Lost on Mars (novel)

Lost on Mars was the first novel in The Lora Trilogy, a series of books written exclusively by Paul Magrs about a version of Mars that had been colonised by humans. The novel, described by Magrs as a "space opera for kids", followed Lora Robinson, a human girl searching for her parents; the novel featured Toaster, a sunbed servo-furnishing originating in the NSA Sick Building and Celestial Omnibuses, which stemmed from the alternately named version of Iris Wildthyme's TARDIS from the Iris Wildthyme series.

Although unnamed in this story, the Martians were in fact the Ninnies who first appeared in Magrs' book The Ninnies, which was published by Obverse Books, and made their DWU debut in the short story The Ninnies of Putney Common.

Publisher's summary
With the scale and scope of the great science fiction epics, Lost on Mars tells the story of Lora and her family, third generation human settlers on the red planet who are strugging to survive in incredible circumstances. The family clings to life on a smallholding in the desert landscape, surviving storms and sinister rumours of unexplained disappearances - until one night Lora sees the Dancers. When her father and grandmother disappear themselves, Lora's family is driven out to seek a new life across the plains. But none of them are ready for what they find - the beautiful, dangerous City Inside.

Plot
The Robinson family Da, Ma, Lora, Al and Hannah, alongside their Servo-furnishing robot Toaster, set about harvesting the rest of their crops in anticipation of an impending storm. The storm hits sooner than expected and the family only just manage to make it back inside their Homestead in time, but find that the house has been trashed by Grandma - whose sanity has begun to deteriorate. When the storm has passed the Robinsons are pleased to discover that their storage hut was untouched, however their Burden beasts Molly and George have perished to the elements.

Heading into town Da visits the Storehouse while Lora and Al head to Adams' Exotic Emporium. In the shop Mrs Adams and a few other ladies gossip about how the Simcox family have lost their baby during the storm. Later their father reveals that he heard rumour of another disappearance, this time vagabond Horace, but Da insists that they shouldn't listen to idle chatter. The Robinsons invite the townsfolk for a barbeque at their Homestead that night, where they serve up the remains of Molly and George, but the Simcoxes and Horace are noticeably absent lending credit to the rumours.

to be added

Characters

 * Lora Robinson
 * Da
 * Ma
 * Al Robinson
 * Hannah Robinson
 * Toaster
 * Molly I and George I
 * Grandma
 * Alice Adams
 * Ruby
 * Vernon Adams
 * Doctor Eaves
 * Madame Lucille
 * Ray
 * F.E Baxter
 * Annabel Adams
 * Molly II and George II
 * Sook
 * Spider
 * Samuel Clemens
 * Cassandra
 * Lizard Queen
 * Tillian Gravely
 * Peter
 * Karl
 * Swiftnick
 * Tollund Gravely
 * Mrs Gravely

Worldbuilding

 * The Earth ships which carried the "First Settlers" to Mars in 2094 included the Melville, Hawthorne, Fitzgerald, Stein and Dickinson.
 * Bolingbroke, Cuttlefish, Darwin, Desperado, Eliot, Eventide, Kestrel, Leastways, Lodger, Mousetrap, Seizure, Softspot and Turnstile were some of the many Districts within the City Inside.

Continuity
to be added