Red Lightning takes place 20 years after the events in Red Thunder. Tourism is the number one industry on Mars. Ray Strickland-Garcia thinks that the only thing that would suck more than living on Mars would be living on Earth. When an unknown object strikes the Earth and causes a massive tsunami that takes out most of the east coast of the United States, he and his family head back to Earth to try and find what are left of their families and friends. But what has happened to Jubal, the inventor of the “squeezer” which made space travel as cheap and practical as driving a car? And what is the government really trying to cover up about the tsunami? And how are these events linked to an Earthly invasion of Mars?
This is only the second John Varley book I have read. I highly recommend it if you are a fan of Robert Heinlein or science fiction with the emphasis as much (or more) on the characters than on the actual science.
