This was a no nonsense adventure story, set on the planet Mars. Its main audience it young adult, even a little younger if they're avid readers, but it wasn't that childish after all and actually holds a few lessons.
The story is fairly simple. It's set in a distant future where colonies on Mars are actually a fact. We follow two friends, Jim and Frank, both sixteen years old, who embark on a trip to their new school.
On this trip they spend some time with the native inhabitants of the planet, the Martians. You get to know their creatures through Jim's perspective which inhibits truly understanding them, but it's all you get.
When enrolled, their good natured headmaster is replaced with a drill instructor- like ruler of the school grounds. Life quickly turns sour for Jim and Frank and with certain events set in motion, they accidentally stumble upon a dark secret which will require help from both humans and Martians.
So with my 'high level' summary of the story, I'll end my two cents that I'd recommend this book to young boys who dream of breaking boundaries.
The story wasn't too bad, but for character development or suspenseful story telling I'd have to guide you to other corners of the book universe.
This one clearly didn't mind the occasional 'Deus Ex Machina', which denied the story its full maturity.
