Disclaimer: the author provided a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The second installment of the futuristic police procedural/colonial sci-fi mashup Mindcop Dossiers improves on the first one in many aspects. Most notably, I am glad to see more world-building, actually showing off more of Mars and Phobos, whereupon it finally makes sense that the events take place somewhere off-Earth. The way these societies are run is also showcased, with the government and military meetings on Mars and with the labor organization in the mines of Phobos. This is all pretty good stuff, the universe has a very interesting feel to it and I'd love to explore it a bit more in future installments.

The length is more appropriate, as well, at approximately twice that of the opening volume. It gives a chance for both the plot and the characters to develop a bit more and there's even some room to showcase the relationships between the characters, which were kept at the stereotype level in the first volume.

The dialogues are a bit awkward at times and the plot could use some more work - I think it's missing a twist of some kind. Basically, our heroine Liberty and her friends from the Martian Colonial Police Force decide to do something, then they do it, without too much unexpected stuff crossing their path. Although this is not a classic whodunit, it's still a police procedural, at least partially, so adding a "cracking the case" element to the plot should give more feeling of closure and satisfaction to the readers.

I also thought that Liberty's mutant abilities keep changing, or rather, growing, too much. By this rate in the next book she'll nearly become an omnipotent deity with her ability to read minds and manipulate levers without ever touching the person or object in question.

One thing I did not appreciate is that in the closing notes, the author felt the need to educate his readers about the need to use their imagination more, instead of clamoring for more details about the world and the characters. Dude, so unnecessary. The people provided the feedback based on how they experienced the first volume and the truth is, it felt a little bland without any world-building and only sketches of characters. I would suggest taking that out, as it doesn't serve any other purpose than patronizing the readers and telling them how they should read your book, which is totally superfluous. These people know how to read.

In short, though, this all shows a lot of promise, particularly with the setting. ( )

I, Mars is the second installment of the Mindcop Dossiers (series?). Back when I first read Doctor Mars, I was intrigued by the story itself as well as where it was headed. Though I gave Doctor Mars 3 gears (stars) out of 5, I give I, Mars a 4. Why?

The author did a great job with detail -- it was just perfect; not too much that I became bored with it, and not too little where I would have given it the same rating as Doctor Mars. The action was great, as was the continuation of the story. I have to admit, I totally did not see Cal returning. That was a good thing, because I was just surprised as Liberty was when she found out.

So, 4 gears it is. The author did a wonderful job improving in this story and I look forward to hearing if there is more to come or if this was it for Liberty. ( )

Note: While this book reads just fine as a stand alone, it does contain some major plot spoilers for Book 1 (Doctor Mars).

Set approximately one year after Book 1, Liberty Rise is still a Mindcop and she’s still partnered with the smoking Muir. Things are brewing at the mining colony Javelin on Mars’s moon Phobos. Slow Fly has worked hard over the past year to take over the colony. Now, he’s putting on the finishing touches, getting his master computer up and running, and nearly ready to declare his superiority over Mars and the other moon Deimos. Liberty and Muir will have something to say about that!

This book was just as fast moving as Book 1 but was nearly twice as long. I really loved Book 1. The author did a great job in that book creating the setting, the Mindcops, the characters, and the plot, all swiftly and concisely. Here, we already have the setting and many of the characters, so I felt things could slow down a bit and have a bit more detail. The plot wasn’t as neat and tidy as Book 1. There was only a smidge of character development.

With that said, this is still brain candy. It moves along swiftly, so I was never bored. Liberty Rise continues to be interesting. We learn a bit more about her upbringing as a mutant as we get to meet her mom. Then we also have Mr. Bose, Liberty’s and Muir’s boss. He’s an interesting character, being mostly calm and yet decisive. He does a great job of holding the team together when the crap starts flying. Meanwhile, Slow Fly, our evil one, continues to be interesting, though not as thoughtful and sinister as in Book 1. He’s out there, not hiding in the shadows. Folks on Phobos know who he is and that he is trouble.

So we have this mystery with Liberty’s old boyfriend Cal Murray. There’s been no word of him this past year. But now she has questions for Slow Fly about him, forceful questions. Then Slow Fly is trying to build some world domination scheme involving his super computer Regulator and a nuclear arsenal. In this regard, he reminded me a bit of Brain from that cartoon Pinky and the Brain. I don’t think he understands what it takes to build nuclear pits and then to install them in space worthy warheads, even in the 22nd century. Lastly, we have some miner rebels that want to overthrow Slow Fly and banish him. He finds this annoying and the executions will continue until he is no longer annoyed.

There’s a bit more humor, albeit dark humor, in this book than in Book 1. Also, the story continues to be diverse, having several female characters and various ethnicities. I love seeing this in SF. Over all, it’s still a worthy series. I enjoyed my time reading this book and I plan to continue on with the series. ( )