The Emperor of Mars, by Allen Steele

Some still have optimism that we will get to the planets someday.  I think they are right, but someday may be further off than they think.  Allen Steele's The Emperor of Mars is set in "'48", but I think that might be 2148 rather than 2048 as implied here.  This is basically a sweet and sentimental tale, about a man coping with loss from very far away where he can do nothing about it.  Kind of reminds me of the King of Hearts somehow, not sure why really.  But it reads nicely and leaves one in a good frame of mind, which is not a bad thing.  A good read for a time when you don't really want a challenge, just something to mentally ingest like a good pudding, as oppposed to a thick steak.  3 stars.

I really like reading these web articles on the Kindle.  It strips off all the adware and formatting, giving you a nice consistent print-like page to look at.  Did some browsing on the Nook, but it doesn't look good at all there.  Am looking forward to rooting the Nook to see if I can get a better-behaved browser on there.  As well as a Kindle reader!