When there is no Hope you have Red Hope

An exciting book, when a new discovery leads to a space race to mars where even more discoveries are to be had. Then something happens, and earth goes all to hell. Just as this space adventure is getting good it comes to and end, but do not lose hope, we have a second book Blue Hope to continue.

5 people found this helpful

One of the best Mars novels I've read.

What did you love best about Red Hope?

I'm a sucker for novels about Mars. I thought John did a great job at writing a story that was fast paced, descriptive, and captivated my love of adventure and exploration. It wasn't filled with huge scientific ideas, or techno-babble. Don't get me wrong, I love hard sci-fi, but sometimes the super heavy science jargon gets in the way of the plot, and the character development. That certainly wasn't the case here. I enjoyed all the characters, and felt their motivations and actions were believable in their situations.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Red Hope?

I don't want to give out any spoilers, but there was a point where you find out some more information after someone's death that really made an impact on me.

Which scene was your favorite?

Without giving any spoilers away, there was a scene that involved an argument between two people that ended badly. Trying to put myself in that situation was hard.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There are a couple of twists in this book that really had me going "oh shit, that's crazy".There are some death scenes which are hard to think about after getting all the information later on in the novel.

Any additional comments?

I bought this on impulse just by searching for novels on Mars. I thought the summary sounded really awesome, and just went for it. I'm so glad I did. This is definitely one of the best novels on Mars that I've come across. I've been recommending it to all my friends. You really need to check this one out.

11 people found this helpful

Mars...we're here....within all your mystery.

Well worth listening....the surprise awaiting the astronauts truly mind enhancing. You will not be disappointed!

3 people found this helpful

Surprisingly Unexpexted

My hope was that I would enjoy this book but what was delivered was one that I could not put down.

Excellent storytelling, interesting characters... Simply refreshing.

6 people found this helpful

An Epic and Generous Adventure.

When John Dreese decided to craft ‘Red Hope’, he changed the interplanetary, current age, sci-fi genre forever… or perhaps he created it? Or at very least redefined it in a way that will shape my sci-fi tastes forever. Weaving together strong characters, international sociopolitical issues, and delicate personal conflicts, this book easily outperforms my expectations. If you enjoy Sci-Fi and are fond of the prospect of being a multi-planetary species – ‘Red Hope’ is for you. It's also worth mentioning that the narrator, Bob Reed, is top of his class. Articulate and discerning with his various roles, just a pleasure to listen to (A++)

2 people found this helpful

Interesting SF idea

This is science fiction that I like best - plausible, almost a what-if alternate history. Great reader and production!

2 people found this helpful

Not your normal heroes

Fairly original, the plot twists were unexpected and the author didn't telegraph what was going to happen next.

2 people found this helpful

disappointing.

I had hope for this book. the narrator did an excellent job. but, you can only do so much with bad material. it starts slow, and doesn't improve much from there. I found this book ultimately depressing. the most interesting part of the book is what they found on mars. which was not elaborated on in much depth. the primis is good. but the story, was very disappointing. wish I could get a refund.

10 people found this helpful

A Sci-Fi Mystery

Red Hope was written if a hard science fiction, a normal sci-fi, and a mystery book all had a baby together. There were definitely parts of hard sci-fi in this with some of the descriptions of the propulsion, the world that they find, and just the everyday life of the scientists on Mars. The regular "old school" sci-fi was the premise and the struggles that the astronauts and scientists were going through. The mystery part was the most intriguing. Sure, any science fiction can have mystery in it, but this whole book was shrouded in it.

I did enjoy it, it wasn't as tech savvy as The Martian, or as wonderfully as some thrillers or mysteries that I usually read, but it was still a really enjoyable book. Enjoyable enough that I definitely want to figure out what happens in the next book.

The narration, done by Bob Reed was good. He reminds me of a voice that I know from Hollywood but I can't place the name even though I can see his face. (I wanna say he was bigger in the 80's but that doesn't really help much here). Regardless, Reed does a really nice job with Red Hope -- helping move the story along nicely.

I have a bit of a spoiler question that I will attempt to write without spoiling anything. Dear Mr. Dreese -- unless there is a lot more explanation in the second book, why was the extra thing included on the ISS there (and that whole random plot-line there?) Seriously, it felt so completely out of place with the entire rest of the story. I was a little worried the entire book was going to take a weird turn from that point on.

Overall, Red Hope was good. I definitely enjoyed reading it and will check out the next book if it's released on audio.

I received this book for free. The gifting of it has not affected my review in any way.

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7 people found this helpful

yuck!

Couldn't even finish it. Silly and simplistic. Unbelievable, even for science fiction. Just awful, not much else to say. If you compare to The Martian...well, there's no basis for comparison.

4 people found this helpful