Scifi Book One: A Murder Mystery On Mars (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798251521351)

This Is NOT Another Killer Robot Story

There is a robot. There is a murder. And the robot was alone with the body in a locked room.

But Max is certain the robot is innocent, and Max is usually right. Usually.

The robot is called S.C.I.F.I., and it's... different. Max is responsible for that. When he booted it up - by accident, obviously - he didn't have the manual or the right software. So the robot learned about the world from the worst possible source: old Earth TV shows.

Max is a cop. Serious, competent, no-nonsense. When he returns to Mars, his new case should be easy. A dead man in a sealed room. One obvious suspect. Then the robot becomes a target. Now Max has to find the killer while protecting a machine that could tear his arms off - but only if it really wanted to.

Max works in Olympus City. Are you thinking domes and spires? It's not like that. The surface is too dangerous. The city is buried inside a volcano. Like any city on a hostile planet, Olympus City survives on systems: air, water, food, and power. Each has to work flawlessly to support nearly a million people. When Max discovers a conspiracy to turn one of them into a weapon, the murder becomes the least of his problems.

Suddenly, the robot may be their only chance of survival. Which might be more reassuring if it hadn't learned human behavior from watching Dallas and Dynasty.

Imagine Reacher meets Poirot on Mars, with a robot who learned its social skills from questionable television. A fast-moving sci-fi thriller with fair clues, hard science, bad decisions, and a strange robot who may be Mars's only hope.

Author: Richard B. Byte
ISBN-13: 9798251521351
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 04/21/2026
Pages: 278
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d