3.5Gs of crushing pressure exerted itself on the bodies and organs of the two astronauts geared up in their orange flight suits locked into takeoff position inside the compact Wyvern spacecraft atop the rapidly ascending rocket. These two veterans of space-flight were used to these conditions. What they were not used to was the dangerous rescue mission they were embarking on—one that had never been attempted before… Mars Journey: Call to Action Book 1 is the first book in bestselling author Bill Hargenrader's epic science fiction action and adventure thriller series set in the near future: Brent Carlson, a brilliant but disgraced former astronaut, embarks on a modern day quest to gather and train the crew of the first international mission to Mars. Meanwhile, the power hungry billionaire CEO of a massive global technology conglomerate has launched a bid to reach Mars first and claim the red planet as corporate property. The Mars Journey series delves into the science, technology, drive, and determination of the human spirit to come together to overcome our greatest challenges, explore space, and become the first martians to colonize the Red Planet.

Brent Carlson, a brilliant but disgraced former astronaut, embarks on a modern day quest to gather and train the crew of the first international mission to Mars. Meanwhile, the power hungry billionaire CEO of a massive global technology conglomerate has launched a bid to reach Mars first and claim the red planet as corporate property. The Mars Journey series delves into the science, technology, drive, and determination of the human spirit to come together to overcome our greatest challenges, explore space, and become the first martians to colonize the Red Planet.

This is the third book in the bestselling Mars Journey series. Catch up and experience the suspenseful thriller for Brent Carlson, a brilliant but disgraced former astronaut, embarks on a modern day quest to gather and train the crew of the first international mission to Mars. Meanwhile, the power hungry billionaire CEO of a massive global technology conglomerate has launched a bid to reach Mars first and claim the red planet as corporate property. The Mars Journey series delves into the science, technology, drive, and determination of the human spirit to come together to overcome our greatest challenges, explore space, and become the first martians to colonize the Red Planet.“Brent Carlson is like a combination of Jason Bourne and Sherlock Holmes… in Space!”"My SF reading past has encompassed Clarke, Asimov, Herbert, Del Rey, and the like, and I have to confess that they may have spoiled me for some of the newer authors.... Bill Hargenrader may well be an exception to that rule!" J Dunnet \\\Atlas Force Person of Interest Brent Carlson As an astrophysicist child prodigy with an IQ regularly tested over 180, Brent Carlson at 13 years old, instead of naming constellations like other kids his age, was discovering galaxies. At 18, in part to rebel from what he considered the “pointless pondering” of scientific institutions and the “bottleneck of the hierarchical academia elite,” he dropped off that path and joined the US Army where he became one of their top combatives fighter. After 8 years of meritorious if a bit reckless service with the Top Secret REDACTED REDACTED he applied to join the NASA Astronaut Corps. His application essay stated he didn’t want to waste away just sitting on the sidelines and watch history unfold at a snail’s pace. Instead, he was going to accelerate the creation of history. He was accepted, and quickly rose to the head of his class. Though his scores and performance on missions to space were exemplary, his psychological assessors were concerned for his growing disdain towards those in charge of the current pace of space exploration. He was dangerously close to a dismissal from the Astronaut Corps… That is until he met the future Mrs. Shayla Carlson who helped him see the world in a new light. Their joint effort on the Unified Mars Path project, and their iconic Human Race to Mars speech given at the UN served as a galvanizing moment for the growing Mars Now movement. Unfortunately, with Shayla’s recent suspicious death at the hands of REDACTED REDACTED REDACTED*, Brent has gone over the edge. His sanity has been questioned, and his hatred for those in power has been publicly stated… Despite that, we still desperately need him. We need to leverage his high profile as one of the most recognized astronauts on the planet, and we need to utilize his singularly unique skills to ensure the Mars Journey mission success. To that end we are sending our best to bring him in. We anticipate he won't come willingly.