Mars. First Settlers. A Mine That Never Stops Taking. (Beta Readers Wanted)

Mars. The first settlers. A mine that never stops taking.

That's the world of The First Sol, a science fiction novella set in Vostok, a rundown mining outpost on Mars. It's told through the eyes of Elena Markova, the settlement's chief engineer, in the days before the whole thing falls apart. Fewer characters than a typical novel, tighter story, but the same question underneath it: what does survival actually cost the people who keep a place like this alive.

I write science fiction where the technology is real and the politics are messy, but what stays with you afterward is the people. The First Sol is part of a larger universe I'm building around the first Mars colonies, but you don't need to know any of that to read this one. It stands on its own.

I'm looking for beta readers. I send chapters one at a time by email, usually 6-8 pages, with a few questions attached. You reply whenever you're ready, in as much or as little detail as you like, and I send the next one. Stop anytime, no obligation, no pressure.

If that sounds like something you'd enjoy, here's a short form to sign up:

https://forms.gle/UDYYosXHqpYpBSXV7

Thank you for joining me.

Zsolt Bugarszki