1940's novella: "Skeleton Men of Jupiter" by ERB

Thanks to the blog Hairy Green Eyeball 3, you can read crisp jpegs of “Skeleton Men of Jupiter,” a science fiction novella written by beloved pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs with cover art and interior illustrations by J. Allen St. John, as it was originally published in the February 1943 issue of Amazing Stories magazine. 

“From distant Jupiter came a weird band of abductors,

the first move in an evil plan for the subjugation of Mars.”

Thanks to David Tackett of QuasarDragon for the link!

Retro review: Louis Charbonneau's 1960 SF-mystery novel Corpus Earthling

Review of the SF-mystery novel Corpus Earthling (1960), by Louis Charbonneau, as published in the December 1960 issue of Analog Science Fact -> Fiction magazine.

 

New novel novella: Dreampunk by Erin M. Hartshorn

There’s an interesting, new, self-published novel novella listed over on Smashwords: Dreampunk: A Tale of Life on Mars (2011), by SF&F author Erin M. Hartshorn. A steampunkish tale that revolves around espionage, virtual reality, and the colonization of Mars, here's the formal description:

Jesenia Farnham wants nothing more than to help remake Mars, modifying Earth-native plants to grow in her new home. The terrorist group Gaia First Foundation, however, wants everyone to go back to Earth, and when she gets caught up in their plans, she's not sure she can stop them. Can she convince Jaymie Woodson that she's not one of the terrorists so they can take out the GFF cell together?

Erin M. Hartshorn is a desert rat transplanted to a humid climate. Her ideal home has bookcases in every room. She is a moderator at Forward Motion for Writers, an online writers community. Her fiction has appeared both on-line and in print in various places, placed in the PARSEC short story contest, earned honorable mentions in the Writers of the Future contest, and been shortlisted for the UPC Award. When she's not writing, she enjoys various handicrafts, though she prefers spending time with her family in Pennsylvania.

  

Interview with 1980's Mars comic creator Mark Wheatley

Earlier this year, longtime illustrator and comic creator Mark Wheatley talked with Brazilian graphic designer and university professor Octavio Aragão. In a wide-ranging conversation, Wheatley discussed his 30+ years of hard work, his working style and how his graphic novel Mars ended up in the hands of Hollywood director James Cameron, probably serving as uncredited inspiration for the recent blockbuster Avatar (2009). 

Mars was first published back in the mid-1980's and then collected in a single graphic novel edition by IDW in 2005.

1940s story: "The Red Death of Mars" by Robert Moore Williams

Thanks to a generous fan of Golden Age science fiction anthologies at the Internet Archive, you can read or download “The Red Death of Mars” (1940), a novelette written by Robert Moore Williams, as it was reprinted in the anthology Men Against the Stars (Gnome Press, 1950), edited by Martin Greenberg.

"With better space ships, exploration of other worlds brings

more unpredictable hazards of mystery and death."

 

Common Sense Media: Supreme Court guarantees kids in California right to blow shit up on Mars

Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down the asinine 2005 California law banning the sale of violent video games to minors, on grounds that the law violates constitutional free speech protections, Golden State children now have the right to take high tech weapons from the Red Faction: Armageddon (2011) armory and use them to blow shit up on Mars!

Review of Bruce Balfour's 2002 novel The Forge of Mars

The Armchair Critic recently penned a critical review of The Forge of Mars (2002), a hard science fiction novel written by former NASA employee Bruce Balfour. 

Artwork by Jean Pierre Targete

The Forge of Mars received more positive reviews by Cindy Lynn Speer of the SF Site and the late cryptoterrestrial Mac Tonnies!

Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier: "First Principle" by Nancy Kress

I’m still reading my way through Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier (Viking, April 2011), a new original Young Adult science fiction anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan that's packed with stories from a range of contemporary international writers, including Cory Doctorow, Ellen Klages, Ian McDonald, Rachel Swirsky, and John Barnes.

The fifth tale in the anthology is “First Principle,” written by award-winning author Nancy Kress. Set on a Red Planet that has been colonized for several generations, the story revolves around a Mars-born “bug” named Gina Mellit and her complex relationship with a dying xenophobic Earther immigrant named David Hansen. Here are the opening lines:

HE was even bigger than I expected. All three of them were. Barb and I watched on the link screen as they waited for the transport bay to pressurize, as they climbed out of the rover. Dr. Langley, in his rotation as council leader, made a welcome speech. The parents managed exhausted smiles, but the boy scowled.

“He’s so ugly,” Barb said. “And look at him—he hates us already.”

“He’s scared,” I said. “Wouldn’t you be, if you got taken away to Earth?”

The First Principle: Put yourself in the other person’s place.

 

First edition dust jacket of Edgar Rice Burroughs's 1920 novel Thuvia, Maid of Mars

Thuvia, Maid of Mars

Novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs

(United States: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1920) hardcover

Cover art by P. J. Monahan.

 

New novelette: "Citizen-Astronaut" by David D. Levine

Hugo-award winning SF writer & Mars Society guy David D. Levine just had his new novelette, “Citizen-Astronaut,” published in the June 2011 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine. Inspired by Levine’s experiences as part of a simulated expedition to Mars undertaken in the desert of Utah (pictured above), and awarded 2nd prize in the 2010 Jim Baen Memorial Writing Contest, “Citizen-Astronaut” tells the story of a blogger assigned to report on a manned mission to the Red Planet.

While I haven’t read “Citizen-Astronaut,” if you're not afraid of a few spoilers you can piece together a detailed description of the story by reading these diverse reviews:

1) Sam Tomaino of SFRevu: “All in all, this was an exciting story of heroism and sacrifice.”

2) Lois Tilton of Locus: "Here we have two classic Analog themes: the creative individual vs bureaucracy, and the creative individual solving a life-and-death problem. Gary Shu fits the role well; he turns out to be a competent handyman as well as a journalist -- a doer, not a speecher."

3) Aidan Doyle of SFF Portal: “I found the story lacking in surprises and had hoped for something more interesting.” 

David D. Levine is working on a YA novel: The Loneliest Girl on Mars (2012).

1950s Mystery in Space comic: "Flying Saucers over Mars!"

The British blog Grantbridge Street & Other Misadventures has quality jpegs of a twelve-page DC comic entitled “Flying Saucers over Mars!” Scripted by Joe Millard, penciled by Carmine Infantino and inked by Joe Giella, “Flying Saucers over Mars!” was published in Mystery in Space #45 (August 1958). Enjoy!

Thanks to David Tackett of the blog QuasarDragon for the tip!

 

Poetic "Martian Dreams" wins Kessler flash fiction contest

Earlier this year, the creative marketing folks over at the MyOuterSpace.com science fiction community held a flash fiction writing contest inspired by NASA’s 2008 Phoenix Mars Mission. Fittingly, the judge — and muse — for the contest was nonfiction writer, Brooklyn resident, and monobookstore tenant Andrew Kessler, whose new book, Martian Summer: Robot Arms, Cowboy Spacemen, and My 90 Days with the Phoenix Mars Mission (Pegasus, April 2011), details what it was like to work on the mission.

The winning contest entry, announced on June 22nd, was “Martian Dreams,” penned by a writer known as The-Reluctant-Author. In describing the piece, Kessler said:

“Only a true space geek could make the barren Martian wilderness seem so vibrant and inspiring. This story almost read like a poem. Space poetry is a much-underrepresented genre. Lo, ye sentences were like stanzas, you Bard of Mars. In fact, if you didn't know it was a story about Mars, you could almost be forgiven for thinking it was describing the harshness of the Colorado Plateau, or the plains of the Great Basin. And that’s one amazing truth about Mars and how it captures our imagination — its strange familiarity.”

After reading “Martian Dreams,” be sure to check out the second place entry — “Dust to Dust” by Vendetta Jones — and all of the other submissions!

   

Video mash-up of Syfy tv movie Red Faction: Origins set to metal song by Blue Gillespie

If you enjoy crimson-blackened landscapes, industrial metal, brutal violence, explosive pyrotechnics, and young ladies who brandish deadly  weapons, check out this video mash-up of Red Faction: Origins (June 2011), the recent Syfy channel two-hour, made-for-television, action-drama set on a 21st-century politically volatile Mars.


The mash-up is set to the song “Sugarglass” by UK metal band Blue Gillespie. British actor Gareth David-Lloyd, one of the stars of the movie, is also lead singer of the band.

Red Faction: Origins is scheduled to be released on DVD in late August 2011.

Raydio Broadcasts: Mrs. Morris and the "Wind Farms of Mars"

Charles Rice Goff III & Justynn Tyme recently deposited their Raydio Broadcasts audio anthology Mrs. Morris Goes to Mars (2011) in the Internet Archive. "A series of audio vignettes based on recombining and rearranging bits and pieces from Ray Bradbury's huge output of inspiring literature," Mrs Morris Goes to Mars includes the creepy track “Wind Farms of Mars.”

Thanks to Phil Nichols of the UK-based blog Ray Bradbury & Media for the link!

Space Western: "Octopus Tanks" by Max Gladstone (2008)

Here’s a recent short story that I overlooked: “Octopus Tanks” by Max Gladstone, which was published in 2008 on the well-known website SpaceWesterns.com. Set on Mars, the story is “a tale of vigilantism and revenge, grounded firmly in the daily struggles of an ordinary woman on an unforgiving planet.” Here are the opening lines:

IT was the video, seen in her childhood, that caused Tara to fall in love with octopuses:

A blue ocean, the sinister gray curve of a hunting shark, and then, from the sea bottom, the ballooning crimson amorphous shape, eight arms wrapping and clinging. The shark had thrashed, its jaws working futilely, tail swishing through the water. Eight arms tensed, folding the shark in half the wrong way. The octopus dragged off its meal.

Now, thirteen years and a few million miles later, she rolled onto her back and tasted the iron dust in the dry air. The scientists had been surprised that a snail’s cousin could kill and eat the oceans’ king predator....

Max Gladstone has written several novels and published a handful of short stories. Having spent time teaching in rural Anhui province in southern China, he now resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gladstone was just interviewed by the blog Conversations with Writers.

Preview of comic book Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #4

Comic Book Resources has an enticing five-page preview of Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #4 (June 2011), the third issue in the new comic book series published by Dynamite Entertainment that chronicles what the lovely Martian princess Dejah Thoris was doing all those hundreds of years before John Carter arrived on Barsoom!

Dejah Thoris has united all the red Martians nations against the Jeddak of Yorn, but they are no match for him in his living tomb, the terrible War Colossus. Dejah must turn to Yorn's son, the only one who knows the Colossus's weakness. Exploiting the weakness will require a miracle of Martian engineering, and it just so happens that Yorn's son is a genius, the likes of which Mars has not seen for over a thousand years! All is not well, however: there is a traitor among Dejah's allies...

Based on the fantastical science fiction of beloved pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs, Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #4 was written by Arvid Nelson, drawn by Carlos Rafael, colored by Carlos Lopez, with variant cover art by Arthur Adams (pictured above!), Ale Garza, Joe Jusko, and Paul Renaud.

Check your local comic book shop for Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris #4!

 

Sci Fri: "How We’ll Live on Mars" article Popular Science 1953

"How We'll Live on Mars" Popular Science (March 1953)

  

Triptych cover art for Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy

Uncorrected Proofs and Advanced Reading Copy of trilogy of hard science fiction novels Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson (1990's).

1940's novelette: "The Martian Circe" by Raymond F. Jones

Thanks to a generous fan of old magazines at the Internet Archive, you can read or download “The Martian Circe,” a novelette penned by Sci-Fi writer Raymond F. Jones, as it was illustrated and published in the Summer 1947 issue of Planet Stories magazine.

"Who was this sweet-voiced singer weaving a spell of dreams and drugs 
that drove men mad and threatened to smash the System?
SBI Captain Roal Hartford dared the death of the 
Thousand Minds to learn her dreadful secret!"

 

Martian SFFH translator Brian Stableford wins SFFTA award

Cover art by Arnaud Demaegd

Congratulations to British science fiction, fantasy & horror translator Brian Stableford, who, “in recognition of the excellence of his translation work,” won the Special Award at the first Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards (SFFTA) presented this past weekend at the 2011 Eurocon in Stockholm. An author, editor, and historian-scholar, Stableford “has devoted much of his considerable talents and energy to an unprecedented project of literary resurrection, translating more than sixty books of proto and classic sf, horror, and fantasy by French authors of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.” His translations and adaptations include:

• An Inhabitant of the Planet Mars (2008) / Un Habitant de la Planète Mars (1865) by Henri de Parville

• The Vampires of Mars (2008) / Le Prisonnier de la Planète Mars (1908) and La Guerre des Vampires (1909) by Gustave Le Rouge

• The Nyctalope on Mars (2008) / Le Mystere des XV (1911) by Jean de La Hire

• The Martian Epic (2008) / Les Titans du ciel (1921) and L'agonie de la Terre (1922) by Octave Joncquel & Théo Varlet

Thanks to Ian Randal Strock of SF Scope for the tip!

Mayfair mammographic Mars art for Graham Masterton's 1969 short story "I, the Martian"

British magazine Mayfair (September 1969), featuring glamour model Alexandra Jones. According to a copy for sale on eBay, this issue contains "I, the Martian," the first short story noted sex and horror writer Graham Masterton ever had published. The story was written under the pseudonym Roland Winchester.

 

Retro trailer: 1950 film Rocketship X-M

Here's the original trailer for Rocketship X-M, a 1950 Sci-Fi film directed by Kurt Neumann. Set in the post-World War II years, the storyline revolves around a manned expedition (4 men + 1 woman) to the Moon (X-M = Expedition Moon), which experiences unexpected gravitational forces and ends up landing on Mars instead. Starring Lloyd Bridges as Colonel Floyd Graham, the pilot of the rocketship; Osa Massen as the lovely Dr. Lisa Van Horn, a chemist; John Emery as Dr. Karl Eckstrom, designer of the rocketship; Noah Beery, Jr. as Major William Corrigan; Hugh O'Brian as Harry Chamberlain; and Morris Ankrum as Dr. Ralph Fleming.

The Future Is Here! Zoom Through The Universe…

In The Screen’s First Story… Of Man’s First Conquest of Space!
Gasp At The Daring Courage… Of Four Men And A Girl…
As They Thunder Between Planets… On A Runaway Rocket!
You’ve Read About It! You’ve Talked About It! Now See It!

David Tackett of the blog QuasarDragon notes that the entire film Rocketship X-M is archived in the Internet Archive and readily available for viewing.

Comic book review round-up: Warlord of Mars #6

Warlord of Mars, the new comic book series adaptation by Dynamite Entertainment of beloved pulp author Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fantastical science fiction novel A Princess of Mars (1917), continues to generate interest among both ERB and comic book fans. Here are some snippets from various reviews of a recent issue, Warlord of Mars #6 (March 2011), which was written by Arvid Nelson with interior artwork by Lui Antonio and variant covers by artists Patrick Berkenkotter, Joe Jusko, Lucio Parrillo, and Stephen Sadowski:

Variant cover art by Joe Jusko.

1) Weekly Comic Book Review: “Conclusion: Why the hell aren’t you reading Warlord of Mars? Pick it up now. This is classic sword and planet adventure, with really high-end production values. Grade: A-”

2) JCOM Reader: “Again sounding like a stuck record, issue 6 is another strong issue for the series.”

3) Comic Book Resources: “As always with this, I can’t really recommend Warlord of Mars, because it’s not all that good, but I do enjoy watching the adventure unfold. Rating: 5 stars out of 10.”

Meet the Mars author: 1939 Frank Belknap Long autobio

“Meet Our Science Fiction Family”

Thrilling Wonder Stories (June 1939)

Frank Belknap Long wrote several works of Martian science fiction, including the short stories "Martian Homecoming" (1951), "And Someday to Mars" (1952), "The Man the Martians Made" (1954), "Mr. Caxton Draws a Martian Bird" (1954) and "Good to be a Martian" (1955), as well as the novels Space Station #1 (1957), Mars is My Destination (1962) and The Martian Visitors (1964).

 

Auction records: Unbroken run of The Cosmopolitan magazine, 1897, with H. G. Wells serial novel The War of the Worlds

H. G. Wells (British Science Fiction author, 1866-1946)

The War of the Worlds, serialized in The Cosmopolitan magazine. New York: The Cosmopolitan Press, 1897. Nine monthly issues, April 1897 through December 1897.

Illustrated wrappers. Faint, unobtrusive rubber stamp on cover of April, 1897 issue. Minor chipping to head and foot of spines. A nice unbroken run of The Cosmopolitan, containing the entire novel, with illustrations by Warwick Goble. In a modern, large clamshell box with gilt lettering on the spine. A very nice set in very good condition. From the Jane and Howard Frank Collection.

The War of the Worlds first made its appearance in a serialized fashion simultaneously in both the U.S. and in Great Britain, in the monthly magazines The Cosmopolitan and Pearson's, respectively.

Sold for: $1,673 (includes BP )

Date sold: October 16, 2008

Auction house: Heritage Auctions

 

Caz's foreword to 1961 Ace paperback edition of Otis Adelbert Kline's novel The Outlaws of Mars

Check out this foreword that was compiled by Camille Cazedessus, Jr., and printed in the 1961 Ace paperback edition of The Outlaws of Mars, a swashbuckling planetary romance written by Otis Adelbert Kline and first published in the early 1930’s as a magazine serial. 

Caz was the longtime editor and publisher of ERB-dom, “a non-profit amateur quarterly hobby magazine devoted to Edgar Rice Burroughs & related subjects.” ERB-dom won the 1965 Hugo Award for best fanzine!

Weapons from Red Faction: Armageddon armory: Arc Welder

Supporters of simple Second Amendment remedies to complex political issues will appreciate the diversity and effectiveness of the weapons in the armory of Red Faction: Armageddon, the new fourth installment in THQ’s popular science fiction, action-shooter, destruction-based video game series set on a revolutionary late 22nd-century Mars. For example, check out the details of the Arc Welder:

Arc Welder

Type of Weapon: Electrical/Firearm

Origin: Red Faction Militia

Description: Capable of stun or kill, Heavy, Electrically charged, Practical, Tough

Uses: Quiet kills, Stun, Short-Medium Range Attack

This updated version of the original Arc Welder became a standard weapon for the Red Faction Militia of the late 22nd Century. When properly utilized, the Welder could be set to “stun” or “kill” settings. Many militiamen treasured the weapon for this capacity as more than a handful of simple sweeps turned ugly during the rise of the Cultists.

Red Faction: Armageddon was launched June 7, 2011.

 

LA Times exclusive interview with John Carter film director Andrew Stanton

Concept art for Disney film John Carter (2012)

The Los Angeles Times has an awesome exclusive interview with Hollywood director Andrew Stanton, who is directing John Carter (2012), the long-awaited Disney live-action film adaptation of the beloved Edgar Rice Burroughs science fiction novel A Princess of Mars (1917), starring Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris, and Willem Dafoe as Tars Tarkas. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

LA Times: That's very true, in reading Tolkien or Burroughs you get the sense that the story being told is the tip of the iceberg. The threads of the overall tapestry seem if they go well beyond the story presented...

Andrew Stanton: There was a book compiled—who knows how long it took to do it—but it was compiled in the early 1970s by a fan of those Barsoom books. This fan had gone through and pulled out all the names of places and people, all the rules of measurement, the terminology of society, all of it, and put it all together. It’s an encyclopedia called, I think, The Guide to Barsoom. I think everyone in the art department went out and we found every copy that was out there, and we used it as our bible. It was our rule book. It made things a lot easier. When we needed a name or anything, we tried to go with a history that had already been determined. Hey, someone had already done the work, why not leverage off of it? Having created universes from scratch before, that can consume all of your time and the character/plot child gets neglected. This allowed us not to sweat all that stuff and go straight to character.

John Carter is scheduled to land in movie theaters March 9, 2012.

Retro review: Joanna Russ on Gene Wolfe's 1971 novel Operation Ares

Review by the late critic Joanna Russ of the science fiction novel Operation Ares (1971), by Gene Wolfe, as published in the April 1971 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Producer John Davis talks about challenges of adapting Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles to big screen

Descent by Michael Whelan (1989)

The website Collider.com recently posted a short but insightful interview with film producer John Davis (Predator; I, Robot), who is working on Paramount’s planned adaptation of Ray Bradbury's SF&F masterpiece, The Martian Chronicles (1950). Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

John Davis: We are working on a bunch of sci-fi. You know, Ray Bradbury. We have been meeting with him.  It is so cool to go to his house. He is so loose at 94. We really wanted to do justice to Martian Chronicles because it is such a great piece of science fiction. I’ve been meeting with writers and there are some really brilliant takes on this and really interesting ways to do this. I think is going to be the most interesting and thrilling movie. I love that. I love sci-fi.

Davis envisions the film as a “summer blockbuster” but “one with a weighty intellectual background.”

 

1930's short story: "Madness of the Dust" by R. F. Starzl

Thanks to another generous fan of old pulp magazines at the Internet Archive, you can read or download “Madness of the Dust” (1932), a short story penned by science fiction writer R. F. Starzl, as it was reprinted in Avon Science Fiction Reader #1 (April 1951).

“Men who are isolated in lonely places can and do crack-up. At least, for them, the radio remains some sort of communication with their home bases. But what of the man isolated in some mining or expeditionary base on some other more desolate world?”

Sir Patrick Stewart to provide voice for video game adaptation of The War of the Worlds

Other Ocean Interactive announced that acclaimed British actor Sir Patrick Stewart will narrate its new video game adaptation of The War of the Worlds, the classic 19th-century science fiction novel written by H.G. Wells. Here is a snippet from the official press release:

The War of the Worlds is a dark and breathtaking new vision inspired by the classic H.G. Wells novel, retold as a single player, 2D action-adventure. The gameplay narrative parallels the timeline and events from the 1953 movie adaptation, but introduces a new story arc, characters, locations, and sub-plots. With gameplay paying homage to classic cinematic platformers such as Flashback and Out of This World, players follow the exploits of an unknown everyman struggling to escape the Martian invasion of London and rescue his family. Forced to think through insurmountable odds, players will outsmart an army of alien tripods, spiders and drones as they make their way through a landscape of total devastation.

Patrick Stewart, who was a big fan of the 1953 film adaptation as a boy, said:

“As a young boy, I remember watching the The War of the Worlds so many times I was quoting the lines. The alien invasion both terrified and fascinated me and the movie has stuck with me since then. Now, being part of this project will provide a new way for gamers around the world to experience a fresh new take on a classic.”

The Ward of the Worlds video game will be released for Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) and PlayStation Network (PSN) in late 2011.

Thanks to John Gosling of War of the Worlds Invasion: The Complete War of the Worlds Website for the tip!

New serial novel: Aurora and Ares on Mars: Love and Death on the Red Planet by Schulze-Makuch, Davies & Gabriel

Three academics, Dirk Schulze-Makuch of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Washington State University, Paul Davies of the Beyond Center at Arizona State University, and Joseph Gabriel of the website Cosmology.com are writing a new online science fiction serial novel entitled Aurora and Ares on Mars: Love and Death on the Red Planet (2011). Accompanied by an array of photos and images, Schulze-Makuch, Davies & Gabriel have posted five chapters to date.

Get your ass to Mars! Preview of comic book Total Recall #2

Comic Book Resources has an interesting preview of Total Recall #2 (June 2011), the second number in a new 4-issue comic book series published by Dynamite Entertainment and inspired by the classic 1990 science fiction action film Total Recall, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin and Michael Ironside.

Written by Vince Moore with interior art by Cezar Razek and variant covers by Razek and Darick Robertson, the Total Recall comic book series presents the story of what happens on Mars after the end of the 1990 film. Apparently, Douglas Quaid simply wants to live happily ever after with Melina, the woman of his dreams. Good luck, Quaid!

MIT Technology Review: 2000 film Mission to Mars worst hard Science Fiction movie ever!

After praising Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy as one of the 10 Best Hard Science Fiction Books of All Time, Stephen Cass of the prestigious MIT Technology Review has declared Mission to Mars (2000), a film directed by Brian De Palma starring Gary Sinise, Connie Nielsen, Tim Robbins, and Don Cheadle, as one of the Five Worst (Hard) Science Fiction Movies Ever.

#1. Mission to Mars (2000): This is the very definition of a movie that tried too hard, with the makers boasting of their attention to technical accuracy prior to its release and a visual style that echoes 2001: A Space Oddyssey. Sadly, not even the laws of motion escape unmangled as the cast make their way to the red planet hoping to find out what happened to a missing expedition. The ultimate denouement is that the Martians fled the destruction of their biosphere due to an asteroid impact, leaving on spacecraft to colonize some distant star. But before departing the solar system, the Martians seeded the early Earth with their DNA. Which—literally—made me scratch my head in the theater because a) if they can build such great space ships, why didn't they use one to do something about the asteroid and b) why not just settle on Earth? Most cringeworthy line: "My God that's it! Hundreds of million of years ago there was a sudden explosion of life on Earth. The first multicelled plants and animals appeared. No one has ever understood why or how it happened!" 

Memo to Mr. Cass: You misspelled the word “Odyssey”.

Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier: "On Chryse Plain" by Stephen Baxter

I’m still reading my way through Life on Mars: Tales from the New Frontier (Viking, April 2011), a new original Young Adult science fiction anthology edited by Jonathan Strahan that's packed with stories from a range of contemporary writers, including Ellen Klages, Ian McDonald, Nancy Kress, Cory Doctorow, Rachel Swirsky, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Nnedi Okorafor.

The fourth tale in the anthology is “On Chryse Plain,” written by prolific British hard SF author Stephen Baxter. Set on a colonized, frontier Mars about 150 years after the landing of NASA’s Viking One spacecraft, the story revolves around two old-fashioned, historically-ignorant Mars-born boys (Jonno and Vikram) who accidentally meet a spunky, innovative, field-tripping British school girl from Earth (Natalie Rivers) on the dusty, desolate plain of Chryse. Here are the opening lines:

“YOU haven’t even seen a picture of her,” Jonno said, panting as he pedaled.

“She’s called Hiroe,” Vikram said.

“Your bride-to-be in Hellas Basin!”

“Shut up.”

Jonno laughed, wheezing.

The flycycle dipped, and Vikram had to push harder to bring them back up to their proper altitude. It was always like this with Jonno. At fifteen he was the same age as Vikram, but a few centimeters shorter and a good few kilos heavier, enough to unbalance the cycle. He didn’t have enough breath to talk and cycle. But he talked anyhow....

A solid story that blends interesting science and technology, plausible characters and dialog, and modest but attractive prose. Baxter’s note at the end of “On Chryse Plain” is refreshingly short and does not labor to explain the tale.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch's 2005 SF detective novel Buried Deep available for Kindle e-reader

More good news! Buried Deep: A Retrieval Artist Novel (2005) written by bestselling writer and Hugo Award-winning science fiction & fantasy author Kristine Kathryn Rusch is now available for the Kindle e-reader. Here is the promotional piece from Amazon:

A cold case starts it all—human bones discovered beneath the Martian soil in the alien Disty’s main city. The Disty evacuate, believing the area contaminated. Forensic anthropologist Aisha Costard investigates and discovers that the bones belong to a woman last seen thirty years before.

But the woman didn’t vanish, nor did anyone believe her dead. She Disappeared, along with her children, after being charged with crimes against an alien civilization. Costard believes the children hold the key to this mystery, but she can’t find them on her own. So she returns to the Moon to hire Miles Flint.

As Flint investigates, events move swiftly around him, and suddenly what began as a simple murder case turns into an incident that might destroy the entire solar system....

Rusch’s bestselling, award-winning Retrieval Artist novels have been trumpeted by some critics as one of the top ten science fiction detective series ever!

Bronze statue of Dejah Thoris by sculptor Clay Moore, based on art of Frank Frazetta

There is a beautiful bronze statue of Dejah Thoris for sale on eBay. According to the description, it is an artist's proof that was created by sculptor Clayburn Moore in the mid-1990’s, based on the work of revered artist Frank Frazetta. Price: $7,500

1940's story: "The Winking Lights of Mars" by Gordon A. Giles

Thanks to another generous fan of old magazines at the Internet Archive, you can read or download “The Winking Lights of Mars,” a short science fiction story penned by Gordon A. Giles (Otto Binder) and illustrated by pulp artist Jay Jackson, as it was originally published in the February 1941 issue of Amazing Stories magazine.

"The linking of two worlds hinged on the result of the astronomers observations.

Would the Winking Lights be seen?"

 

STARLOG photo guidebook to science fiction weapons: 1938 serial film Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars

Just a short piece about weapons in the 1938 serial film Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars, from STARLOG Photo Guidebook: Science Fiction Weapons, Vol. 1 (1979).

 

Marvel and ERB estate to publish all new graphic fiction adaptations of beloved John Carter of Mars novels

Comic powerhouse Marvel Entertainment, in collaboration with the estate of science fiction & fantasy author Edgar Rice Burroughs, has announced all new graphic fiction adaptations of the beloved John Carter of Mars novels, beginning with John Carter: A Princess of Mars #1, to be published in September 2011. Here’s the bulk of the press release:

By working closely with the ERB estate, all John Carter comics produced with Marvel Entertainment will be considered part of the official canon, adding new layers to the rich mythos created by Burroughs.

Transported to the dying planet of Mars, Captain John Carter must now fight for his life against creatures unlike any ever seen by mankind. But as he finds himself enveloped by an alien civil war, he meets the proud and beautiful Dejah Thoris, Princess of Helium, who will change his life forever!

“With our new partnership with Marvel Entertainment, we believe we have found the best creative force to revive the thrills and adventures in the 21st Century of the legendary John Carter of Mars. We are looking forward to introducing this original interplanetary adventurer to a new generation of fans and await the first issue with great anticipation,” said James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.

Re-envisioned by acclaimed scribe Roger Langridge (Thor: The Mighty Avenger) and fan-favorite artist Filipe Andrade (Onslaught Unleashed), with covers by Eisner-winner Skottie Young (Wonderful Wizard of Oz), John Carter: A Princess of Mars #1 (of 5) brings you the story you love like you’ve never seen it before.

“Edgar Rice Burroughs created one of the great action heroes in John Carter and we’re excited to bring his novels to comics for a new generation,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel Editor-In-Chief. “Roger and Filipe are going to blow everyone away with their take on the John Carter novels, keeping fans new and old on the edge of their seats.”

This September, one of the greatest action stories of all time comes to life in John Carter: A Princess of Mars #1!

Thanks to JCOM Reader for the tip!

Podcast of Duncan Shields's 2011 flash fiction "Fertilizer"

Beam Me Up, a highly-successful science fiction podcast produced by fan Paul Cole, recently released Episode #264, which includes a unique reading by Cole of “Fertilizer” (April 2011), a excellent piece of flash fiction written by Duncan Shields that was published on the well-known free SF story site 365tomorrows. It’s about NASA, a convicted murderer, and the role of Mars in the criminal justice system. Cole’s introduction to and reading of “Fertilizer” starts at the 5:00 minute mark of the podcast. Enjoy!

Al Sarrantonio's 2005 fantasy novel Haydn of Mars available for Kindle e-reader

Good news! Haydn of Mars (2005), a fantasy novel written by award-winning science fiction, fantasy, and horror author Al Sarrantonio, is now available for the Kindle e-reader. Here is the promotional piece from Amazon:

On Mars, in the distant future, the Princess Haydn's arranged marriage cannot save her beloved Republic. Her arch-enemy, the warrior-woman Frane, seeks to make herself Queen while Haydn—the legitimate heir—must flee for her life.

A reluctant symbol for those who would restore the monarchy, Haydn is too young and unprepared to assume the throne—but determined to become a great Queen. With a bounty on her head, she will make a perilous journey to the realization that—in order to save her world—she must sacrifice all that she holds dear.

Haydn of Mars is the first novel in a trilogy. It was followed by Sebastian of Mars (2005) and Queen of Mars (2006). All three novels were republished as a single hardcover volume: Masters of Mars (Science Fiction Book Club, 2006).

1950's novella: "Potential Zero" by John Bloodstone

Thanks to Dave Tackett of the blog QuasarDragon, you can read “Potential Zero,” a novella penned by science fiction writer and Edgar Rice Burroughs disciple John Bloodstone (Stuart J. Byrne) and illustrated by fantastic pulp artist Virgil Finlay, which was published in the December 1953 issue of Science Stories magazine and is now in the public domain.

“The Vanyans came from outer space bringing Earthmen invaluable gifts, and Earth received them — and their gifts — with open arms. But what was behind it all? What would the Vanyans ask in payment? With these questions came fear ... and distrust ... and hatred.” 

According to the promotional piece for a commercial reprint of “Potential Zero” under the variant title “Martian Honeymoon”, “Here is the very human story of a man and woman from different worlds whose love, and lives, were put to the test when each was forced to betray each other to save their own world from peril!”