surveillance. In all his quirkiness, likability, and humanness, Crucial reminds us how important it is to maintain our humanity, physical connections, and even humor in a world where all of these things are either extinct or on the brink. This trilogy may be science fiction, but who knows. We might be re-classifying this as non-fiction someday in the not-so-distant future. Like tomorrow maybe?

Hays and Clark are the perfect writing team! They deliver an engaging story that makes you laugh, cringe, and boil, sometimes all within the same paragraph. The dynamic characterization and superb world building and plot lines will have you clamoring for book three!

“Your life is about to get very complicated.”

Enter the giveaway below on or before March 22, 2021, for a chance to win signed copies of each book in The Halo Trilogy by Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays.

---

I received a free copy of this book from Lone Star Book Blog Tours in exchange for my honest review.