An interplanetary mystery and a searing critique of the current billionaire quest for Mars. Irreverent, funny, hopeful. Plus, giraffes. "Sublime." Kirkus Reviews "Edgy. Riveting. Thoroughly enjoyable." Midwest Book Review "Prophetic." Boulder City Review "Highly recommend to fans of Blade Runner, Altered Carbon, or really any sci-fi and mystery. Great read. Five stars!" Goodreads IN THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE, HOW CAN A PERSON GO MISSING? The year is 2187. Crucial Larsen, a veteran of the brutal Consolidation Wars, is working as a labor cop on Earth. The planet is a toxic dump and billions of people are miserable, but so what, it’s none of his business. He’s finally living a good life, or good enough. But then Essential, his beloved kid sister, disappears on Mars. When Halo—the all-powerful artificial-intelligence overseeing Earth and Mars on behalf of the ruling Five Families—can’t (or won’t) locate his sister, Crucial races up-universe to find her. In the Choke, the frigid, airless expanse outside the luxury domes, Crucial uncovers a deadly secret from Essential’s past that threatens to shatter his apathetic existence…and both planets. Blending science-fiction with the classic, hard-boiled detective story, Gates of Mars is a page-turning, futuristic thrill-ride featuring a gritty, irreverent anti-hero—Crucial Larsen. The first book of The Halo Trilogy, Gates of Mars is the eighth novel by award-winning authors Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall. Gates of Mars is the GOLD winner medalist in Science Fiction from FOREWORD REVIEWS for 2020. "The authors' imaginations again run wild, this time a science fiction/detective series looking at what our lives may hold in the not too distant future if everything that can go wrong does go wrong. And they've done it with their trademark undercurrent of humor that lifts an otherwise dreary future into something resembling -- do I dare say -- hope? Their best work to date. And the giraffes? You'll have to read Gates of Mars to find out. I'm already wishing they could write faster." Renee Struthers, East Oregonian newspaper "With twists and turns true to some of the best noir detective pieces -- but with an otherworld setting and futuristic society -- along with psychological insights and connections, Gates of Mars is a riveting, unexpected story, filled with intrigue and change. Sci-fi and detective story readers alike will find Gates of Mars one of a kind, worthy of avid pursuit." Midwest Book Review "An indelible introduction to an interplanetary saga and its sublime characters...Glitter guns grow and discharge crystal ammo while lowly Earth's backstory is rife with global devastation. The cast, meanwhile, is predominantly and refreshingly female, and many, from Jynks to Singhroy Able (from one of the Five Families), are delightfully vague regarding their motivations." Kirkus Reviews AN INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHORS What's the premise of the new novel?  Set in 2187, Gates of Mars blends science-fiction with a classic, hard-boiled detective story. Crucial Larsen, 41, a veteran of the brutal Consolidation Wars, is working as a labor cop on Earth. The planet is a toxic dump and billions of people are miserable, but he doesn't care. Not his business. It took him a long time to get to the good life, or a good enough life. But then Essential, his beloved kid sister, wins the Mars labor lottery. After only a week on the red planet, she disappears. When Halo--the all-powerful artificial-intelligence overseeing Earth and Mars on behalf of the ruling Five Families--can't (or won't) locate his sister, Crucial races up-universe to find her. In the Choke, the frigid, airless expanse outside the luxury Martian domes, Crucial uncovers a deadly secret from Essential's past that threatens to shatter his apathetic existence ... and both planets. Why write about Mars now?  One of the coolest things about being a writer is you get to indulge your interests. The information beaming back to Earth from NASA's exploration, especially about the geologic features and the possibility of water on the planet (beyond the current ice), is fascinating. Combine this with the fact that a handful of billionaires are deploying an enormous amount of personal treasure to meet their scientific fantasy of Mars colonization and we were hooked.  Why tackle the rise of monopolies in your world-building?  At a certain market size, monopolies (and the wealth they generate for individuals) will be (are?) equivalent to nation-states in terms of their influence on the global stage. Right now, we are seeing a rise of monopolies across all markets. In Gates of Mars, we combine the current plutocratic fascination with Mars colonization with this market consolidation into monopolies, and jump forward a century or so. In this imagined future, family-controlled monopolies get bigger and bigger, own more and more capital, and roll up small and mid-size businesses until the inevitable occurs. Militia-ba