10 Stories you wouldn’t know are Martian Science Fiction, Volume 5

This is Volume 5 of a project whose goal is to compile a long list of stories you wouldn’t know are about Mars or Martians by simply reading the titles. Some of the stories you can read online or purchase through sites such as Fictionwise, but most you cannot. The Locus Index to Science Fiction and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database are good tools for obtaining citations that you can take to your local library. If your library does not have the anthology or magazine mentioned in the citation, ask your librarian about an “Interlibrary Loan Request.” I’ve been able to borrow old anthologies and get photocopies of stories from old pulp magazines with few problems.

Here are the ten stories that comprise Volume 5:

10 Stories you wouldn’t know are Martian Science Fiction, Volume 4

This is Volume 4 of a project whose goal is to compile a long list of stories you wouldn’t know are about Mars or Martians by simply reading the titles. Some of the stories you can read online or purchase through sites such as Fictionwise, but most you cannot. The Locus Index to Science Fiction and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database are good tools for obtaining citations that you can take to your local library. If your library does not have the anthology or magazine mentioned in the citation, ask your librarian about an “Interlibrary Loan Request.” I’ve been able to borrow old anthologies and get photocopies of stories from old pulp magazines with few problems.

Here are the ten stories that comprise Volume 4:

10 Stories you wouldn’t know are Martian Science Fiction, Volume 3

This is Volume 3 of a project whose goal is to compile a long list of stories you wouldn’t know are about Mars or Martians by simply reading the titles. (See Volume 1 for stories #1 through #10 and Volume 2 for stories #11 through #20)

For example, stories such as “The Enchanted Village” (1950), by
A. E. van Vogt, and “Hellas is Florida” (1977), by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford, will be included on the list, while stories such as "The Raid from Mars"(1939), by Miles J. Breuer, and “The Day the Martians Came” (1967), by Frederik Pohl, will not.

Some of the stories you can read online or purchase through sites such as Fictionwise, but most you cannot. The Locus Index to Science Fiction and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database are good tools for obtaining citations that you can take to your local library. If your library does not have the anthology or magazine mentioned in the citation, ask your librarian about an “Interlibrary Loan Request.” I’ve been able to borrow old anthologies and get photocopies of stories from old pulp magazines with few problems.

Here are the next ten stories:

21. “Via Etherline” (1937), by Eando Binder
“Radio bulletins from the first expedition unfold the terrors of huge Martian insect foes, ruled by still larger creatures.”

22. “Dark Mission” (1940), by Lester del Rey
A man with amnesia wakes up inside the wreckage of a crashed spaceship and later discovers he is a Martian.

23. “Lady Killer” (1952), by Chad Oliver
“An expedition is mounted to Mars in the hopes of finding humanoid females there who are interfertile.”

24. “A Rose for Ecclesiastes” (1963), by Roger Zelazny
A poet and linguist stationed on the Red Planet falls in love with a Martian after being invited into an ancient temple to study their sacred texts.

25. "Sad Solarian Screenwriter Sam" (1972), by Frederik Pohl
The discovery of Martians on the Red Planet has screenwriter Sam Harcourt dreaming of a movie titled Barsoom.

26. “The Catharine Wheel” (1984), by Ian McDonald
“Alternates between the last voyage of the Catharine of Tharsis, the famous locomotive of the Bethlehem-Ares line on Mars, and the last days of the life of that engine's namesake.”

27. “Soft Clocks” (1989), by Yoshio Aramaki
“Story of a surreal Mars ruled by a latter-day [Salvador] Dali, whose cyborg daughter, Vivi, is afflicted with anorexia.”

28. "Heinlein's Children" (1995), by Arlan Andrews
“SF writers, hackers, and others of that ilk, intercept and modify the signals from the Mars probe to make it appear that the Face and other structures on Mars are real and evidence of an alien civilization.”

29. “Ulla, Ulla” (2002), by Eric Brown
“About an expedition to Mars, finding the truth behind H. G. Wells’ novel.”

30. “La Malcontenta” (2005), by Liz Williams
An imprisoned woman known as the Malcontent of Calmaretto is let out for the festival of Ombre in the city of Winterstrike on Mars.

Enjoy!

Pictured above: Artwork by Bob Eggleton

10 Stories you wouldn’t know are Martian Science Fiction, Volume 2

This is Volume 2 of a project whose goal is to compile a long list of stories you wouldn’t know are about Mars or Martians by simply reading the titles. (Volume 1 contains stories #1 through #10)

For example, stories such as “The Enchanted Village” (1950), by A. E. van Vogt, and “Hellas is Florida” (1977), by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford, will be included on the list, while stories such as "A Martian Odyssey" (1934), by Stanley G. Weinbaum, and “Mars Ain’t No Place For Ladies” (2007), by Filamena Young, will not.

Some of the stories you can read online or purchase through sites such as Fictionwise, but most you cannot. The Locus Index to Science Fiction and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database are good tools for obtaining citations that you can take to your local library. If your library does not have the anthology or magazine mentioned in the citation, ask your librarian about an “Interlibrary Loan Request.” I’ve been able to borrow old anthologies and get photocopies of stories from old pulp magazines with few problems.

Here are the next ten stories:

11. "Valley of Dreams" (1934), by Stanley G. Weinbaum
The sequel to Weinbaum’s classic “A Martian Odyssey” (1934).

12. "Vault of the Beast” (1940), by A. E. van Vogt
“Time is running out. The time-lock on the Beast's millennia-old Martian cage is about to open, and mankind will never be able to deal with the threat!”

13. “The Sound of Bugles” (1949), by Robert Moore Williams
“A thriving Martian civilization baffles U.N. investigators; food and water abound -- with no visible source.”

14. “Ministering Angels” (1958), by C. S. Lewis
“Two women volunteer to bring sexual solace to a team of male scientists on Mars.”

15. “Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon” (1964), by Leigh Brackett
“A visitor from the Earth falls into the trap of believing that some of the more lurid tales about the Martians are simply myth.”

16. “One Step from Earth” (1970), by Harry Harrison
The first human to set foot on Mars concludes that, despite the likelihood of dying from a Martian disease, returning to live alone on the Red Planet is far more appealing than remaining on Earth.

17. “The Love Affair” (1982) by Ray Bradbury
A Martian develops an infatuation with a beautiful Earth woman who has settled near his cave on Mars.

18. “Zwarte Piet’s Tale” (1998), by Allen Steele
“Amid political strife and economic struggles, a thin, white-bearded doctor reinvents himself as the original Sinterklaas to bring toys, candy, and much-needed medical care to the children of the Red Planet colonies.”

19. “The Real Story” (2002), by Alastair Reynolds
“A journalist receives a mysterious invitation from the captain of the first Martian expedition to hear the real story of his strange mission.”

20. “The Water Thief” (2007), by Ben Bova
On Mars, where wasting water is strictly forbidden, three youths try to catch a water thief.

Enjoy!

Pictured above: Artwork by Bob Eggleton

10 Stories you wouldn’t know are Martian Science Fiction, Volume 1

This is Volume 1 of a project whose goal is to compile a long list of stories you wouldn’t know are about Mars or Martians by simply reading the titles.

For example, stories such as “The Enchanted Village” (1950), by A. E. van Vogt, and “Hellas is Florida” (1977), by Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford, will be included on the list, while stories such as “Martian Quest” (1940), by Leigh Brackett, and “Falling Onto Mars” (2002), by Geoffrey Landis, will not.

Some of the stories you can read online or purchase through sites such as Fictionwise, but most you cannot. The Locus Index to Science Fiction and the Internet Speculative Fiction Database are good tools for obtaining citations that you can take to your local library. If your library does not have the anthology or magazine mentioned in the citation, ask your librarian about an “Interlibrary Loan Request.” I’ve been able to borrow old anthologies and get photocopies of stories from old pulp magazines with few problems.

Here are the first ten stories:

1. “The Voice in the Void” (1932), by Clifford D. Simak
“Considers the discovery of a sacred tomb on Mars believed to contain the relics of the Messiah.”

2. “The Treasure of Ptakuth” (1940), by Leigh Brackett
“Two men vie for The Treasure of Ptakuth.”

3. “The Embassy” (1942), by Donald A. Wollheim
A private investigator confronts Martians in 1940s New York City.

4. “The Wilderness” (1952), by Ray Bradbury
“This tale focuses on Janice Smith and Leonora Holmes on their last night on Earth as they finish their preparations to leave for Mars.”

5. “Tin Lizzie” (1964), by Randall Garrett
Two aged spaceboats manufactured by the Ford Motor Company and anchored on Phobos are pressed back into service.

6. “Exploration” (1971), by Barry N. Malzberg
“Resolutely sensible technician, passionate poetess, alarmed colonizer, each presents his very different sense of their common destination, the Mars they are separately to explore.”

7. “From the Labyrinth of Night” (1984), by Lillian Stewart Carl
“A scientist searching for life on Mars finds it in a most unexpected place, leading him to re-evaluate not only his own life but what it means to be human.”

8. “Of Flame and Air” (1998), by Mike Resnick and Josepha Sherman
“An adolescent dreamer escapes his family problems in the novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs -- and falls in love with Dejah Thoris.”

9. “The Me After the Rock” (2002), by Patrick O’Leary
“A dialogue-only story ... two astronauts are speaking, one who has had a mystical encounter of some kind with Mars itself, and the other who is dubious.”

10. “Where the Golden Apples Grow” (2006), by Kage Baker
“The stark, inhospitable terrain of Mars almost comes alive as two stranded young colonists struggle to get home.”

Enjoy!

Pictured above: Artwork by Bob Eggleton