“Exiles” was my first book by Mason Coile. Only after I finished the book, I realised the name is a pseudonym for Andrew Pyper, and he unfortunately recently passed away. I had a look at the books he had written and was intrigued by some of them, and will definitely be checking them out soon.

If you know me, you’ll know I almost never pick Netgalley copies nowadays. The main reason is because I prefer printed copies. I like to hold the book, pencil and tab into it and it’s easier for me to share it on social media this way too. I also have too many books on my TBR at the moment, that I very rarely accept a new upcoming book. That being said, I can’t help myself and always browse the upcoming releases on Netgalley, to see what’s coming soon.

And when “Exiles” showed up, the synopsis stopped me in my tracks. A story about a woman, Dana, who joins the mission to be the first human on Mars, alongside two male astronauts. And on their way to Mars, right before they are supposed to land, something is not right – they cannot get comms. The three robots that have been on Mars for a while, setting up the station and ensuring everything is running smoothly, have gone incommunicado. When the team manages to land safely, there are only two bots left, and their stories of what happened are not adding up.

It’s obvious that something has been going on before the humans arrived. But with their conflicting stories, it’s up to the astronauts to investigate and make a decision. Is there really an alien who tried to harm them, or has the third bot turned evil? And with these conflicting stories, there’s something else that is becoming obvious to the astronauts – these machines are very capable of lying and definitely cannot be trusted with anything now.
The story is very fast-paced and breathtaking.

I never knew exactly who I could trust at any given time. Truthfully, the book kept delivering plot twist after plot twist, despite me anticipating them. I could relate to Dana’s story, her fear and her motivation for joining such a permanent mission. Taking a one-way ticket to Mars is not a small decision to make. It was also interesting how the crew’s opinion about the bots differed. The captain treated them as machines, as slaves, only there to set up a station and run errands. Whereas Dana had a relationship that bordered on friendship. It was intriguing to see the bots have consciousness, they chose their names and genders, and they started to experience boredom and loneliness on the planet, whilst waiting for the humans to arrive.

The ending was brutal and raw. Despite a small part of me actually anticipating that ending, I still did not see it coming. There was also something briefly unfinished there. A few crumbs of regret and sadness loomed, and all ending in a very poetic way. If the author knew he was dying, this feels like the perfect ending to his last book. In a morbidly beautiful way, very fitting. I will always praise this book. I am curious to see how it will age in the next 20-30 years, if I am lucky to still be alive to witness that. And I will always recommend it to anyone that asks for a good book set on Mars.

‘Exiles’ is a quick, thrilling sci-fi horror story about a three person crew sent to Mars to set up a colony. When they arrive, they find that the advance party of robots who were supposed to help them are acting strangely, one has gone missing, and the others have developed their own weird personalities.
The story is fast and tense and the twist at the end was interesting. If you like quick, suspenseful space thrillers, this could be a good read for you.

Brilliant novella focused on the crew of the first mission to mars with the intent of settling for the remainder of their life. Their robots are already in situ, but on arrival something has gone awry…. A compelling science-fiction horror that delves into what it means to be human, AI and the ultimate loneliness of being the first colonisers.
Short, gripping and atmospheric. I was hugely sorry to see the author had recently died.

This is a short, locked-room mystery set on Mars and I think this was the perfect length. Any longer and it would have dragged itself down. The suspense is there from the beginning, the chapters are short and easy to read, and it keeps the pace well throughout.

As with any book that focuses on a short period of time only, it does face challenges of being too surface level at points; we don't actually find out the main character's name until a couple of chapter's in, and then it's even longer until we find out her first name. A dealbreaker? Not really, considering it does sort of tie in with the fact that there's only three people there. But it does keep all of the characters a bit at a distance and facing the situation at hand, rather than knowing more of their backstories and understanding why they are on a (seemingly suicidal) mission to Mars.

I read this in one day and I think that's the way to go - become completely absorbed in their world for a bit, and it makes you feel much more involved. I can definitely see this translating really well to the screen. (it sort of reminds me of the "Midnight" episode of Dr. Who lol)

I’ve struggled with this book right from the outset. I felt as if I’d been dropped into a maelstrom and found it difficult to understand what was going on and who was who. The dialogue exchanges and narrative style were irritating rather than engaging and as the story developed, it all felt contrived. It feels more like an outline for a B rated sci fi movie rather than a well plotted story. I like the premise but that’s about it and I gave up at 30%. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thought this book would be an entertaining palate cleanser and while the suspense was enjoyable in the beginning, it was quickly gone. Everything - the characters, their actions, the world building - was simply stupid. And with the chance of sounding like a stereotype: This book was clearly written by a man.

Mason Coile’s Exiles is a fast-paced and thrilling Mars-set story.

We follow a three-person mission to Mars that very quickly goes off the rails. When Gold and her fellow astronauts arrive at the robot-built base, they find one of the bots is missing. The other two tell different stories about what happened; one says the missing bot went mad and attacked the station, while the other claims that an alien entity is the cause of the trouble.

Exiles is such a page-turner; not only do the crew have barely any downtime between disasters, but the mystery of what’s going on really drives the story forward. I also loved the setting, with Mars giving a sense of isolation and the base feeling claustrophobic. If anything, I just would have liked for things to have been fleshed out a little bit more. I found all of the characters—both the humans and the robots—to be really interesting and would have enjoyed learning a bit more about them.

Definitely a fast paced book and was drawn in straight away. I feel like we get a good idea of the characters even though it’s a relatively short book and the sense of danger is well described throughout. For me the landing didn’t quite hit but enjoyed the book overall - 3.5 rounded up

Thank you to netgalley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This short novel follows three astronauts sent to establish a colony on Mars who arrive on the planet to find that the three robots who assembled their base have gone rogue - one of them is missing, and the other two have independent identities they should not have acquired. But as something starts to attack the base from outside, there's little time to figure out the truth. This was the first book I'd read by Mason Coile, and I'm not sure his writing is for me. Exiles was so fast-paced it felt choppy and disjointed, and there was little atmosphere - despite the setting, there wasn't even a cursory attempt at description of the planet. Our three main characters are very broad-brush, even the first-person narrator, who has a bad case of kickass-woman-clearly-being-written-by-a-man; a nitpick, but giving all the humans and robots very short names did not help me tell the characters apart. A late twist is good but by that point, I didn't really care what happened to our cast, and the ending was frustratingly vague for what is definitely a plot- rather than a character-driven novel. A competent space thriller, but I wanted it to be so much scarier.

4+

Mission leader Blake, Kang and our narrator Gold, are aboard the spacecraft Valiant, a one way, no return mission to Mars. They are to establish the first human colony on the red planet, Exiles from planet Earth. However, shortly before landing it becomes apparent there’s a problem. The comms to the bots preparing the landing pod and The Citadel for human arrival have been lost. They land successfully but discover their base partially destroyed and it gets worse than that. One of the three bots – Alex – is missing and the other two have quite a disturbing tale to tell…

This is another creative and immersive novella from Mason Coile, the pseudonym of Andrew Pyper. It’s a good blend of science fiction with psychological horror with the addition of philosophical questioning. It’s creepy, scary, puzzling and requires much ingenuity and bravery from the crew. There’s a tense cat and mouse type situation with a what’s real and what’s not scenario with the difficulties of not knowing who to trust and it becomes terrifying for all. The dynamics fluctuate back-and-forth between the bots and the humans which is really interesting.

It’s very well written and at a good pace. There’s an excellent atmosphere and very good descriptions of the planet which enables the scenes to come alive. You get good glimpses into the characters especially of Gold which becomes very revealing and surprising. I like what the author does with the bots and let’s just say he gives plenty of food for thought here. There’s fear and the claustrophobia of being trapped and there’s dread it seems at every return. The final scene is awesome.

Overall, this is another immersive, engaging and thought provoking read from Mason Coile. I can’t wait to read what he comes up with next.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to John Murray Press for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.

After his chilling novel William, Mason Coile continues his horror dive into the psychology of AI robot’s with an unconventional outlook on human kind. The first rule of robots doesn’t apply! On Mars, far from Earth’s safety, screams won’t be heard. For the three strong human team set to start life in a Mars station, preset up by three robots, things go south even before landing. Robot mutant, alien monster or just the hopeless feeling alone in the vastness of space. All could get you killed, and probably will. Thank you to John Murray Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Exiles by Mason Coile is a gripping, high-stakes thriller set on Mars in 2030. The story follows a three-person human crew who arrive on the Red Planet to establish the first colony, only to find that things have gone wrong. Three robots were sent ahead to build the base, but by the time the crew arrived, a third of the base was destroyed, and only two robots remained—each with conflicting stories about what happened.

The mystery slowly unravels as the humans and robots try to uncover the truth behind the destruction, with the robots each offering different explanations. One insists they were attacked by an alien entity, while the other claims the destruction was caused by a malfunction in the third robot, which still roams the Martian desert. This sets up a deadly game of cat and mouse as the characters dig deeper into the horrors of what transpired at the base.

Coile does a fantastic job of building the desolate, forbidding atmosphere of Mars, and the sense of isolation is palpable. The tension is maintained throughout, as we’re slowly introduced to the characters—both human and robot—each with their secrets and agendas. The dynamic between the crew and the robots is fascinating, and the slow reveal of the truth leads to a shocking and gruesome climax.

I enjoyed the pacing and the well-crafted characters. The setting on Mars felt like an essential part of the story, adding an extra layer of dread and urgency. If you enjoy thought-provoking science fiction with a blend of mystery, suspense and a touch of horror, I highly recommend Exiles.

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