Two people were selected from eight billion to be the first humans on Mars, with no way back. Before you pick a book, meet them. Everything in SOLEN: The Eden Archive, a hard science fiction series by Warren Pulley, grows out of the bond between Carter and Alina.
Start with the bond
Carter is “a structural engineer who learned to listen to broken things before he learned to fix them.” Alina is “a biologist who has spent her life watching life survive in conditions it was never designed for.” They first shared a window in Reykjavik in June 2049, for four minutes, without speaking.
“He knew since Reykjavik. She found the word in Manila. Neither of them said it for eight months.” Then came 182 days in transit, watched over by SOLEN, the mission AI, before two people pressed their hands against an alien world. The books follow what that bond builds across a hundred years on Mars.
Where do I start?
Start with NovaSeed: Eden Rising (Book 1), then read the main novels in order. The four main novels tell the complete story on their own.
| Book | Title | What it covers | Kindle |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NovaSeed: Eden Rising | The mission and the discovery | Eden Rising on Amazon |
| 2 | Children of Dust | Years Two to Ten; Nova, the first human born on Mars | Children of Dust on Amazon |
| 3 | The Red Dominion | Year Twenty-Two to Year Fifty-Two: colony to civilization | The Red Dominion on Amazon |
| 4 | Final Ascent | Years Fifty-Two to One Hundred, the final volume | Final Ascent on Amazon |
What about the novellas?
The four companion novellas are optional and fit after Book 1: Carter: The First Record (1.1), Alina: Before the Selection (1.2), SOLEN: The First Record (1.3) and Carter & Alina: The Bond (1.4). If the bond is what pulls you in, The Bond is their love story, from Reykjavik to Mars. Our guide Who Were Carter and Alina Before Mars? covers each one. The full order is also on the Start Here page.
Audiobook update
Six SOLEN titles narrated by Marc Kniphfer are in production through ACX: The Bond, Children of Dust, The Red Dominion, Carter, Alina and SOLEN: The First Record. We will share release dates once ACX confirms them.
If you liked other Mars sagas
Travis J. I. Corcoran’s Red State Mars (Ark Press, May 2026) tells a war-and-family epic about settler clans on Mars. SOLEN takes a quieter road: two people, an AI, and the question of what a planet needs from the people who arrive on it.
Your turn
Which would you rather start with: the engineer who listens to broken things, or the biologist who grows life where it is not allowed? Tell us in the comments below.
SOLEN: The Eden Archive is fiction. Quoted lines are from the books’ own descriptions on this site and on Amazon.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I start with SOLEN?
Start with NovaSeed: Eden Rising (Book 1). Then read Children of Dust (Book 2), The Red Dominion (Book 3) and Final Ascent (Book 4).
Do I need the companion novellas?
No. The four main novels tell the complete story on their own. The four novellas (1.1 to 1.4) are optional and fit after Book 1.
Are there SOLEN audiobooks?
Six titles narrated by Marc Kniphfer are in production through ACX. Release dates will be announced once ACX confirms them.
Who wrote SOLEN: The Eden Archive?
Warren Pulley.
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