The Martian Conspiracy

By: John Read

Narrated by: Chris Abell

Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

The year is 2071. Devastated by the loss of his wife and son, NASA engineer John Orville signs up for a new life on Mars, implementing Project Bakersfield, a plan to combat deadly Martian storms. After a military unit lands on Mars, supposedly for a training exercise, Orville discovers the true purpose of Project Bakersfield. With the military unit going rogue, and a massive superstorm threatening imminent destruction, John Orville must fight to save the colony.

©2015 John Read (P)2015 John Read

What a gem!

Very enjoyable book, one I will listen to again.

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com."

Fun Book and intriguing storyline

Would you listen to The Martian Conspiracy again? Why?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Sure it was interesting enough the first go around

What did you like best about this story?

The not too far away science puts the ideas in the book into reach and that makes it interesting.

What about Chris Abell’s performance did you like?

Engaging with out being overpowering

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Left Earth, Stuck on Mars

The Martian

Which scene was your favorite?

This audiobook is a fast paced sci-fi thriller. Beautiful flight scenes over both a devastated Californian landscapes and a desolate Martian terrain are coupled with a strong character driven plot and adventure.Very entertaining

The story and character arcs were really well done

A tragedy strikes California as a piece of NASA engineering crashes down to Earth and John Orville, an engineer at NASA can’t do anything to stop it. He thinks that he’s lost everything too, his child and his wife in the crash. So, he signs up to work as an engineer on Mars. Once he arrives, he starts to notice that things aren’t so much like they seem. Follow John as he tries to uncover the real truth about what is really happening on the red planet.

Chris Abell did narration for this, and he does a wonderful job. I really thought that Chris used the perfect voice for Chris, and gave the other characters really believable and well-done voices too. The quality of this recording was perfect, with no noticeable issues.

The Martian Conspiracy started off a little weird. I was trying to figure out why we were in California. But the whole first third of the book is to set the scene for who John is and what his motives are. I actually had to pause the audiobook at one point to make sure that I was actually listening to this book. Funny though, right after I did that a scene took place that changes where we were pretty quickly. With that being said, I don’t think that the beginning was unnecessary, it was just a bit confused when I thought I was reading a book about Mars and it spent a good amount of time NOT on Mars.

After we got to Mars, the action really started to pick up. Part sleuth/mystery and part sci fi thriller – this book has something for a lot of readers. I found myself really enjoying the story and staying up too late to get further into the story.

The story arc and character arcs were really well done too. I enjoyed the progress that each character had throughout and the interaction between them.

Overall, a well done science fiction novel, that really had some thought involved in it. I like the mixture of mystery, science fiction, and thriller. It was something different from the average sci-fi book.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author.

Please find this complete review and many others at my review blog

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Definately worth the read.

World and story are great but the characters were could have used more fleshing out.

Great Story Keeps You Wondering Whats Next

What made the experience of listening to The Martian Conspiracy the most enjoyable?

This novel combines intense, vivid flight scenes, gripping action sequences and even some light humor to create a fast paced, engaging story line.

Who was your favorite character and why?

John Orville

What about Chris Abell’s performance did you like?

Yes Very Much

Any additional comments?

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

Fun and enjoyable

The book overall was a fun listen. It has a very nice overall pace to the story so there isn't much lag in between parts. I loved the idea behind the book so it was great for me as a fan of NASA and space exploration and colonization. I really enjoyed the back story of the main character. It gave reasons to why he made the decisions he did at the climax of the book. Good read and great performance by Chris Abell.

Classic Conspiracy/Coverup with a Scifi Twist

This was a good twist on your typical story of a conspiracy by rich elites. After reading the summary I thought this book was going to follow the path of so many stories before it, but I ended up being pleased and drawn into the story by the new approach and the interesting sci-fi twist to a classic conspiracy plot.

The story begins with a NASA engineer (John) observing the project that has consumed years of his life, Project Bakersfield, launching into space. He and the rest of the agency are horrified when a freak accident results in it falling back to Earth and causing the most devastating man-made disaster in history. With a huge swath of southern California destroyed, John spends the next year searching for his wife and daughter who are presumed dead after being caught in the middle of the devastation.
Hollowed out emotionally, he is offered an engineering job on Mars that he accepts in an attempt to escape the guilt that plagues him. As one of the main engineers on the planet, he is assigned to coordinate the construction of a massive power generation project. After noticing several irregularities in the project, and a large contingent of military personnel arrive on the planet and begin acting strangely, John and his two friends uncover a potentially deadly plot by the some of the world's richest elites (now living on Mars in a secret, purpose-built paradise complex). To make matters worse, the project he has been working on may be the catalyst for the murder of thousands of Mars colonists.

The narration on this book was also quite good, and I was drawn into the story after the first few hours. I must admit that it was a little slow to start, but if you can get through the initial backstory, then you won't be disappointed.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the author, publisher, or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review. I was NOT required to write a positive review and this reflects my honest opinion of the work.

A NASA Engineer Uncovers a big secret on Mars

John Orville is an engineer for NASA who witnesses a new space station/colony come crashing down into California quickly ending his career with NASA. His wife and child were near the impact zone, and he isn’t sure if they got out safely. After spending months helping the search and rescue team look for survivors, John is about to give up everything. Right after he has this realization he is visited by a hologram from the Martian Mining Company looking for his engineering expertise. He decides he has nothing tying him to Earth, and joins. After he arrives on the red planet he begins to realize quickly that things aren’t what they seem.

The narration was done by Chris Abell, and he did a wonderful job voicing John’s character. He also gave each character a different voice and they were really well done. I love when a narrator is able to give each character a voice of their own and make them all believable. The narration of this book really added something to the story.

The Martian Conspiracy starts off a little weird. We spend a lot of time on Earth for a story that’s named “The Martian” anything. Granted, it’s all needed to explain John and what is going on with him, but it was hard to understand for a while. I actually found myself making sure I was listening to the right book for a second. But the story then moves to Mars and it really picks up from there.

The story was incredibly detailed with story and character arcs that were incredibly well thought out.

Johns’ character himself was a really easy person to follow along with. The way that he was written makes him one of those characters that as the story progressive you really find yourself wanting to follow him to the ends of the Earth (or space).

Overall, this was a really enjoyable sci-fi/mystery/thriller. I found myself staying up late listening to this because I was enjoying it so much. Also, if you like planes -- there is a lot of aeronautical stuff in this novel that will peak your interest.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

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Sci-fi, Space, Adventure!

This was a fun read for me. The description grabbed me because I am into sci-fi adventures so it was my type of book. The problem with it being so well matched to my tasted is that having read so many in this genre, there is a higher bar for sci-fi adventure books. I received this book at no cost in exchange for an honest review, and this one did not disappoint!

I liked the near-future-ness of the story. The technology seemed to be a realistic imagining of what is possible in the not-too distant future, so there wasn’t any ‘magic’ technology – don’t get me wrong, I like those types of stories too. It’s just sometimes I want something a little more down to Earth…or Mars. The story also offered a fun mix of characters and scenery descriptions that were easy to visualize.

The narrator did a good job. There were a couple of accents done which helped to distinguish some of the characters. The only complaint I would have was one scene with a lot of dialogue back and forth between several characters where I couldn’t quite distinguish between two of the four or five characters involved in the conversation. There was also a point or two where a background noise made me blink, but it was so low I think the only reason I noticed it was because I was so thoroughly engrossed. Otherwise, it was a pleasant listening experience and the narrator moved at a good pace.

If you like near-future sci-fi, space travel and adventure this will be a good listen!