Thursday, June 4, 2009

Author Kim Stanley Robinson reveals his favorite Martian SF books

Renowned science fiction author Kim Stanley Robinson considers a century of Martian SF and picks his ten favorite books in a new essay titled "My 10 Favorite Mars Novels". Robinson's essay is part of a larger Special Report: Why Mars? Why Now? of science articles, videos, slideshows, and podcasts posted on the website of IEEE Spectrum, a technology magazine. Here's a basic list of Robinson's favorite Martian SF books, but be sure to read his essay for cover art and commentary about each book:

Two Planets (1897), by the German author Kurd Lasswitz

Red Star (1908) and its sequel, Engineer Menni (1913), by the Russian author Alexander Bogdanov

The Martian Chronicles (1950), by Ray Bradbury

The Sands of Mars (1951), by Arthur C. Clarke

Outpost Mars (1952) by Cyril Judd, which was a pseudonym used for works co-written by C. M. Kornbluth and Judith Merril

Martian Time-Slip (1964), by Philip K. Dick

Farewell, Earth’s Bliss (1966), by D. G. Compton

Mars, We Love You (1971), an anthology of short fiction edited by Jane Hipolito and Willis E. McNelly

Man Plus (1976), by Frederik Pohl

Genesis: an Epic Poem (1988), by Frederick Turner

Thankfully, Robinson is too modest to include any of his own works.

Kim Stanley Robinson will be a Guest of Honor at Aussiecon 4, the 68th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held in Melbourne, Australia, in September 2010.

4 comments:

Antony said...

The Martian Chronicles has to b e my favorite, not counting Red Mars of course Kim!

Ken E. said...

Hey -- I haven't figured out how to leave a comment on something that's not been posted -- readers might be interested to know that a month ago, the International Astronomical Union approved "Asimov" as the name for a crater on Mars. See, for example, this discussion on the Planetary Society's web site from last week (or, maybe you noted it a month ago and I just missed it... sorry if I did): http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001965/

Paul said...

Antony: The Martian Chronicles is my favorite, too, but KSR has put together a fantastic list. The only thing missing is Leigh Brackett!

Ken: Thanks. Check my post of May 31, 2009. Also, note that I'm thinking of doing a poll about women SF writers and craters on Mars.

Ken said...

Women SF writers and craters on Mars: There is definitely a need for a Brackett Crater. Mars only has 2 craters named for women, neither of which was a SF writer.