RED PLANET LANCERS by Brian H. Roberts

 RED PLANET LANCERS

by Brian H. Roberts 

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GENRE:  Science Fiction Thriller 

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BLURB: 

How far will you go to save a friend? 

After sweeping Dallas Gordon and the American base from Earth’s moon, Emperor Zhang Aiguo launches an armada to conquer Ep City and control Mars. 

Ruthless Colonel Song Dajing leads his Emperor’s flotilla to defeat EPSILON’s isolated Mars colony. He brings the same armaments he used to defeat Dallas Gordon on the moon, plus a high-yield missile to annihilate Ep City and its occupants. The US Space Force, occupied with plans to take back the moon, refuses to intervene.

In a race against time, Dallas Gordon must organize a mercenary squadron and pursue Song before he can deploy his weapons on the defenceless colony. Ep City commander Gennady Antonov must prepare his civilian workforce for the coming invasion and plan for the unthinkable should Gordon fail to reach Mars before Song does. 

Taught and fast-paced, Red Planet Lancers builds tension until the exciting climax. Once you start this Earth-to-Mars rocket ride, you won’t want to stop. Order your copy today! 

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EXCERPT 

Steve sat back in his chair and folded his hands together. “I’m sure if some stranger asked you why it’s important to stop Zhang Aiguo from kicking us off Mars, you could tick off several good reasons:” he tapped his fingers with the index finger of his opposite hand, “the oxides returned to us are the lifeblood of our autonomous vehicle division—frankly of the entire western world’s microchip manufacturing capacity. That manufacturing capacity is vital for our national security, and the fight to contain Emperor Zhang. 

“But did you know that I donate ten percent of my personal wealth to several causes? This organization,” he lifted the upper half of his tee shirt off his chest for emphasis, “community colleges across the country that serve low-income communities, organizations that build and manage housing for the homeless with comprehensive drug, alcohol, and mental health treatment, remedial job training, and follow-up support. ... “It’s for these reasons that I seek someone to rescue EPSILON from the peril it now faces. In short, I’m seeking a messiah.” 

Dallas waited for the shoe to drop. 

“I’ve procured the weapons. Half a dozen Water Bugs and their lasers. Now I need someone to recruit, train, and lead the pilots. Dallas, will you lead this squadron?” 

Dallas felt like he was being examined under a microscope. Steve’s gaze was unflinching. After what felt like an interminable silence, he blurted out, “Yes. I’ll do it.”  

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* Falling in Love with the Main Characters

 Writing SciFi Thrillers requires two things of my main characters: They have to be smart (for the SciFi). And they have to be kick-ass (for the Thriller). That’s a difficult combination. To have any chance that my readers will buy into them, they have to be relatable. There has to be something about them that the reader will think, “Oh, this person isn’t just another boring superhuman. There’s some depth to them. They’re someone I want to get to know.”

I do that 4 ways. 1) I give them a flaw. Dallas Gordon is the commander of the rescue mission dispatched to save EPSILON’s Mars base. The occupants face annihilation at the hands of an imperial armada. He is a naval war hero pilot and POW, he commanded the first mission to Mars, and he’s a former climbing instructor. He’s also smart. You have to be to pilot an F-35 Lightning II or command a mission to Mars. But he’s shy. He ducks out of the limelight whenever he can (which happens a lot). And he’s shy of women. He’s now in a relationship with Ann Waters, but she had to initiate things when they first met out of college. But they parted ways, he to become a naval aviator, she to earn a PhD. After they ended up working at EPSILON on the same space mission, she had to save his bacon from Earth after he crash-landed on Mars before he admitted to himself that he still loved her. Thus began a 200-million-mile long-distance relationship! But they end up married in Red Planet Lancers, proving that the guy isn’t a flake. Another endearing quality!

2) I give them sexual tension. Dallas and Ann aren’t the only ones. The current base commander, Gennady Antonov fell for the Flight Surgeon who saved his life after his Russian stealth fighter was sabotaged during a joint exercise in the Mojave Desert. After leaving the military for EPSILON, LaDonna recruits him to join the company space program. She holds him at arm’s length until they are separated. She goes to Mars with Dallas while he stays behind. When he flies to Mars to replace Dallas, Genady and LaDonna are reunited. Sparks fly (in a good way).

3) I give them differences of opinion. The leaders at Ep City are all highly educated. The miners are mostly high school dropouts. They’re all ex-cons. The miner’s pursuit of money (they’re working under contract), and their prejudices often put them at odds with leadership—to at times disastrous consequences. But that provides opportunities for my next technique.

4) I give them a challenge that forces them to grow or change. In the end, facing that challenge has changed them on the inside. They learn something new, or they make up for a failure (redemption). In Red Planet Lancers, some miners’ prejudices lead to betrayal, exposing the entire base to the enemy force bearing down on them. Oops. I can’t reveal any more without giving away the ending! Read Red Planet Lancers. You’ll see what I mean. ;-)

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AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

In his first life, BRIAN H. ROBERTS worked as a contractor and civil engineer in bustling Seattle. In his spare time, he read novels by the greatest names in science fiction: Andy Weir, Frank Herbert, Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and so many others. As he read these authors’ works, he was inspired to write Sci-Fi Thrillers to engage and entertain readers like him.

As with so many of us, life intervened. Raising a family, work, remarriage, and finally retirement all placed demands on his time. Desiring a change – and time to write – he and his wife traded big city life for the outdoor adventures of Central Oregon. His writing draws deeply on his lifelong love of science/technology and adventure sports. The EPSILON Sci-Fi Thrillers is Brian’s first series.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE 

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