Midnight On Mars
GENRE
ACTION APOCALYPTIC FANTASY SCI-FI HORROR
Core Theme
AS PLANET EARTH IS DOOMED, A FEW LUCKY PEOPLE GET SELECTED TO SEEK SURVIVAL IN A COLONY ON MARS. AMONG THEM ARE THE SPIRITUALIST KARI AND HER EX-FIANCÉE, THE SCIENTIST NEIL. THEY HAVE TO REACH AN AGREEMENT AMONG REASON AND FAITH AS THEY TRY TO FIND A WAY OF SAVING HUMANKIND.
TIME PERIOD
Future
COMPARABLE TITLES
THE LAST DAY ON MARS; 28 DAYS LATER
CHARACTER LIST
KARI. 30. LEAD. STRONG, INTUITIVE, SPIRITUALIST..
NEIL. 35. LEAD. SMART, PROTECTIVE, RATIONAL.
TOM. 30S/40S. HELS KARI AND NEIL FROM ICSE HEADQUARTERS ON EARTH.
CADEN. 30S/40S. VILLAIN.
RELIGIOUS FANATIC, BETRAYS HUMANS AND TRIES TO KILL THE COUPLE.
GRISHA. 40'S. INDIAN. KARI'S FRIEND AND SPIRITUALIST MENTOR.
ARES. ENTITY. REPRESENTS THE SPIRIT OF MARS. HELPS THE GROUP OF HUMANS AND ENABLES KARI TO BEAT CADEN.
SAMUEL BLAKE. KARI AND NEIL'S SON. IS RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING HUMANITY BACK TO EARTH.
Logline
Earth is ravaged with natural disasters. A few lucky lottery winners flee to a martian colony. But as soon as they land they are faced with new horrors. The only way to prevent the human race from going extinct is for spiritualist Kari to find common ground with her ex-fiancé, scientist Neil.
Target Audiences
Age: 35-54,18-34,55+
Target Gender: Universal
Setting
Mars (Habitat Horizon), California (International Coalition of Space Expedition headquarters on Earth)
Based on a True Story
No
Publishing Details
Status: Yes: with a Publisher
Publisher: Pegasus
Year Published: 2022
Starting Description
Falcon One lands on Mars and right away things go wrong. Alarms go off in the colony, Kari catches sight of a Martian ghost watching her, and a zombie-like man murders one of the crew. Kari and the passengers have no choice but to run into the colony, and into further danger.
Ending Description
Kari and Neil save the remaining survivors in the colony and discover the importance of Earth to humans. Fifty years later, Earth is habitable again. Their son - the last human alive - and the ship's AI, begin the process of incubating the embryos in preparation of re-populating the green planet.
Group Specific
Information not completed
Hard Copy Available
Yes
ISBN
9781800162624
Mature Audience Themes
Language/Profanity
Plot - Other Elements
Philosophical Questions
Plot - Premise
Overcoming Monster/Villain,Internal Journey/Rebirth,Tragedy
Main Character Details
Name: Kari Keskiyo
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Role: Emotional
Key Traits: Empathetic,Visionary,Romantic,Insecure
Additional Character Details
Name: Neil Blackwell
Age: 35
Gender: Male
Role: Logical
Key Traits: Aggressive,Charming,Complex,Confident,Decisive,Desperate,Educated,Honorable,Leader,Lone Wolf,Unapologetic,Outspoken,Masculine
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Additional Character Details
The author has not yet written this
Development Pitch
Can humans procreate outside of Earth? Midnight On Mars is like The Last Day On Mars meets 28 Days Later (with religious and spiritual questions in Contact). It has two previously engaged main characters who need to work together in order to save the human race from extinction, and they need to do this amidst a colony overrun with zombie-like humans called Hollows, a madman trying to overthrow the colony's militia so that he can become its sole ruler, and find out if the martian ghost tracking them is friend or foe. But what common ground can be found when Kari is an empath who studies spirituality and Neil is a realist who studies science? With the help of the few survivors on Earth, they awaken the robots hibernating in the martian sands that can help them win. But what happens when Mars goes dark for an hour... Aren't we ready for another sci-fi/horror/fantasy movie blockbuster? But this time with a philosophical punch? Midnight On Mars is a unique story exploring new age and science philosophies, such as how the Hollows were created: They are clones with no souls (my theory is that only Earth can sustain souls), who function primarily on the energies of the red planet's war-like energy. Full of action, intriguing questions about life, and two people finding love again, this would be an incredible story to adapt into a movie. Read the first sentence and I guarantee you will be hooked!
Genre
THRILLER, SUSPENSE, ACTION, ROMANCE, FANTASY
Brief
As planet Earth is doomed, groups of chosen people head to a martian colony. However, when Kari's group arrive, they find out things are not going as well as planned. Spiritualist Kari and her ex-fiancée, the scientist Neil, reach an agreement among reason and faith as they try to find a way of saving humankind.
Overall Rating
GOOD
Narrative Elements
Authors Writing Style: EXCELLENT
Characterization: EXCELLENT
Commerciality: GOOD
Franchise Potential: GOOD
Pace: EXCELLENT
Premise: GOOD
Structure: EXCELLENT
Theme: EXCELLENT
Accuracy of Book Profile
Book profile reflects book accurately.
Draw of Story
The combination of opposites in the personalities of protagonists Kari and Neil is sure to draw the reader in, as it also represents the battle between reason and sensibility.
Possible Drawbacks
Nothing made me want to put the book down, however one element that could be more developed is the villain, Caden. Story would benefit from further character development.
Use of Special Effects
THE STORY RELIES HEAVILY ON SPECIAL EFFECTS
Primary Hook of Story
Besides the richness of sci-fi scenarios described by the author, I also would watch this movie due to the chemistry between the couple/protagonists, as their characters represent the possibility of a successful combination between science and spirituality.
Fanbase Potential
It could have a large fanbase if adapted because of the richness of sci-fi themed scenarios and what protagonists may come to represent.
Awards Potential
If adapted with proper budget story has huge awards potential, mainly due to the amount of passages that involve breathtaking sci-fi scenarios and also natural disasters both on Earth and Mars.
Envisioned Budget
LARGE BUDGET
Similar Films/TV Series
THE LAST DAY ON MARS; 28 DAYS LATER
What’s New About the Story
The most original thing about this story is that it brings along different levels of meaning. The main characters, couple Kari and Neil, represent not only a romance arc within the narrative, but are also an allegory to the combination between science and spirituality as the only way to save humanity. In order to draw people into a story in which sci-fi elements are heavily represented, their normal lives before Mars could be explored in order to create relatability with the audience.
Lead Characters
Kari is a smart, brave and intuitive woman who is not afraid of the unknown. She is open to the signs of the universe and aligned with her own intuition. Neil is a smart, brave and remarkable scientist capable of creating amazing things, and is in a journey to learn that some things may be oblivious to his scientific knowledge.
Uniqueness of Story
As narrative brings along several elements - different types of characters and passages between Earth and Mars -, it could be overall developed in more detail in order to organize structure and provide more credibility to the meaning of each segment.
Possible Formats
Film: Studio, Indie, Streaming TV Series: Network, Cable, Limited Run / Mini-Series, Streaming
Analyst Recommendation
CONSIDER
Justification
Consider it because solid sci-fi narratives are rare and premise is aligned with the bigger message behind the plot, however in order for it to become a masterpiece, it requires further development -especially regarding characters.
Brief
As planet Earth is doomed due to natural disasters, groups of chosen people head to a martian colony created by scientists and aimed to save humanity. However, when Kari's group arrive, they find out things are not going as well as planned, and they have to fight not only the natural environment - unfit for human bodies to thrive - but also soulless humans created in laboratories and a religious fanatic on a mission. Spiritualist Kari and her ex-fiancée, the scientist Neil, reach an agreement among reason and faith as they try to find a way of saving themselves - and, consequently, humankind.
What We Liked
This is a rare and rich sci-fi story with several layers of interpretation. The chemistry between the couple/protagonists is not only about romance: both characters represent the necessity of a successful combination between science and spirituality for humanity to thrive. The richness of martian sci-fi scenarios described by the author is also a plus.
Film: It would also be a great adaptation for Film because character arcs are involving and plot has a clear message, leaving a possibility for sequences to be developed.
TV: It would be a great adaptation for TV because there are several interesting characters and different obstacles in the narrative, enough to keep audience hooked and constantly surprised with new elements and scenarios.
Key points: Rich sci-fi scenarios; relatable protagonists; timely main theme; deeper message; spiritual elements.
Synopsis
Earth already is doomed when Falcon One lands on Mars. Kari, a spiritualist onboard of Falcon One, notices the presence of a red martian ghost as soon as they land.
As a soulless man enters the ship to kill them, everybody panics. A few manage to escape, being Kari one of them.
Neil, her ex-fiancée, a scientist that was already on this martian mission, helps Kari survive and understand what's happening.
He explains that zombie-like humans, the Hollow, were the result of life created in laboratory.
The couple keeps killing Hollows and trying to survive.
From Earth, on ICSE's headquarters, Tom and Markus help humans thrive on Mars while enduring the end of the world with their families on Earth itself.
Neil and Kari find out someone is leading the Hollow: Caden, Marku's brother who endured the great loss of his young daughter and tried to relive her through a soulless clone - with no success.
As he became a religious fanatic, he tries to kill Kari.
Enduring thermal and gravity difficulties, the couple is able to survive by getting new bio suits and a serum that helps regenerate their bodies.
In a rare moment of rest, both confess they are still in love and get together. Neil reveals he is sick and will probably not live for long. Caden gets Neil and Kari manages to escape.
Kari meets a group that also survived, and among this group are Sydney and Grisha, a spiritualist.
Kari finds out she is one day pregnant.
The group finds out Caden is holding women hostage to ensure procreation. Their plan is to use Kari as a bait to attract and finish Caden and his men, and get control of Horizons.
Neil and Caden talk, and Caden tells Neil his life story and why he thinks Kari is evil. Neil escapes and joins the group.
The group finds there is a ship able to evacuate 10 people back to Earth, and it becomes their goal to reach it.
In a battle with Caden's men, juggernauts (humanoid robots) arise and Ares also takes action through a sand storm to help the group, after a request from Kari.
Caden tries to force Kari and Neil to kill one another. Asteroids and a juggernaut controlled by Tom help them beat Caden.
Surviving humans make it to the ship and they decide to board with the embryos, and wait until Earth is habitable again. Kari gives birth.
Little by little, all of them die. The only surviving is Samuel Blake, Neil and Kari's son.
When Earth has finally healed, Samuel lands with the embryos and the humanoid form of his lifelong friend AI and are ready to repopulate our planet.