TEM: The ideal novel to complete the universe of Mars Express (review)

The prequel book to the film by Jérémie Périn is full of details to flesh out the “lore” of this quality animated work. And it can perfectly be read after seeing Mars Express!

Mars Expressanimated film directed by Jérémie Périn (with the two series to his credit Crisis Jung And Lastman), is a cyberpunk thriller Blade Runner in which the private detective Aline Ruby (Léa Drucker) and his partner Carlos Rivera (Daniel Njo Lobe) are carrying out an investigation combining androids, Artificial Intelligence and space travel. This gem of French animation is successful in that it presents us with a completely new sci-fi universe. We are in the 23rd century and Humanity has succeeded in colonizing Mars by building immense metropolises there.

If you enjoyed the film, in theaters for a fortnight, you will enjoy the novel Mars Express – TEMwritten by Cedric Degottexpublished by Bragelonne and supervised by the screenwriter Laurent Sarfati And Jérémie Périn. The novel sets its plot several years before the events of the film, when Aline Ruby and Carlos Rivera are still special forces soldiers fresh out of the military academy. They are commissioned by the most powerful billionaire on Mars, whose only daughter, Tem, is condemned by a mysterious degenerative cyber-disease.

Despite her young age, Tem is the most popular teenager thanks to her artwork, mixing paint and holographic technology. To save this popular icon and avoid alienating her wealthy father, Aline and Carlos must find a woman who disappeared on Earth years ago, the only person capable of saving Tem’s life. Their journey will take them from the highest reaches of Mars to the desolate depths of Earth.

Mars Express: a SF summit made in France (review)

The novel reveals to us the unwavering bonds of friendship which unite Aline, Carlos and Chris Royjacker (voiced by Matthew Amalric in the film), also a descendant of billionaires. Sketched in the feature film, this relationship is much more developed in the book. We even find ourselves changing our minds about the characters in the film thanks to the discovery of certain nuances detailed in the book. Cedric Degottex takes the time to describe as much as possible the settings, the universe and the interiority of the protagonists, disturbed by a mixture of the organic and the synthetic. Here, humans don’t really exist anymore, we’re talking about augmented, backups and androids. The author is used to this type of universe since he has written several novels derived from video game franchises such as Halo, Mass Effect And BioShock.

The novel is a perfect complement to the film, thus initiating the detective careers of Aline and Carlos by recounting their first investigation. Both are much more complex than they seem and are never stereotyped. No heroes, only lost souls in a future sick of its technology. The book also sheds some light on key events in the film, such as the mysterious Novigrad incident that caused Carlos to become a backup, a human whose consciousness was transferred to an artificial body.

So many mysteries and questions that you can elucidate at your leisure by discovering this film/book diptych, with the possibility of consuming them in any order. Mars Express is currently in cinemas and Mars Express – TEM is also available at Bragelonne.

Before Mars Express, Jérémie Périn had directed the excellent Lastman series