Mars Girl novel by Jeff Garrity

Mars Girl is fast-paced, insightful, inventive and very, very funny. Its vision of where the mutual dependence of politicians and media producers will end is both hilarious and a little frightening. Put Karl Rove and Groucho Marx in a smoke-filled room, spin well on 24-hour news cycle, and you get Mars Girl. This should be required reading for anyone who watches cable news, votes or is thinking of running for President in 2012.
-Marc J. Sheehan

Mars Girl is reminiscent of Kurt Vonnegut's early satire ... [It's] a bizarre, satirical romp that offers a glimpse into the media and politics of a future that is probably nearer than most would like to admit. (Read article)
-Bill Castanier, City Pulse, Lansing, Michigan

Mars Girl should make us all pay more attention to the threat of media manipulation of our world. Garrity's subtle wit and the fast-paced action make this a most enjoyable read.
-Harry McGee

Kind of like Carl Hiaasen, Vonnegut, and even Dr. Strangelove. It's an incredibly fast paced page turner. I read it in about 7 hours and couldn't get enough. I laughed, I cried, I chewed off all my nails. LOL. I'd like to send copies to all our media stars, producers and publishers of the 24 hour news cycle to shame them.
-Terry Mentgen

I read Mars Girl over 4 nights and yawned through each day afterwards. I couldn't stop reading, as I had to know what would happen next. When I found myself cooking dinner with iLiad in hand, reading this book, I knew I was addicted! I particularly looked forward to the chapters that were focused on Mirellen (Mars Girl). I laughed out loud at some of the images the author creates and I found some of the characters' quotes and behaviour astonishing - very entertaining. If you don't laugh when you read Cecilia's views on religion, then Barker’s interpretation of which God is applicable at the time, I'd be surprised! I also found some parts of Mars Girl confronting – the power of the press and the voyeuristic manner in which they reported the news, forcing their opinions on the public, the politics (the president and the FBI leader – their interaction at the White House – I read this section with amazement, then re-read it). Unbelievable behaviour for a president, I hope, but so very entertaining. Poor little Mars Girl was caught up in a very difficult situation, through no fault of her own, and the public showed an ugly side in supporting the inappropriate merchandise. Thought-provoking.
Please write a sequel – I'll buy it.
-Christine Bell

The first thing that comes to mind is: you better be working on the sequel! “Mars Girl” is an extremely fast-paced, action thriller taking place in the near future, without being too much of a science fiction story. I'm not a big SF fan. I love the way you write. I love the short chapters and frequent changes of focus, which make it very fast and hectic but not confusing. The story is interesting, very gripping, and after a while, one has to think about the role our media plays in the world of today. I really hope you keep on writing, and since I often grow attached to characters in books, I would definitely approve of a sequel.
-Daniel Mores

Thank you for making Mars Girl available. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a great read. It has a scary (but quite believable) view of the potential future role of the media, with lots of humour too.
-Gill James

Mars Girl turned out to be much more sophisticated than expected. Quite the commentary on today's political arena. Or so it seemed to me. However; I got confused on the last page where as the author you allowed Flanagan to present her asteroid view and thus turning the story into a "truth is impossible to know" tale, rather than the "pursue the truth and it shall set you free" story it was up until that time. That was disappointing to me, yet maybe the real point [I hope not] is that "Spin Doctors" can turn even the worst scenario around. I don't like that philosophy either, but with the "terrorists all around us" governmental point of view verses the "blowbackers" I am not so sure of anything anymore. Still, until the end, it had a nice libertarian, freedom and efficacy of the individual flavor, and that I loved. I hope you have more in store for your readers, of which, you can count me one.
-Allan Blackburn

Sometimes I wasn't sure where Garrity was coming from during the odd-but-intriguing moments, but the world he creates is believable and the style grows on you. Mars Girl's twists and turns kept me interested and I'm still trying to figure out the ending; if any book I've read recently is ripe for a follow-up, it's this one. I'm curious to see what the author will come up with next.
-Rob Peerman