An interplanetary mystery and a searing critique of the current billionaire quest for Mars. Irreverent, funny, hopeful. Plus, giraffes. "Sublime." Kirkus Reviews "Edgy. Riveting. Thoroughly enjoyable." Midwest Book Review "Prophetic." Boulder City Review "Highly recommend to fans of Blade Runner, Altered Carbon, or really any sci-fi and mystery. Great read. Five stars!" Goodreads "Next level world-building, disturbingly possible." Goodreads IN THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE, HOW CAN A PERSON GO MISSING? The year is 2187. Crucial Larsen, a veteran of the brutal Consolidation Wars, is working as a labor cop on Earth. The planet is a toxic dump and billions of people are miserable, but so what? It's none of his business. He's finally living a good life, or good enough. But then Essential, his beloved kid sister, disappears on Mars. When Halo--the all-powerful artificial intelligence overseeing Earth and Mars on behalf of the ruling Five Families--can't (or won't) locate his sister, Crucial races up-universe to find her. In the Choke, the frigid, airless expanse outside the luxury domes, Crucial uncovers a deadly secret from Essential's past that threatens to shatter his apathetic existence...and both planets. Blending science-fiction with the classic, hard-boiled detective story, Gates of Mars is a page-turning, futuristic thrill-ride featuring a gritty, irreverent anti-hero--Crucial Larsen. The first book of the Halo Trilogy, Gates of Mars is the eighth novel by award-winning authors Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall.