Weekly Book Review
'THE NEW MARS'
Author: John L. Manning Jr.

The exploration and development of a barren planet with little gravity could lead to endless possibilities and extreme situations. John L. Manning Jr. explores the expansion of habitats on Mars and the dangerous progression of pod car racing in his new novel, The New Mars (now available through AuthorHouse).

In the mid-21st century, the discovery of a powerful and long-lasting power source has revolutionized life on Earth. Utilizing this power in jets, travel into space has become easier, and the opportunity to develop barren lands is seized. Mars is the first planet to be inhabited by humans who build a viable environment in a dome that, despite growth, has not yielded much profit. When investors decide to transform Mars into a vacation spot, workers are sent from earth to build a city under a reinforced tent. The workers spend their free time reading and become bored by the monotony. A few workers explore the planet and find a junkyard with used rovers and machinery from the dome. The discovery spurs the idea to build pod cars to race around Mars.

Three teams of workers - the technicians, the gardeners and the free-lancers - start small races, but excitement soon builds and more workers want to join. The interest generates the need for more tents and a racetrack, making the races an event to see on Mars. The reduced level of gravity on the planet propels the races to extreme and dangerous levels.

The same weightlessness gives one man the idea that Mars would also be a great place for seniors to retire. The reduced level of gravity would relieve the pressure on their joints and keep people active, so they can do the things that they loved in their youth. Soon another tent is being built with condos and a mall with all of the necessities seniors need to make Mars a retirement destination.

The New Mars takes an interesting and imaginative look at the future and leads readers to wonder how long it will be until these events might really happen.