BOOK REVIEW: ‘Doodlebugs’ is Superbly Crafted Fiction of Interplanetary Terror

By  //  July 26, 2020

A robotic mission to Mars to return samples to Earth. What could possibly go wrong?

A robotic mission to Mars to return samples to Earth. What could possibly go wrong? Read Doodlebugs to find out . . . if you dare.  Available on Amazon at this link; Doodlebugs.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ‘DOODLEBUGS’

From a small-town Sheriff, to a soulless corporate CEO, to a survivalist, to nerdy engineers, to escaped felons and terrorists…they all intersect in the pages of Doodlebugs.

A robotic mission to Mars to return samples to Earth. What could possibly go wrong? Read Doodlebugs to find out . . . if you dare.  Available on Amazon at this link; Doodlebugs.

Doodlebugs is a five-star read!!!  Okay, full disclosure:  Such high marks would be expected from the author’s brother.  But great writing is great writing and Doodlebugs is just that…a superbly crafted fiction of interplanetary terror.

In our new space age of privately developed rockets and space ventures, is it that much of a stretch of imagination that a greedy, private corporation’s Martian soil return mission has gone awry and unleashed horror on a sleepy New Mexico village? 

Doodlebugs blurs the boundary of fiction and reality with that premise.  Of course, great writing is more than just plot, it is the characters.  And Mark Mullane hits a home run by populating Doodlebugs with a rich brew of wonderfully varied, quirky, unpredictable, and imminently believable people. 

From a small-town Sheriff, to a soulless corporate CEO, to a survivalist, to nerdy engineers, to escaped felons and terrorists…they all intersect in the pages of Doodlebugs.  Mark Mullane’s novel is a gripping page turner that will leave you sleeping with the lights on.  In fact, I dare you to read it while on a vacation in the empty wilds of the American southwest! 

– Mike Mullane, Col., USAF (Ret.) NASA Astronaut (Ret.), Author

Doodlebugs author Mark Mullane, right, with his brother Mike Mullane. (Image for Space Coast Daily)

I grew up in the wilds of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The youngest of six children who were raised by WWII generation parents who lived by the values of enduring faith and selfless sacrifice.

My father returned from the war in the Pacific unscathed, but years later was paralyzed below the waist by another enemy – polio. Yet he and my mom still managed to somehow create me, prompting my Irish grandfather at his favorite New York City pub to brag over several rounds of drinks, “There’s proof lads. You can’t keep a good Irishman down.”

Despite the advantages to my parents – given dad’s disability – of having their last son remain nearby, instead they inspired me to set out and discover my life within days of my graduation from Saint Pius X High School.

The receding image of my father in my pickup truck mirrors is still clear in my mind from that emotional day when I headed north to the mountains of Wyoming for a summer job that he helped me get.

He in his wheelchair on the driveway with tears streaking down his face, matching those streaming down mine as I drove away. His colorful words of encouragement at my sendoff still echo in my mind. “Son, go grab life by the tail and swing the son of a gun for all its worth.”  Dad . . . I still have a firm grip on the tail and I’m swinging hard.

It is ironic that this 2020 mission to Mars is named Perseverance.  As I wrote this novel over the course of 30 plus years. I hope you enjoy the story.  To Mars and back! 

Doodlebugs Author Mark Mullane

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE ‘DOODLEBUGS’