Science fiction literature about Mars
This part of the mediography lists science fiction novels in which either the planet Mars or Martians play a major role. The date of publication listed is the first publication in a novel format. Some of the books were previously published as short stories, and where I knew of the respective dates and magazines I added them in the text.
The books are sorted alphabetically by the (first) author's last name. Complete book series that deal with Mars or Martians have a secondary entry, listing all books in the series with their bibliographical information. Further information about the content of a particular book in the series can be found under the primary entry of each book.
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Allaby, Michael:
[The] Greening of Mars / Michael Allaby ; James Lovelock. - New York : St. Martin's Press, 1984.
Written by a team of a scientist (Lovelock) and a science writer (Allaby), this book is more science fact than anything else. The storyline itself is not worth mentioning, as it really is only a vehicle to introduce ideas regarding the possible terraforming of the planet Mars. These ideas, nevertheless, are very interesting and make the book worth reading, if only from a scientific point of view.
Asimov, Isaac:
[The] Martian Way / Isaac Asimov. - Novella, published in: Galaxy Science Fiction. - November 1952.
Nifty story about a Martian colony whose existence is endangered when the Earth politician Hilder with his "anti-Waster campaign" threatens to cut off all water supplies. Nevertheless, the mining engineer Ted Long comes up with a brilliant idea for a new water source for Mars...
Barsoom Series:
1. [A] Princess of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1917.
2. [The] Gods of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1919.
3. [The] Warlord of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1919.
4. Thuvia : Maid of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1920.
5. [The] Chessmen of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1922.
6. [The] Master Mind of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1928.
Bradbury, Ray [Raymond Douglas]:
[The] Martian Chronicles / Ray Bradbury. - New York : Doubleday, 1950.
Collection of short stories telling the tale how the people of Earth reach Mars and colonize it. The planet is inhabited by an ancient, dying race, that the Earthmen fail to understand. Includes many very interesting ideas, but is rather cumbersome to read, since the red thread connecting the isolated short stories is not always obvious.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
[The] Chessmen of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1922.
Fifth book of Burroughs' Barsoom Series.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
[The] Gods of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1919.
Second book of Burroughs' Barsoom Series. The story was originally published as a five-part serial in the All-story Magazine, from January through May 1913.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
[The] Master Mind of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1928.
Sixth book of Burroughs' Barsoom Series. The story was originally published as a short story in the Amazing Stories Annual, in July 1927.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
[A] Princess of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1917.
First book of Burroughs' Barsoom Series. The story was originally published with the title "Under the Moon of Mars" under the pseudonym of Norman Bean in the All-story Magazine as a six-part serial, from February through July 1912. The hero of this wonderful swashbuckling science-fiction adventure story is John Carter of Virginia, a former Captain of the Confederate army. In 1866, he is magically transported to the planet Mars, which is depicted as a harsh and dry place, featuring Schiaparelli's canals. Directly after arriving, he encounters the Tharks, a war-like tribe of huge, ugly, four-armed green Martians. Due to the low gravity of the planet, John Carter is able to perform extraoridnary feats of strength and agility, and is thus taken in by the Tharks and quickly manages to establish a position as a warrior among them. When Dejah Thoris, the lovely princess of Helium, a city peopled by a race of human-like red Martians, the sworn enemies of the Tharks, is taken as a prisoner, John Carter promptly falls in love with her and does his best to save her.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
Thuvia : Maid of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1920.
Fourth book of Burroughs' Barsoom Series. The story was originally published as a serial in All-story Weekly, in April 1916.
Burroughs, Edgar Rice:
[The] Warlord of Mars / Edgar Rice Burroughs. - Chicago : McClurg, 1919.
Third book of Burroughs' Barsoom Series. The story was originally published as a four-part serial in the All-story Magazine, from December 1913 through March 1914.
Calder, Richard:
Dead Boys / Richard Calder. - London : HarperCollins, 1994.
The second book of the "Dead" trilogy. Regrettably, this scifi book is very poorly written, having the problem of many cyberpunk novels, in that it desperately tries to present a "cool" language. The author uses so many french words and technical as well as science terms (of whose actual meaning he seemingly only has a very vague idea) that in many sentences he successfully hides the point he's trying to make. In an incredibly boring manner one sickening scene after the other is explicitly described (usually violence against women) making it more than difficult for the reader to find anything resembling a story-line. A high-tech disease that is transmitted by nanomachines turns infected humans into blood-thirsty, sadistic robots that sexually abuse and kill humans and each other. A part of this disgusting story takes place on Mars.
Dick, Philip Kindred:
Martian Time-slip / Philip Kindred Dick. - New York : Ballentine, 1964.
The "Supreme Goodmember" Arnie Kott of the Water Workers' Union on Mars hires the mechanic Jack Bohlen to construct a machine that will enable him to communicate with the autistic boy Manfred Steiner. Kott is convinced that Manfred is able to foresee the future, and he wants to use this talent to increase his wealth. Mars is described as a dry desert planet with Schiaparelli's canals, inhabited by a humanoid race of Martians very reminiscent of the Australian aborigines.
Heinlein, Robert Anson:
Double Star / Robert Anson Heinlein. - New York : Doubleday, 1956.
Wonderful scifi story about the unsuccessful actor Lorenzo Smythe ("The Great Lorenzo") who has to stand in for the important politician John Joseph Bonforte, who was kidnapped. In his stead, Smythe has to take part in an official ceremony on Mars that will make Bonforte part of the community of the Martians, which is the next important step in his political career. Trouble is, Smythe simply hates Martians... The way this novel is written is absolutely delightful and the story is funny as well as fast-moving.
Heinlein, Robert Anson:
Red Planet / Robert Anson Heinlein. - New York : Scribners' Sons, 1949.
The teenager Jim Marlowe lives in a Martian colony and has a pet called Willis, a so-called "bouncer" or Martian roundhead, who looks like a hairy medicine ball. After Jim transfers to school, Willis' strange ability of being able to exactly record all conversations around him by chance unveils a plot that threatens Jim's colony. In order to warn the other colonists, Jim, his friend Frank, and Willis must travel across the planet, which is full of Schiaparelli's canals and is inhabited by an ancient, friendly race of Martians... Nice juvenile fiction.
Lewis, Clive Staples:
Out of the Silent Planet / Clive Staples Lewis. - London : John Lane, 1938.
First book of the "Space" trilogy, the adventures of the philologist Dr. Ransom (who is losely based on the immortal J.R.R. Tolkien, author of "The Lord of the Rings"). In this book, he is kidnapped and taken to the red planet, called "Malacandra" by its inhabitants, three different races that co-exist in perfect harmony. The book starts very interesting but gets too obsessed at some point with its heavy Christian message.
Mars Trilogy:
1. Red Mars / Kim Stanley Robinson. - London : HarperCollins, 1992.
2. Green Mars / Kim Stanley Robinson. - London : HarperCollins, 1992.
3. Blue Mars / Kim Stanley Robinson. - New York : Bantam Books, 1996.
Pike, Christopher:
[The] Season of Passage / Christopher Pike. - New York : Tor Books, 1992.
This book is a very interesting mix of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. For a scifi story, the "science" part is admittedly a bit thin, but the "fiction" part has a lot of suspense. The storyline centers around Dr. Lauren Wagner, MD, who is part of the first American manned mission to Mars. Their main goal is to investigate what happened to the first Russian manned mission, which landed two years earlier and disappeared. At the beginning, the book is a real pageturner, but towards the end it loses a lot of its speed, a problem that many modern horror novels seem to have. Anyway, the book presents an interesting (if only mythological) explanation for the sighting of Martian canals in particular and the attraction of Mars on the human mind in general. We also get to know the "real reasons" why the Martian surface is red and why the planet doesn't have a dense atmosphere...
Robinson, Kim Stanley:
Blue Mars / Kim Stanley Robinson. - New York : Bantam Books, 1996.
Third book of Robinson's extensive Mars Trilogy.
Robinson, Kim Stanley:
Green Mars / Kim Stanley Robinson. - London : HarperCollins, 1992.
Second book of Robinson's extensive Mars Trilogy.
Robinson, Kim Stanley:
Red Mars / Kim Stanley Robinson. - London : HarperCollins, 1992.
First book of Robinson's extensive Mars Trilogy, which tells the story of the conquest, colonization, and terraforming of Mars by man. Scientifically, the book is extremely sound, depicting the planet as realistic as an areologist might hope for. Also presents fascinating ideas regarding possibilities of terraforming the planet. From the point of view of the storytelling the book is a bit too cumbersome for my taste, and sort of gets lost in its political issues.
Wells, Herbert George:
[The] War of the Worlds / Herbert George Wells. - London : William Heinemann, 1898.
Williamson, Jack [John Stewart]:
Beachhead / Jack [John Stewart] Williamson. - New York : Tor Books, 1992.
Wyndham, John:
Planet Plane [aka Stowaway to Mars] / John Wyndham. - London : Newnes, 1935.
Ordinary adventure-type novel about the first manned mission to Mars. In 1981 (46 years in the future from the time when the book was written), the acclaimed aviation hero Dale Curtance starts to Mars in his space-ship "Gloria Mundi", together with a crew of four more people. Also on board is a stowaway, Joan Shirning, the daughter of a famous physicist. On Mars, which is depicted as an arid planet with Schiaparelli's canals, they encounter an ancient, dying race of friendly, humanoid Martians, who have built a new race of self-reproducing machines as their descendants.
