Pasadena, CA (PRWEB) February 7, 2004

While managing a NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars, an author finds time to bring history alive through mysteries that would challenge any scientist of today. Fasten your seatbelt for another dazzling Darmon adventure.

What do the latest images from Mars have to do with an 1833 shipwreck on the coast of Brazil? More than you might think, if you ask Thomas Thorpe, author of the latest release from Port Town Publishing – Night Wind to Bahia. Tom is the Project Manager of NASA’s highly successful Mars Global Surveyor Mission – a spacecraft that has orbited Mars for the past seven years, having returned nearly two hundred thousand images of the planet and is currently relaying pictures from the Mars Exploration Spirit and Opportunity Rovers.

“Historical and science fiction share a common thread: confronting the unknown. It is a circumstance that both frightens and fascinates. It drives science fiction writers to imagine alien planets and invincible heroes to face the unexpected. But, are we any better equipped today to explore worlds than our ancestors who tamed wildernesses and created colonial outposts? Imagine being plopped down onto a foreign shore during the early 1800's. The physical environment is tough enough. Tasks we take for granted such as traversing miles of terrain and securing food were overwhelming obstacles to the tourists of the day. Beyond these trials, come threats from indigenous cultures hostile to outsiders, lawless frontiersmen and chaotic regimes on the verge of collapse. These are contests that are equal to the challenges facing any future astronaut.”

So why write about a mystery solving family cast adrift on the shores of Brazil? The Darmon series is set in many diverse places around the world: Canada, England, Egypt, Greece, Brazil and Russia. “The 1830's were a turbulent time in many countries. Countries struggled with self-government, having just emerged from colonialism or repressive monarchies. Young nations were attempting democracies with unprecedented freedoms. Tensions flared between the traditionalists and the young radicals who tried to free themselves from the economic repression of landowners that dates back to feudalist middle ages. Conspiracies abounded within governments and murders were common.”

As one reviewer puts it. “There's a lot going on in this book from Government Copes with landlords to slave revolts to a cholera epidemic all wrapped around a murder mystery – it is one of the most exciting books, bursting at the seams with story, it also finds room for some real history of a little-known period and a plucky heroine to boot whom female readers will certainly enjoy reading about."

What does Mr. Thorpe hope readers will take away after reading his book? “Historical events are often ignored when presented in textbooks. Readers sometimes think that our ancestors were primitive and uneducated because they lacked today's technology. Unless one experiences the realty surrounding past circumstances, their true relevance may be missed. I hope that the Darmon series enlightens readers to the challenges of the time and gives them a better appreciation of the choices made by people in this period.”

The “Night Wind to Bahia” is available at Amazon.com, through Ingram distributors or at the author’s website: www.thomasthorpe.com.

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