Book description
In the not-so-distant future, men have come to Mars to escape the
oppressive Earth government. Ryan is an agent for a super-secret
government agency, the Department of Control (DOC), and has always been
willing to do whatever his masters want of him. But on Mars, everything
is different, and all that Ryan does is read books: hardboiled, noir
crime paperbacks dating from the last century. In fact, such works are
read and collected by everyone on Mars, even serving as a medium of
exchange. Why? Is there some secret DOC plot involved? Or has Ryan
conjured up a literary fantasy in his own guilt-twisted mind? Maybe he's
still confined in a prison cell back on Earth, reading a science-fiction
novel called Mars Needs Books! As Ryan probes deeper and deeper into the
mystery, he comes to understand just one thing: he must uncover the
truth!
