A man dies. The evidence points to suicide, but his distraught daughter refuses to accept the official conclusion. So she hires private dick Mike Sheppard of New Orleans to investigate. With no money, no hope, and all expenses paid, Mike has little choice but to hop the next flight…to Mars.
In Red Planet Noir, the debut novel from writer D.B. Grady, all the hard-boiled elements are there – a femme fatale, a down-on-his-luck private dick, burly henchmen, bartender informants, corrupt police, powerful mobsters, and, of course, murder most foul. But all of these characters live on Mars beneath domed cities, scurrying around in tunnels under the red soil, and even on the asteroid mining colonies out beyond the Martian atmosphere, giving the book a twist that makes noir fun.
Most people are going to draw comparisons of the book to the film Blade Runner, which is often considered a definitive work in the sci-fi noir genre. However, with its flying cars and more-human-than-human robots, Blade Runner leans to the fantastic, whereas Red Planet Noir stays grounded in the mid-20th Century with technology, slang, and characters that feel old, worn down, and past their prime. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of sci-fi elements in Red Planet – android cab drivers, datapads instead of filing cabinets, rickety spaceships, and planet terraforming, just to name a few – but they’re not at the heart of the story; they play a more peripheral role. The approach works, though, as private eye Sheppard doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would go in for too many bells and whistles, anyway. He’s definitely old school and you get the feeling that, even though his life has gone to hell, he almost prefers it that way to keep him grounded. Besides, I like the idea that, in 2075, people still call cigarettes “nails” and that most hand cannons spit lead instead of laser beams.
But outdated slang and downtrodden protagonists do not a hard-boiled tale make. For any noir story to work, it all comes down to characters. Plot is secondary as long as you have good, multi-layered characters, preferably spewing witty dialog whenever possible. Those words have to be quick, snappy, clever, and telling of the character saying the lines. In Red Planet Noir, the dialog is spot-on. Sheppard’s words do their job by making you feel like he’s the smartest guy in the room, even if he’s clueless as to what’s really going on. Retired revolutionary cum sidekick, O.W. Lime, who really is one of the smartest guys in the room, gets off plenty of his own zingers, as well. There were more than a few times when I actually laughed out loud at a quip this unlikely duo threw back at a henchmen or a dame. It really helped build their characters and made them someone we could root for – an absolute essential in any mystery novel.
Another key aspect, of course, is the plot, which needs a few twists, turns, and red herrings to keep you interested. There are a lot of them here, told in an efficient manner that doesn’t take much time to meander. That being said, its not so mechanical or sparse as to be little more than a series of events designed to move the plot forward. For example, near the middle of the book, we break away for a handful of pages to learn the history of the asteroid belt mining operation. Of course we learn how Lime fits into the bigger puzzle that is the Mars political climate, but its real purpose is to build upon the world that Grady has created into something real and substantial. It’s this attention to the peripheral that shows this is more than just pulp sci-fi fantasy with an old-timey hook.
That’s not to say the book is perfect. There are a few instances where a seemingly unimportant character, who is only briefly mentioned earlier in the book, comes back to sweep our heroes out of danger. However, the deus ex machina is not an uncommon trait for noir, either, so old fans of the genre might not bat an eye at this. But for only casual noir readers, it might be a bit jarring and will probably require digging through earlier chapters to determine just who this savior is. That being said, a few obscure characters being more important than they seemed at first glance is not always a bad thing. It’s just a shame we don’t get to know them even a little bit better before they make their sudden reappearance. This won’t ruin your enjoyment of the book, but could be seen as a misstep in an otherwise well-rounded story.
Red Planet Noir is a very fun read. It doesn’t necessarily break new ground in either the mystery or science fiction genres, but you can tell that isn’t the author’s intention. There are no greater truths revealed about the nature of mankind and his place in the universe, nor are there any deep social messages that we should take away about the state of the world today. The story is simply a joyride through the genres, touching upon what makes them both so gratifying to fans. For an entertaining read, you can’t ask for anything more.
Pick up Red Planet Noir from Amazon, available in paperback or for the Kindle
Disclaimer: I did not pay for my copy of Red Planet Noir. I won it through a random drawing at the website of Adrienne Crezo, a mutual friend of mine and the author’s.
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