Edison's Conquest of Mars

After a devastating Martian attack, Earth's nations unite to fund and construct advanced weaponry and interplanetary craft conceived by a brilliant inventor. A multinational expedition crosses space to confront the Martian threat, engaging in aerial and ground encounters that reveal alien technology, ruined monuments, and nonhuman inhabitants. Along the way the expedition faces hazards from spaceborne obstacles and rival extraterrestrial forces, forms unexpected alliances, and investigates the biology and engineering of another world. The narrative combines speculative engineering, strategic warfare, and cultural encounters to follow humanity's attempt to retaliate, survive, and alter the balance between planets.