Semper Mars
Encyclopedia
Semper Mars: Book One of the Heritage Trilogy is a military science fiction
novel by Ian Douglas
. It is the first novel in the Heritage Trilogy
.
finds itself among a hostile world with only Britain
, Russia
, and Japan
as reluctant allies. The dominant force in the world today is the United Nations
, which has evolved into a world government and is challenging the US as the world’s sole superpower, motivated for the “greater good.” It has invaded Brazil
because of Brazil’s lack of care for the rainforest and it wants the US to give up part of the southwest America for a Hispanic nation known as Aztlán
. The UN capital is located at Geneva
, Switzerland
.
, and are researching ruins of an alien civilization near the Face on Mars. The facilities and research are being shared with UN observers. When the UN sends troops up to Mars, the US sends the Marine Mars Expeditionary Force
, a 30-man weapons platoon, to protect American civilians and interests on Mars. The United States Marine Corps
has been threatened with being disbanded and it hopes that this mission will breathe some life into the organization.
Back on Earth, tensions increase between the UN and the US when the US Embassy in Mexico City
is stormed by militants backed by the Mexican government and the Marines stationed there are forced to open fire. The US is able to evacuate the personnel there, but not before the diplomatic damage was done.
It is the events on Mars, however, which cause war to begin between the United States and the UN. American scientists discover human remains inside one of the alien structures. From evidence discovered at the site it appears that these aliens not only were in contact with humans in the past, but may have even been responsible for the creation of the human race itself. The Americans want to release the information at once but the UN forces think differently, afraid that the world could not handle information of this magnitude. The UN forces take over the Mars station, imprisoning the Marines and the scientists, while contacting their superiors about what was found. At the same time UN forces capture the International Space Station
, to control any and all launches to Mars, while the UN leadership increases diplomatic pressure on the American government.
This act kicks off hostilities on Earth. The official reason, according to the UN, is to support the independence of the Aztlan nation, among other reasons, but secretly the UN wants to stop the US from monopolizing alien technology and releasing the controversial findings. The United States finds itself under bombardment from cruise missiles launched from Cuba as well as French, German and Manchurian arsenal ships. Simultaneously forces from Mexico and Quebec
cross the border to invade. At the same time Russia, one of America's few remaining allies, is attacked all along its southern border by Manchuria. Morale is low and the President is considering surrendering to the UN.
Meanwhile US Marines recapture the ISS with the help of Shepard Station, an experimental laser armed space station. The UN orders the reluctant Japanese to attack Shepard Station. Though they succeed in disabling it, the Japanese lose all of their fighters and decide to join the Americans and their allies against the UN.
Back on Mars, the Marines are able to escape their imprisonment, but are forced to march across hundreds of miles of Martian desert to reach the UN base. The Marines defeat the UN force at Mars Prime with a surprise attack. They go on to capture Cydonia and defeat the remaining UN troops using smuggled cans of beer as an improvised weapon. The march across Mars soon becomes a famous piece of Marine Corps history. On Earth the fighting is beginning to turn to the United States’ favor.
review called the novel "well researched, and quite imaginative" with "compelling battle sequences" and also at times even evoking "sentimental pride for the USMC." On SFRevu, Ernest Lilley said the novel was similar to a Tom Clancy
techno-thriller
with its well constructed and plausible world political situation. Though praising Douglas for his depiction of extraterrestrial combat he found it disappointing that the alien artifacts had such a low profile.
Military science fiction
Military science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction in which the principal characters are members of a military service and an armed conflict is taking place, normally in space, or on a planet other than Earth...
novel by Ian Douglas
William H. Keith, Jr.
William H. Keith is an American author. He served during the Vietnam War in the United States Navy as a hospital corpsman. He became a professional artist, working in the game industry with his brother Andrew, before becoming a full-time author...
. It is the first novel in the Heritage Trilogy
Heritage Trilogy
Heritage Trilogy is a series of military science fiction books written by Ian Douglas that focus on the United States Marine Corps. It is followed by the Legacy Trilogy and the Inheritance Trilogy.-Background:...
.
Plot introduction
Set in 2040, the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
finds itself among a hostile world with only Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as reluctant allies. The dominant force in the world today is the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, which has evolved into a world government and is challenging the US as the world’s sole superpower, motivated for the “greater good.” It has invaded Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
because of Brazil’s lack of care for the rainforest and it wants the US to give up part of the southwest America for a Hispanic nation known as Aztlán
Aztlán
Aztlán is the mythical ancestral home of the Nahua peoples, one of the main cultural groups in Mesoamerica. And, by extension, is the mythical homeland of the Uto-Aztecan peoples. Aztec is the Nahuatl word for "people from Aztlan".-Legend:...
. The UN capital is located at Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Plot summary
The United States and Russia have set up habitats on MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, and are researching ruins of an alien civilization near the Face on Mars. The facilities and research are being shared with UN observers. When the UN sends troops up to Mars, the US sends the Marine Mars Expeditionary Force
Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Marine expeditionary unit , formerly called Marine amphibious unit , is the smallest Marine air-ground task force in the United States Fleet Marine Force...
, a 30-man weapons platoon, to protect American civilians and interests on Mars. The United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
has been threatened with being disbanded and it hopes that this mission will breathe some life into the organization.
Back on Earth, tensions increase between the UN and the US when the US Embassy in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
is stormed by militants backed by the Mexican government and the Marines stationed there are forced to open fire. The US is able to evacuate the personnel there, but not before the diplomatic damage was done.
It is the events on Mars, however, which cause war to begin between the United States and the UN. American scientists discover human remains inside one of the alien structures. From evidence discovered at the site it appears that these aliens not only were in contact with humans in the past, but may have even been responsible for the creation of the human race itself. The Americans want to release the information at once but the UN forces think differently, afraid that the world could not handle information of this magnitude. The UN forces take over the Mars station, imprisoning the Marines and the scientists, while contacting their superiors about what was found. At the same time UN forces capture the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
, to control any and all launches to Mars, while the UN leadership increases diplomatic pressure on the American government.
This act kicks off hostilities on Earth. The official reason, according to the UN, is to support the independence of the Aztlan nation, among other reasons, but secretly the UN wants to stop the US from monopolizing alien technology and releasing the controversial findings. The United States finds itself under bombardment from cruise missiles launched from Cuba as well as French, German and Manchurian arsenal ships. Simultaneously forces from Mexico and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
cross the border to invade. At the same time Russia, one of America's few remaining allies, is attacked all along its southern border by Manchuria. Morale is low and the President is considering surrendering to the UN.
Meanwhile US Marines recapture the ISS with the help of Shepard Station, an experimental laser armed space station. The UN orders the reluctant Japanese to attack Shepard Station. Though they succeed in disabling it, the Japanese lose all of their fighters and decide to join the Americans and their allies against the UN.
Back on Mars, the Marines are able to escape their imprisonment, but are forced to march across hundreds of miles of Martian desert to reach the UN base. The Marines defeat the UN force at Mars Prime with a surprise attack. They go on to capture Cydonia and defeat the remaining UN troops using smuggled cans of beer as an improvised weapon. The march across Mars soon becomes a famous piece of Marine Corps history. On Earth the fighting is beginning to turn to the United States’ favor.
Characters in "Semper Mars"
- Major Mark Alan Garroway, USMC
- Dr. David Alexander
- Kaitlin Garroway
- 1st Lt Carmen Fuentes, USMC
- Frank Kaminski
- General Montgomery Warhurst, USMC
Literary significance and reception
The CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
review called the novel "well researched, and quite imaginative" with "compelling battle sequences" and also at times even evoking "sentimental pride for the USMC." On SFRevu, Ernest Lilley said the novel was similar to a Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
techno-thriller
Techno-thriller
Techno-thrillers are a hybrid genre, drawing subject matter generally from spy/action thrillers, fantasy/war novels, and science fiction...
with its well constructed and plausible world political situation. Though praising Douglas for his depiction of extraterrestrial combat he found it disappointing that the alien artifacts had such a low profile.