“Alien Equivalent,” a 1955 short story by Richard R. Smith about gambling on Mars

Thanks to the folks at the Internet Archive, you can read online or download “Alien Equivalent,” an older short story written by Richard R. Smith. Originally published in the Summer 1955 issue of Planet Stories magazine, the plot is set on the Red Planet and revolves around an Earthman from the Mars Mining Corporation who risks playing the Martian game of rhakal in order to save his life and return to his family back on Earth. Here are the opening lines of the story:

CHESTER FARRELL emerged from the narrow alley and paused before the barbed wire fence. Behind him, the Martian city was a maze of strange sounds, angular buildings, acrid odors and dark shadows.

Before him, beyond the fence, three spaceships pointed their bows toward a star-studded sky. The slender ships gleamed dully in the starlight as they rested on the red desert.

He touched the money in his pocket to reassure himself that at last, he had the fare for the trip to Earth. ...

[via Tinkoo Valia of SF Variety]

2000s French cover art: Philip K. Dick’s novel Martian Time-Slip

Here’s some cool cover art from just a couple of years ago that you will not find in the Philip K. Dick Book Cover Art Gallery: Glissement de Temps sur Mars (Pocket, 2007), a French soft cover reprint of PKD’s classic 1964 novel, Martian Time-Slip.

Old state education guide includes S.C. Sykes' 1991 novel Red Genesis

Arizona Mars K-12 Education Program 1994-1995 Education Supplement and Guide, which was compiled by the Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer Project Office, Dept. of Geology, Arizona State University, includes a section of science fiction books. Among the usual suspects (Wells, Burroughs, Bradbury, Clarke, Heinlein, Bear, Bova, Robinson, etc.) is Red Genesis (1991), an often-overlooked novel written by S.C. Sykes!

Mischief Goes to Mars, a set of 1950s British biscuit trading cards

Steve Holland, a freelance author and editor who is interested in old British comics, books and magazines and runs the blog Bear Alley, recently posted some beautiful images of Mischief Goes to Mars, a promotional set of twenty-four trading cards issued by Wright's Biscuits Limited of South Shields in 1954. The cards consist of color illustrations on the front face accompanied by an ongoing story on the back panel in which a young lad, Mischief, and his sister take a rocket ship trip to the Red Planet.

Pictured: Mischief Goes to Mars, card No. 20.

BBC podcast of Robert A. Heinlein's 1947 short story "The Green Hills of Earth"

BBC Radio 7’s Seventh Dimension recently broadcast a reading of Robert A. Heinlein’s classic short story “The Green Hills of Earth” (1947), a tale about Rhysling, a poetic radiation-blinded spaceship engineer who travels the solar system writing and singing songs. The 30-minute broadcast will be available for the next few days as a streaming podcast through BBC7’s Listen Again feature.

Here are some lines from "The Grand Canal", a song about Mars, taken from Heinlein’s story:

Mars, a 1992 novel by Ben Bova

Mars, a novel by Ben Bova (1992)

Pictured: Paperback (New York: Bantam Spectra, 1993). #56241-X, 549 p., $5.99. Cover art by Pamela Lee. Here’s the promotional piece from the back cover:

It is a world shrouded in mystery -- a planet pocked by meteors, baked by ultraviolet light, and covered by endless deserts the color of dried blood. To this harsh and unforgiving planet travel the twenty-five astronauts of the international Mars mission. Now, as the landers touch down and the base dome is inflated and the robotic explorers are sent aloft, they must somehow come together in a struggle of discovery and survival. Battling deadly meteor showers, subzero temperatures, and a mysterious “Mars virus,” these intrepid explorers are on their way to the most incredible and shocking discovery of all. Epic in scope, unparalleled in execution, Mars is an unforgettable portrait of space, politics, science, and humanity that captures for all time the mystery and wonder of an alien frontier.

Ray Bradbury said of Mars, “There’s a lot of fine territory here, and Bova covers it in grand style,” and Arthur C. Clarke called Mars “the definitive novel about our fascinating neighbor.”

Mars was reviewed by Kirkus Reviews. It is the first novel in a Bova trilogy, followed by Return to Mars (1999) and Mars Life (2008).

A review of the 1952 film Zombies of the Stratosphere

Steven Tee of the website HorrorYearbook reviews the oft-forgotten film Zombies of the Stratosphere (Republic Studios, 1952), which is perhaps best known for casting actor Leonard Nimoy in a minor role as Narab the Martian. Tee concludes, in part, “This is a campy little serial that is filled with obsolete everything: acting, special effects, plot, etc."

Commodities of Martian Rails: Bachelor Chow

Martian Rails, the recent board game made by Mayfair Games about railroading on the Red Planet in which players build tracks and haul freight, has a long list of cool commodities that players can transport to generate revenue for their rail companies. For example:

Bachelor Chow -- A tasty, nutritious, all-in-one food for the man who doesn't have time for traditional meals. From the makers of Dog Chow, Monkey Chow, Alien Chow, Thoat Chow, Banth Chow...

Martian Rails is loaded with references to Mars and Martian SF!

John Carter of Mars art contest

The blog Super Punch is hosting a John Carter of Mars art contest: “To enter, simply email me your John Carter of Mars-inspired work of art by 8:00 p.m. California time on Sunday January 31, 2010. Drawings, custom toys, sculptures, and photographs are all welcome. The best creation will win a $100 Threadless store credit. And I will also give a $25 store credit to one randomly chosen participant. You may send as many entries as you'd like, and this contest is open regardless of where you live. No nudity, please.”

Pictured: Warlord of Mars (London: New English Library, 1974), by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

2007 graphic novel investigates murder of president of Mars

Murder from Beyond the Stars (2007), a 22-page, black-and-white graphic novel written by Chad Nevett and drawn by Brice Hall, is set in New Chicago, Mars, in the year 2021. Starring a “grizzled” detective named Anthrax Palmer, the plot revolves around the murder of the president of Mars. Here are the first 4 pages. Interesting but nothing special. You can read the entire story by purchasing Tales from the Plex issues #14 and #15.

Red/shift, a new SF/F novelette written by Geoffrey Thorne

The novelette Red/shift (2009), a "wholly original science fiction-fantasy-action-thriller set on a well colonized planet Mars" written by American novelist and screenwriter Geoffrey Thorne, was recently published by the Winterman Project as an ebook for Amazon's Kindle. A finalist work considered for Writers of the Future #22 (2006), here's the official pitch for Red/shift:

A dashing killer trying to outrun his past... A world-weary cop determined to close her most baffling case... A dying heiress desperate to find a cure for her disease... When these stories collide on the same Martian night the results are not only explosive but deadly.

Geoffrey Thorne is the author of Star Trek: Titan: Sword of Damocles (2007). He maintains the blog Pocket Full of Mumbles and resides in Los Angeles. Thorne's favorite authors include Octavia Butler, Alexandre Dumas, Clive Barker, Stephen King, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. LeGuin, Greg Bear and John Steinbeck.

1970s Spanish cover art: Dejah Thoris

Here’s some neat cover art from the mid-1970s: Una Princesa de Marte (Intersea, 1976), a Spanish paperback reprint of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic 1917 novel, A Princess of Mars. Off the top of my head, I cannot think of another piece of cover art that depicts Dejah Thoris in such a futuristic manner.

Warriors of the Red Planet, a forthcoming RPG

Al of the blog Beyond the Black Gate is working on Warriors of the Red Planet, a new old-school pulp Sci-Fantasy role playing game inspired by the writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Otis Adelbert Kline, Michael Moorcock and Leigh Brackett. Drawing on traditional RPG rules, Warriors of the Red Planet will feature mentalists, scoundrels, monsters, weird-science weapons and a Martian underworld littered with dungeons!

Pictured: Artwork for Warriors of the Red Planet, by artist Thomas Denmark.

Book, newspaper and magazine stock watch

Here’s an update to the list of book, magazine, newspaper and publishing stocks I’m watching, ranked by performance since January 1, 2009:

1. Borders Group (+ 195%)

Top 10 Marooned posts for December 2009

The Top 10 Marooned posts for December 2009:

1. Auf Zwei Planeten, 1897 novel by Kurd Laßwitz

2. “First Words,” a new piece of flash fiction by James Marshall

3. Five Mars SF/F writers share the same birthday

4. The Purple Twilight, a 1948 novel written by Pelham Groom

5. Old time radio: Adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s 1950 short story "Outcast of the Stars"

6. “No Child of Mine,” a new Space Western story by Filamena Young

7. Son of artist Frank Frazetta arrested for stealing his father's paintings

8. An interview with writer D.B. Grady

9. Creepy Dutch cover art for John Wyndham’s 1936 novel Planet Plane

10. Top-paid employee at SFWA, HWA, MWA, RWA

New Year’s Day: U2 live at Red Rocks

Well, this old music video of U2 playing its classic song New Year's Day live at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado, June 5, 1983, isn't speculative fiction and isn't set on Mars, but it still kicks ass after more than 25 years.



Happy New Year!