The Dandelion Farmer
Mathew McCall
4 Stars

Well, my Gentle Readers, Mathew McCall delivers an interesting view on Mars Colonization through his novel, “The Dandelion Farmer“.

The story centers on one, L. Edwin Ransom, the self professed Dandelion Farmer, and an incident with evil millionaire mogul, Du Maurier. Du Maurier has a strange interest in Ransom’s little farming operation, but is it greed? Or something deeper? The planet Mars has seen its share of bloodshed when the peoples of Earth came calling upon its longtime denizens. An uneasy peace has held for a couple of decades since the Tellurians (Earth people on Mars), broke free of their Earthbound governments to establish their own rule. This peace is tenuous at best and the ever present threat of more war keeps everyone on edge. When Du Maurier’s threats escalate into more violent attempts upon the life of Ransom and his people, he heads to his father-in-law’s home where he is caught up in the man’s quest to find out what happened to the Aresians (original settlers of Mars who disappeared after years of war witht he Tellurians).

McCall fashions this world and the storytelling as a collection of letters, journal entries, telegraphs, and excerpts from historical texts. This means sometimes telling the same scene from different perspectives. Some readers may find this tedious, but it does provide insights into the personalities of the various characters. Some of the more historical records included could probably have been trimmed or cut out for sake of keeping the action going, but they allow the reader to see the depth to which McCall has developed the setting he created his story within. Of particular interest to me was the character of Adam Franklin and later, Aelita: an Aresian who grew up in Tellurian society after she was orphaned during the war.

I won’t hold back here. This is a long read with some dry parts (the aforementioned historical texts for one). The overall story though is intriguing. McCall leaves you wanting to finish the chase to discover the Aresians, and see Du Maurier get his just rewards along the way.

Grab your copy on Amazon now if you’re ready to join the Dandelion Farmer on his quest.