Review Tuesday: Denver Moon: Metamorphosis by Joshua Viola & Warren Hammond

Denver Moon:

Metamorphosis

by Joshua Viola & Warren Hammond

When sex robots (botsies) start turning up mutilated on Mars, private investigator Denver Moon is called in to solve the case.

In a way, this is regular detective novel. Add to it that it takes place in the bowels of Mars and the victims are robot prostitutes called botsies, and there is the ever-present menace of a local violence-inducing ailment called Mars Fever (aka, the feve) and this short story takes a very interesting turn. Plus, our heroine Denver Moon, a young private detective descended from one of the founders of the colony, is aided by a shape-shifting gun named Smith that contains an AI augmented with the memories of her grandfather. It kind of sounds like a lot to take in, but it moves together so well and so smoothly that the story becomes immediately addictive and has you turning pages quickly!

In this day and age when colonization of Mars comes up in the news and on various science-related programs, the vivid description of life on the red planet is almost what we could expect it to be like. Due to lack of atmosphere the entire city is tunneled beneath the surface. The red dust is pervasive. Life is hard. Since it all seems to possible it lends additional credibility to the tale being told. 

The characters are developed well. The story moves at a perfect pace. It's just a delightful short story and an excellent introduction to Denver Moon and the planet she calls home: Mars. 

Get it on AMAZON.