Nonfiction book Packing for Mars lands on NYT best sellers list

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void (Norton 2010), a new nonfiction book by the sexy popular science writer Mary Roach is currently resting at #8 on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction best sellers list, down from #6 last week. “A humorous investigation of life without gravity in the space program," Packing for Mars has an extensive marketing campaign and has received quite a bit of attention. Here are some links worth your time:

• The New York Times review: “Astral Bodies”

• The Space Review: “Review: Packing for Mars”

• The Space Show audio interview: “Guest: Mary Roach”

• Maclean’s review: “Tales of Space Dandruff and Chimponauts”

• The Washington Post review: “How do Astronauts go to the Bathroom in Zero Gravity?”


• NPR audio interview: “Packing for Mars and the Weightless Life”

• Los Angeles Times review: “After Tackling Dead Bodies, the Afterlife and Sex, Mary Roach Looks to the Cosmos”

• The New York Times review: “All the Right Stuff and the Gross Stuff”

• The Planetary Society audio interview: “Talking with Mary Roach, Author of Packing for Mars”

• Excerpt from Packing for Mars

Too bad I'm not artistically inclined, else I'd make a video titled Fuck Me, Mary Roach.

New short fiction: “How to Become a Mars Overlord” by Catherynne M. Valente

The third (August 2010) issue of Lightspeed Magazine, a new, free, online science fiction publication edited by John Joseph Adams, has several pieces related to Mars. First, is “How to Become a Mars Overlord,” a sweeping short story written by Catherynne M. Valente that features some stellar writing and casts Mars in a brilliant metaphorical light. Here are the opening lines:

WELCOME, Aspiring Potentates! We are tremendously gratified at your interest in our little red project, and pleased that you recognize the potential growth opportunities inherent in whole-planet domination. Of course we remain humble in the face of such august and powerful interests, and seek only to showcase the unique and challenging career paths currently available on the highly desirable, iconic, and oxygen-rich landscape of Mars....

Interestingly, “How to Become a Mars Overlord” is also available as a podcast, narrated by Robin Sachs (mp3, 32 minutes).

Second, is an excellent interview with Valente in which she discusses the specifics of “How to Become a Mars Overlord.” Indispensable for simpletons like me who have difficulty seeing beyond the literary glare of stories.

Third, a nice piece of nonfiction titled “Dead Mars” by Pamela L. Gay.

All worth reading!

WSJ on author Rick Moody and his new novel The Four Fingers of Death

The Wall Street Journal has devoted more than a few pixels to award-winning author Rick Moody and his new novel, The Four Fingers of Death (Hachette, July 2010), which “features a hard-luck writer in 2025, whose novelization of a remake of the 1963 horror cult classic, The Crawling Hand, spins a satirical tale of a returning Mars expedition.” First, there is an interesting interview in which Moody states that legendary SF writer Robert Heinlein “is not line-by-line a great writer.” Here’s the relevant excerpt:

WSJ: What do you make of those who see the work of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and other science-fiction writers as genre fiction and not literary?

Rick Moody: I think he's unfairly shunted into a commercial spot in the food chain by literary writers. I think his books are really beautiful. They're simple, and they're simply told but they're also strange and emotionally complex and much worthy of attention. The genre stuff, which I did read, is challenging if you're really into literary writing. I think Robert Heinlein is not line-by-line a great writer. But I feel great affection for the way in which those books were important to younger people back in the '70s when I read them.

Next, there is the lengthy introduction to Moody’s new novel, The Four Fingers of Death. The opening lines:

People often ask me where I get my ideas. Or on one occasion back in 2024 I was asked. This was at a reading in an old-fashioned used-media outlet right here in town, the store called Arachnids, Inc. The audience consisted of five intrepid and stalwart folks, four out of the five no doubt intent on surfing aimlessly at consoles. Or perhaps they intended to leave the store when instead they were herded into a cluster of uncomfortable petrochemical multi-use furniture modules by Noel Stroop, the hard-drinking owner-operator of the shop in question. I'd been pestering Noel about a reading for some time, months, despite the fact that Arachnids was not celebrated for its calendar of arts related programming...

Finally, there is a short piece in which Moody discusses his favorite classic horror films.

The Four Fingers of Death crawls onto bookstores shelves July 28th.

Interview: Pulp Sci-Fi author Joel Jenkins on his Dire Planet series

Pulp science fiction author Joel Jenkins was interviewed recently on The Book Cave Podcast (7:30 min., mp3) about his Dire Planet trilogy of novels and the future of the series. Inspired by legendary authors Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard, this sword & planet collection chronicles hero Garvey Dire and his swashbuckling adventures on the planet Mars. The series consists of three books to date, all of which were published by Pulpwork Press:

• Dire Planet (2005) "Thrust into the savage Martian past, Garvey Dire must solve the mystery of time in a world of alien monsters and brutal violence, or see his own world destroyed by war!"

• Exiles of the Dire Planet (2006) "In the savage Martian past, Garvey Dire discovers an old nemesis gathering vicious killers beneath his banner to conquer, crush and build a new empire on the blood and bones of the innocent!"

• Into the Dire Planet (2007) "To defeat his bloody nemesis and free an enslaved people, Garvey Dire explores the depths of the Martian planet to uncover the hideous secrets of the lost city of Caladrex!"

Listen to the interview to find out what’s next!

Interview: Birdwatching from Mars comic book creator Barry Napier

Toronto blogger Mary Rajotte recently sat down for a fascinating two-part conversation with dark speculative fiction author Barry Napier, the creator of the forthcoming Birdwatching from Mars comic book series. In Part 1 of the interview, Napier discusses the genesis of Birdwatching from Mars and the different incarnations it took from idea to reality. In Part 2, Napier discusses the process of writing a comic book and the continuing popularity of the medium.

If you live in the Toronto area and are interested in creating comics, check out the Graphic Novels and Comics workshop at the University of Toronto’s Summer Writing School. Here are the course details. Thanks for the tip, Mary!

“Knowing Mars” a 2007 queer superhero story by Tycho Garen

Tycho Garen, a LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning and Intersex) speculative fiction writer and an active member of The Outer Alliance, recently posted his science fiction novella “Knowing Mars” (2007) online for all to read. Here’s how Garen described his novella in a recent interview for Outer Alliance Spotlight #35:

Outer Alliance: You describe your novella, Knowing Mars, as a reluctant queer superhero story. Can you tell us anything more about it?

Tycho Garen: I suppose it’s less that the story itself is reluctantly a queer superhero story and more that I’ve been reluctant to call it a queer superhero story. Nevertheless, particularly in retrospect, it’s very clear to me that’s what it is. I wrote a quasi-cyberpunk story about a group of exiled telepathic people arriving on Mars to get away from a sticky political and social situation on Earth. Separately, and after the fact, I was talking about the superhero sub-genre with someone, mostly in terms of how I didn’t really get superheros, and they said “so what about the telepaths, in those stories that you wrote,” and I realized that of course they were right. It’s a superhero story of a certain sort.

Having said that I’m not sure how this story fares in the final analysis. I’m ambivalent about it: the story needs to be set free, and I think it’s an admirable attempt but I’m acutely aware of the flaws, but then isn’t that how it’s supposed to be?

In the interview, Garen also discusses his decision to post “Knowing Mars” online.

Interview with Jeff Loew, creator of new comic book The Regulators

Comic Book Bin has an excellent interview with Jeff Loew, creator of The Regulators (2010), a new politically-charged future thriller one-shot comic book set on Mars that was just published by Visionary Comics. Paired with a three-page preview, here is a snippet from the interview:

Comic Book Bin: I just had the privilege of reading this one-shot debut. It really feels like a classic 2000 A.D. jaunt into the far-flung future. Was the book The Regulators influenced by the sci-fi stories in that British magazine, and what other stories have influenced this title?

Jeff Loew: 2000 A.D. and Judge Dredd blew my mind when they were reprinted in the U.S. in the early 80s. Those stories have definitely influenced my writing. My proudest publication credit is probably a short story I had printed in the small press section of the Judge Dredd Megazine a few years back. I’d say that The Regulators is also influenced by the same 1950s and 1960s classic science fiction that influenced 2000 A.D., folks like Robert A. Heinlein. The structure of the story, with Pax Manfreddy, the lead character, hunting for another lost regulator on Mars, is pretty archetypal for a hard-boiled noir mystery. I even re-watched John Ford’s classic western, The Searchers, when thinking about the best way to tell the story -- the Martian landscape stands in for the American West.”

The cover art is a bit lame, but some of the interior artwork looks pretty cool.

Artist Frank Frazetta: “My son is an alien”

Well, it’s official. Frank Frazetta Jr., the troubled son of beloved legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta Sr., is looney tunes. In a lengthy and much-needed interview with the Pocono Record of Pennsylvania that clarifies various rumors surrounding the well-being of the 82-year-old artist and the nasty family feud over his work and legacy that has pitted three of his children against the fourth, Frank Frazetta Sr. said, in part, "My son [Frank Jr.] is an alien. There's no telling what he'll do. He's been like that for, I don't know, how many years.”

Breaking bad: Interview with John Carter of Mars actor Bryan Cranston

The entertainment website Collider.com has a recent interview with actor Bryan Cranston, who plays the role of a U.S. Civil War Union colonel in the upcoming, long-awaited Disney/Pixar film John Carter of Mars (2012), starring actor Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, actress Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris, actor Willem Dafoe as Tars Tarkas, and actor Daryl Sabara as a young Edgar Rice Burroughs. Here is a relevant excerpt from the interview:

Question: Can you talk about who you play in the film and are you excited to be in this huge movie?

Bryan Cranston: Very excited. I liked the script first and foremost. That’s why I went in to meet with Andrew. And then his infectious enthusiasm for the movie and for characters and it just... I caught his bug. And I said, yes, so I’ll be a part of it. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. And so I play, during the Civil War America time... this story takes place part-time Civil War America and Mars, which has no time. So my character is a Northern Colonel who is dogging John Carter to be a part of the government. We need his help. He’s an excellent tracker and marksman and that sort of thing. And in the Arizona Territories, the Apaches are running wild, so I need his help and he won’t do it. He doesn’t want to have anything to do with anything. His family was obliterated during the War. It was horrible and he wants to be a part of no man’s government. So I keep after him and keep after him and track him down and have a conversation with him and have to use some physical force on him and he keeps breaking out and I keep tracking him down. And finally we end up in a cave and in this cave are some magical things that happen. And that transports him and it’s really quite fascinating and I look forward to it.

Apparently, the music for the film will be scored by Oscar Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino.

Interview with Austin filmmaker Geoff Marslett

IndieWire has a lengthy interview with Geoff Marslett, an Austin filmmaker and lecturer at the University of Texas, whose first feature-length film, Mars, will be screened later this month at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. A Swerve Pictures production told in the style of a graphic novel, the film is a romantic comedy about two astronauts who fall in love on their way to Mars. Respectfully, Marslett, who was recently declared one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine, should have selected a more creative title for his work.

Red Planet Noir: An interview with D.B. Grady

D.B. Grady, whose new retro Sci-Fi hard-boiled detective tale and debut novel Red Planet Noir (Brown Street Press, 2009) is generating some serious buzz, is interviewed by award-winning YA fantasy author Christine Rose over at Pop Syndicate. In a wide-ranging and insightful conversation, Grady discusses the origin of Red Planet Noir, his influences and inspirations, the research and writing processes, and publishers and promotion.

Read Chapter 1 (PDF) of Red Planet Noir, then check out these 5-star reader reviews posted on Amazon!

Interview with author David D. Levine

Hugo Award-winning science fiction author and Portland resident David D. Levine, who recently participated in a two-week simulated Mars mission as a member of Crew 88 at the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, was just interviewed at OregonLive.com. In answering an array of questions, Levine revealed his favorite Martian SF novel: Mars Crossing (2000), by Geoffrey A. Landis!

Grand Master Joe Haldeman explains origin of his 2008 novel Marsbound

SciFi Bookshelf has an interesting interview with newly crowned SFWA Grand Master Joe Haldeman. While the bulk of the interview revolves around Haldeman’s new book, Starbound (2010), the masterful award-winning science fiction author does take a few moments to explain the origin of his 2008 novel Marsbound.

Joe Haldeman: Marsbound started off as a stand-alone novel. I'd written the novella "The Mars Girl" for a Dozois/Dann anthology of Young Adult sf stories, and I wrote it with the idea of expanding it into a YA novel. I used the novella to pitch the story to a YA editor, and she said no, thanks. (Later she told me she'd been wrong; her daughter read the novella and loved it.)

Interestingly, Haldeman’s LiveJournal entry for February 15th, 2008, describes how he chose the title Marsbound. Other titles he considered included Menace From Mars, Mars Threat, Mars Giveth, and To Mars.

Author Michael Chabon interviewed by ERB critic Richard A. Lupoff

There’s an awesome interview between Edgar Rice Burroughs critic Richard A. Lupoff and award-winning science fiction author Michael Chabon posted on ERBzine. Recall that Chabon is in the process of rewriting the script for the long-awaited Disney/Pixar film John Carter of Mars (2012) and Luopff is the fellow who wrote the controversial introduction to the 1964 Ace paperback reprint of Edwin L. Arnold’s novel Lieut. Gullivar Jones: His Vacation (1905). Here is a snippet from the interview:

Lupoff: Back to the movie world. Are you aware of the recent movie, Princess of Mars with Traci Lords?

Chabon: I've seen the trailer for it.

Lupoff: What's your comment about it?

Chabon: It's hilarious. It made me laugh. When I watched the trailer I burst out laughing. It was not purely scornful laughter -- there's a certain element of delight in something that goes "over the top." It just looks like a hoot.

No word on whether Lupoff or Chabon have ever seen the infamous film New Wave Hookers (1985).

[via JCOM Reader]

Interview with writer D.B. Grady and review of Red Planet Noir, his retro Sci-Fi detective novel

Mystery author Bonnie Kozek interviews writer D.B. Grady, whose debut novel Red Planet Noir (2009) was recently published as a paperback original by Brown Street Press of Lexington, Kentucky. A hard-boiled detective tale written in the pulp tradition of the 1930s, Red Planet Noir is “a Raymond Chandler mystery in a Robert Heinlein world.” If you're not familiar with the storyline, here's a detailed description:

Michael Sheppard was the best private eye in New Orleans, and then his wife left him. After finding solace in the bottle, he finds his career in the toilet. Nights at the casino pay the bills, until they don’t, and leg breakers start knocking at the door, and knocking out his teeth.

When a socialite on Mars offers him work, it’s a chance for a new start. Her name is Sofia Reed and her father is dead. The coroner says suicide, but Sofia suspects foul play. A leader of the Martian police state, her father had powerful enemies, and nobody on Mars will touch the case for fear of retribution. Michael Sheppard is her only hope.

Chased by cops and gangsters, his investigation takes him from stately mansions to smoke-filled speakeasies, from deserted ice colonies to mining towns on the asteroid belt.

All he wanted was a paycheck to clear some gambling debt. Now Michael is the key figure in a murder conspiracy that’s left a vacuum in the halls of power, with the labor union, mob and military vying for control of Mars.

Read Chapter 1 (PDF) of Red Planet Noir and check out mystery author Debbi Mack’s short but positive review.

An interview with writer D.B. Grady

Freelance writer and Louisianaian D.B. Grady, whose debut novel Red Planet Noir (2009) was recently published as a paperback original by Brown Street Press of Lexington, Kentucky, is interviewed over at the blog On the Brink of Love and Life! A hard-boiled detective tale written in the pulp tradition of the 1930s, Red Planet Noir is “a Raymond Chandler mystery in a Robert Heinlein world.” Sound interesting? Read Chapter 1 (PDF) for free!

Martians, Go Home, a new comic adaptation of Fredric Brown’s classic 1955 novel

The first issue of Martians, Go Home, a new six-issue comic book adaptation of science fiction author Fredric Brown’s classic 1955 “paranoia” Sci-Fi novel, was scheduled to be released last week by Sequential Pulp Comics. Written by Martin Powell and illustrated by Mike Manley, here’s a description of Martians, Go Home:

That's right, real Martians. Seriously. Suddenly, without warning, one billion Little Green Men are everywhere. The Martians are on your street and in your house, all of them knowing your deepest and darkest secrets. Untouchable as ghosts and obnoxious as hell, their sinister agenda remains a mystery. Perhaps their plan is simply to drive the entire human race insane, for that is exactly what they're doing.

From flop house to the White House, no one is above, or below, the torment of the alien invaders. All is lost. Or is it? Only our unlikely hero, Luke Devereaux, a burnt-out science-fiction writer with nothing left to lose, knows how to defeat the Martians . . . but he has already lost his mind!

Writer Martin Powell, whose career was inspired by Ray Bradbury and who has corresponded with the literary legend over the years, revealed in a January 2009 interview that the comic adaptation of Martians, Go Home is the most rewarding project of his professional career.

Equally interesting is this March 2009 interview with artist Mike Manley, in which he stated that he first became aware of Fredric Brown's 1955 novel "as a teenager mostly through the cover art that Kelly Freas painted."

Although I don’t particularly care for the cover of Issue #1 painted by artist Bret Blevins (pictured above), the interior art is simply amazing. Check out some of Mike Manley’s sketches and finished pages for Martians, Go Home on his blog, Draw!

An interview with John Carter of Mars script writer Michael Chabon

Award-winning science fiction author Michael Chabon was recently interviewed by Zack Smith over at Newsarama.com. In a wide-ranging discussion, Chabon touched upon the long-awaited Disney/Pixar film John Carter of Mars (2012), which will star actor Taylor Kitsch as John Carter, actress Lynn Collins as princess Dejah Thoris, and actor Willem Dafoe as Tars Tarkas:

I was brought in by the director, Andrew Stanton, to do a revision of the script that he wrote with Mark Andrews. Andrew and I had met a few times over the years, and he had heard I was a big fan of the ERB Mars books, and that I had written an original screenplay many years ago (The Martian Agent) that was in development for a while at Fox/ILM.

So he asked me to take a whack at it. That was a huge thrill. I was impressed by the way he and Mark had found ways to honor the source material, be true to the romance and the spirit and the wild invention, not to mention the characters' natures, while constructing a tight (yet still faithful) film narrative out of a pretty loose and rangy pulp-serial seat-of-the-pants plot. I just tried to do the things that Andrew thought the script still needed.

I wonder if Michael Chabon plans to purchase Princess of Mars (2009), The Asylum’s forthcoming low-budget, direct-to-DVD film featuring actress and former porn star Traci Lords as Martian princess Dejah Thoris and Antonio Sabàto, Jr. as Confederate Civil War veteran John Carter. The film, classified as science fiction, is scheduled to be released later this month.

New audio adaptation of The Martian Chronicles coming down the canal

Phil Nichols, a Ray Bradbury media aficionado and collector stationed in the UK, announced recently that The Martian Chronicles will be given its first complete full-cast audio production. Based on a fresh script written by Jerry Robbins with input from Mr. Bradbury, the full-length dramatization will be produced by The Colonial Radio Theatre of Boston.

"I plan on adapting the entire book, so I'm not sure on the running time yet. I hope to have the script finished mid-December for Ray to read through. At that time I should have a rough idea as to the length. I don't plan on an abridgment of content by any means. If we're going to do Martian Chronicles, we're going to DO Martian Chronicles," Robbins said.

Stay tuned for more info. Meanwhile, check out Tor.com’s sixth in a series of seven interviews with Ray Bradbury on the “visual nature of his fiction, the art of collaboration and the process of writing.”

The Martian Race, a 1999 novel written by Gregory Benford

The Martian Race, by Gregory Benford (1999)

Pictured: Paperback (New York: Aspect / Warner Books, 2001), 444 p., $6.99. Cover illustration by Don Dixon. Here's the piece from the back cover:

As NASA bogs down in politics, tycoon John Axelrod mounts a privately funded expedition to the Red Planet. Axelrod's not high-minded -- he expects the televised flight to net him billions. But for astronaut-scientist Julie, Viktor, Marc, and Raoul, the mission's not about money. It’s about discovery ... and surviving for two years on a frigid, alien world that can kill them in countless ways.

For a time will come when -- in order to live -- the explorers must embrace everything that makes them human ... and everything that will make them Martian.

In the afterword to The Martian Race, Benford wrote, “This novel attempts a portrayal of how humanity might explore Mars in the near future, at low cost and with foreseeable technology. Undoubtedly, reality shall prove the details wrong. Still, I hope to sound a note of realism in the sub-genre of exploration novels, to depict just how demanding true planetary adventuring will be.”

An excerpt from The Martian Race is available at SFFWorld.

Benford discussed his novel in a 2000 interview with Locus.

Quite a few individuals have reviewed The Martian Race, including Donna McMahon of SF Site, Steven H. Silver of SF Site, Amy Harlib of SciFiDimensions, Chris Aylott of Space.com and T. M. Wagner of SF Reviews.net. In addition, Amazon has reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal, as well as from nearly 50 fans.