My series Worlds of Sol has two novels and six short stories. A third novel, Thorium Blues, will appear in early 2026.
Tharsis City in Mars’ Mariner Valley is running out of power to grow food and create oxygen. New nuclear reactors need a fuel source on Mars, not one a ruinously expensive distance away on Earth.
Chris Lafontaine is bored and looking for an adventure. He volunteers to lead an expedition to the Northern Lowlands to find thorium for the city’s reactors.
Never mind that the People’s Republic of China has claimed all thorium on the red planet as its strategic resource. Or the fact that the UNS Guardsman on the crew for security has brought a cache of weapons. So what if two members of his crew are probably spies? What could go wrong?
Chris and his crew head north aboard four vacuum tractors. They encounter the expected challenges from the unforgiving Martian terrain. Chris does not anticipate sabotage of a tractor or a freak accident that threatens his crew.
When he arrives at his destination, an armed Chinese expedition is waiting to block him. The task of accomplishing his mission and getting his crew home safely just got a lot harder.
Here’s a link to the short stories.