The Strange by Nathan Ballingrud is a science fiction read with some great elements.
Annabelle and her father run a diner on the planet Mars. Annabelle’s mother left for a trip to Earth years earlier. They lost all contact with her ever since the Silence shut down all communication with Earth.
The diner is robbed which results in Annabelle’s father in jail. The people of Mars begin turning against each other and Annabelle realizes she is on her own. She sets off with their kitchen robot, Watson, to get even and to reclaim her mother’s recorded messages (which were stolen during the robbery).
Annabelle’s journey involves booking up with other renegades and coming across those affected by the Strange. The Strange is a Martian element which slowly infects all who encounter it. Readers will be pulled into her mission and interested in the future of this odd new world.
Read, Review, Repeat 