Martian Dawn
by Michael Friedman
Turtle Point Press
Two Hollywood stars, Richard and Julia, are summoned to finish re-shooting their movie, Martian Dawn. They travel back to the Red Planet, which is inhabited by Ritz Carltons and condominiums, to shoot their romantic movie. Richard is the superstar adored by all, while Julia is a prostitute turned Hollywood starlet, who finds herself reminiscing over an old love. Meanwhile, several other characters are half-heartedly weaved in, creating love affairs and catfights. Lust and love run high, as tempers flare and the movie draws to a close.
Michael Friedman’s Martian Dawn is a quick and shallow read. If he had developed more parts, the book could have been mildly entertaining. Think Pretty Woman meets science fiction, with a side of Moby Dick thrown in. Mix together and voila! You have Friedman’s novel.
Maybe it’s the fact that, all of a sudden, Mars is the new Beverly Hills or maybe it’s the fact that the story seems to contain familiar parallels to other things…but regardless, Friedman’s book fell short: It read way too fast, jumping from person to person and several times I found myself having to go back and re-read.
Some stories are out of this world…this one isn’t.
