Avoid the back of the book! I hate spoilers, and am furious with the back of the book discussing a specific character's death. I'm tempted to dock the rating for that kind of marketing blunder alone.

Onwards to the review... my spoiler policy will assume you've read the previous novel, and will pretend you haven't any knowledge of the book aside from its title.

Mountain of Mars continues the grand tradition of Glynn Stewart being unwilling to accept any sort of status quo and write a story within it. The universe must change and the author holds nothing back. By the title alone, you will likely guess that Mars is at the centre of this novel, returning us to loose threads that had been put on pause during the war with the Republic and was teased at the end of Sword of Mars.

That said, because we're returning to Mars itself, the book feels like it's pumping the breaks on the epic space battles that had filled the pages of the last two novels. We still get plenty of action with the Hand doing what a Hand does best, but this switch in story content was rather jarring. This is my main complaint, and you can tell it's a minor one. The cast around Damien continues to grow, the universe grows in scope, and the stakes are ever higher.

Highly Recommended.