The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker

I fell in love with this book right from the get-go. I mean, what could be better—it’s a wonderfully written western about a strong-willed woman set on the frontier. A frontier which just happens to be, yes, you guessed. Mars.

Mary Griffith is just the kind of character I love. She’s full of quirky foibles, piss and vinegar and, after being summarily dumped by the British Arean Company (a great name by the way) she’s reduced to making do and making ends meet by doing the one thing her Irish-ancestors were always good at: brewing ale and running a bar!

What’s more, Mary is not alone; with three daughters to look after and a menagerie of misfits and left-overs, Mary struggles admirably between a rock (the British Arean Company hellbent on closing her down or, at the very least, undermining her) and a hard place. Mars herself.

Kage Baker has a keen eye for characterisation, and deftly leads us (and Mary) on a merry dance of ups and downs, scrapes and battles, as we wonder how Mary (and her motley idiosyncratic crew) will get out of her latest dilemma and, in doing so, stick it to the British Arean Company in the process. But the story isn’t as simple as that. It’s layered enough as a character portrait (of Mary at least) as much as it is part action-adventure and mystery. Throw in a healthy measure of wry humour and satire, as far as I am concerned, you have a winning mix.

The Empress Of Mars is a page-turning, rollicking good read and the kind of adventure story I loved as a kid, and adult alike. I hope you’ll love it too.