Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Biggest Mars SF disappointments of 2008

1. Learning that none of Robert A. Heinlein’s works
are housed in the Visions of Mars library, which stands proudly on the surface of the Red Planet thanks to the hard work of The Planetary Society and NASA.

2. Getting snubbed by the San Francisco Public Library when I inquired about obtaining a copy of Forrest J Ackerman's "A Trip to Mars" (1929) from the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

3. Not having the good fortune of discovering “Martian Dispatches” (2008), a "story" written by David Moles that was embedded in a Firefox browser extension by the merry pranskters of Tumbarumba.

4. Having to wait until at least 2009 to learn about the panels for Vericon IX, to be held at Harvard University in January 2009 and whose guests include Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear, Paul Di Filippo, Allen Steele, Robert V.S. Redick, Catherynne Valente, and Don D'Ammassa.

5. Not being able to read online or purchase in electronic format scores of short stories about Mars and Martians that were published
in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s in publications such as Astounding/Analog and The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction.

Wishing everyone a safe and Happy New Year!

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