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There are tales of a place on Mars where the sun never rises…
In the frozen wastes of Mars’ southern pole, Miri and the Star Bearer chase the echoes of a lost world. But survival demands sacrifice. Miri must face her deepest fears and dare to embrace her calling.
One hundred years after the Earth goes inexplicably silent and the colonies founded on the Red Planet destroy one another, the highly advanced synthetics created in the image of mankind have evolved and built their own civilization from the ashes of humanity. What peace has come to fruition, however, is suddenly put under threat.
A novelette series inspired by the works of Isaac Asimov and a love of video games, Red Dirt © is a love letter to the great science fiction franchises of our time exploring what it means to be human.Book review
PROLOGUE
The wind howled across the frozen expanse with biting chill. The ruins in the far distance loomed like sentinels in the perpetual night; concrete walls shrouded in frost and shadow. A tattered flag of the New United Kingdom hung frozen from a corroded beam.
The southern pole of Mars was equal in its beauty and menace.
Sutherland stepped off the shuttle ramp, his metallic legs crunching into the icy ground. His hulking frame, crusted in frost, radiated a menacing authority as he glared ahead. Behind him, two additional shuttles landed in synchronized precision as their engines cut out and the swirling snow began to settle.
Soldiers encased in battered hardsuits and insulated cloaks emerged and spread out, rifles drawn, as their visors gave faint glow amidst the eerie wind; a whistle weaving through the remains of concrete and metal. Sutherland’s gaze swept across as he exhaled a plume of frozen air.
“Find her,” he called out in a deep rumble. “Take her alive. The Reclaimer demands it.”
The soldiers moved with precision as their boots crunched softly against the ice-crusted ground. Flashlights danced in the darkness, revealing fleeting glimpses of frozen debris and empty doorways yawning in the night. Some ventured into the shadowy interiors of what buildings remained; the lights flickering across the ice encrusted walls.
Far above, on a jagged cliff overlooking the ruins, a figure stood silent and unmoving. The robotic wolf at her side glared with glowing blue eyes. The woman’s heavy black cloak and hood billowed and snapped in the icy wind as flashes of her crimson hair licked out into the cold.
She watched in silence. The faint sounds of radio static filtered through the gusts and carried just far enough to reach her ears. Her lips curved into a faint, enigmatic smile. Without a word, she turned and disappeared into the shadows. The wolf trailed silently behind her; the faint imprint of her boots and the shimmering afterglow of the wolf’s eyes the only signs they had ever existed.
***
Born in Budapest, Hungary to a family of creatives, David “D.K.” Kristof came to the United States as a refugee following the collapse of the Iron Curtain and the end of the Cold War. An avid writer and reader since early childhood, David earned his BA from the University of Washington in 2010. Following a creative hiatus and the COVID Pandemic of 2020, he returned to focus on writing and poetry in 2024 with several ongoing projects, including his “Red Dirt” series, illustrated poetry book, “Stardust”, and his newest project, “Bomboncita”. Heavily influenced by the work of Isaac Asimov, David’s writing often addresses the relationship between mankind and technology in nuanced and original ways; often featuring female protagonists in richly crafted worlds.
David is a lover of science fiction and an avid collector of sci-fi related video game and film memorabilia. You can follow him on Instagram @d.k.kristof
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