Little red lies: Capricorn One DVD giveaway

Starting today, January 10, 2009, and running until January 31, 2009, Slice of SciFi is giving away five copies of the classic film Capricorn One on DVD.

"What if one of the greatest space adventures was really a hoax? When the head of NASA’s manned Mars mission discovers that the capsule meant to carry the astronauts will suffer a catastrophic failure, he forces them to participate in a hoax by broadcasting their 'Mission' from a studio built in an abandoned air force base. Over many months, the astronauts are forced to film broadcasts on their progress. All is going well until they learn that the only way for the hoax to be maintained is for them to die upon re-entry. Their only chance for survival is to make a desperate attempt to escape."

To learn more about the Capricorn One DVD giveaway, check out the Slice of SciFi website.

A Double Shadow, a novel by Frederick Turner

A Double Shadow (1978), a novel by Frederick Turner

At left: Paperback (New York: Berkley Publishing, 1979), a Berkley Medallion book, 217 p., $1.75.
A strange poetical science fiction novel, here is
the blurb from the back cover:

"Man had kindled Mars and extra sun, had brought ice and frozen air from the rings of Saturn, had given a dead world life. But thousands of years on the terraformed planet had changed man, too. These proud warriors, winged and armed for the status-war that will shape their planet’s destiny, are human -- but no longer of Earth ..."

According to one fan, A Double Shadow is “an excellent science fantasy novel, a bit like Vance, a bit like Cordwainer Smith, perhaps most like Samuel Delany, who is quoted in a brief cover blurb -- but who was Frederick Turner? The usual references don't even seem to know if the name is real or a pseudonym. The cover of the pb says 'now in paperback' -- obviously true, and implying that there had been a previous hardcover. But no other edition is credited. The story is set in a decadent society of the far future on a terraformed Mars. Poverty and death have long since been conquered, and the only remaining human problem is boredom, held at bay with a 'Vision' based on synthetic deities and status wars.”

Who is Frederick Turner? A British ex-patriot writing in the United States, Turner is a poet, critic, and former editor of The Kenyon Review. His books include the monumental Genesis: an Epic Poem about Mars.

As for a hardcover edition of A Double Shadow, one was published in New York in 1978 and another was published in London in 1979.

Flash Fiction: “Liberty” by J.R. Blackwell

The free science fiction story site 365 tomorrows has a nice piece of older flash fiction titled “Liberty” (2006), by J.R. Blackwell. It’s about Liberty, who eats lunch in “the little Martian restaurant close to campus.”

Author James Van Pelt on Mars and other science fictional landscapes

Back in mid-December, author and English teacher James Van Pelt wrote an interesting essay entitled
“The Day Job: Sense of Wonder, Writing Landscapes, and the Imaginative Muscle” for the blog The Fix: Short Fiction Review. In discussing the importance
of science fictional settings and landscapes, Van Pelt drew upon Kim Stanley Robinson’s novel Red Mars (1992) and Ray Bradbury’s classic The Martian Chronicles (1950).

Equally interesting is a short list of novels that are on Van Pelt’s bookshelf, above his laptop, because they have shaped his ideas about what constitutes outstanding story and outstanding writing. One of the books: Out of the Silent Planet (1938), by C. S. Lewis.
As Van Pelt notes, “This is the first of a trilogy, and they are all worth the time, but I liked this one best. Lewis's style has that pleasant formality that lends weight to the events. The first copy that I owned was printed in England, and the smell of the book has been associated with fine literature in my mind ever since.”

"The Certainty Principle," a new short story by Colin P. Davies

Published in the February 2009 issue of Asimov’s magazine, “The Certainty Principle,” by British author Colin P. Davies, is a short story about a space naval officer who checks into the Red Planet Low-Gravity Retreat on Earth after being dishonorably discharged because of an incident on Mars that cost several lives. A likeable tale about the political and cultural tension between mother-born humans and vat-born beings, there’s plenty of action, a bit of romance, and even a sleek maroon Porsche.

While it's still a bit early to be digesting "The Certainty Principle," at least two other readers enjoyed it. Sam Tomaino of SFRevu calls it “an effective, well-written story” and Stephanie Young deems it “a thoughtful examination of prejudice ... Not Hugo quality but could have been with a little tighter story.”

Conversely, Val Grimm of The Fix: Short Fiction Review announces in an insightful analysis that main character John Hale “reads as hollow as his surroundings," while Lois Tilton of The Internet Review of Science Fiction concludes that “The Certainty Principle” is “unsubtle and clumsily didactic."

Author Colin P. Davies has written at least two other short stories set on Mars: “A Touch of Earth” (1995) and “The Girl with the Four-Dimensional Head” (2004), both of which were published in his collection Tall Tales on the Iron Horse (2008).

Book sale: Author Mike Resnick's copy of the apocryphal Tarzan On Mars

One of the more interesting and controversial works in the history of Martian science fiction is Tarzan On Mars, a manuscript written in 1954 by John Bloodstone, a pseudonym of author Stuart J. Byrne. Despite the popular subject matter, publication of
the manuscript was squashed by Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc. because Tarzan On Mars was deemed an unauthorized work in violation of copyright law. “Since then," according to Byrne, "via Bootleg Row, the novel has lived an underground existence among ERB fans, and
in spite of the years has refused to die.”

So where does renowned science fiction author Mike Resnick fit into all of this? Apparently, a copy of the apocryphal Tarzan On Mars once owned by Resnick is being sold by Barry R. Levin, a highly respected science fiction and fantasy bookseller in Santa Monica, California. Below is a greatly abridged description of the Resnick copy. If you’re a Burroughs aficionado, a bibliophile, or a fan of Resnick, you’ll appreciate the unabridged description posted on the used and rare book site AbeBooks.

Tarzan On Mars (1966), by John Bloodstone

Publisher: Burroughsian Press, Springfield
Publication Date: 1966
Binding: Full-Leather
Book Condition: Near Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Edition: Second Edition

Description: (Edgar Rice Burroughs) Bloodstone, John (pseudonym of S. J. Byrne). Published by John H. Toelle and printed by Tim A. Conrad. "Second edition" (first obtainable edition). ... The limitation page of this copy states: "Limited
to ten (10) copies. This copy being the property of Michael D. Resnick." ... this unauthorized Tarzan and John Carter of Mars novel remains. The text is a photocopy of typescript, printed
on the rectos only. This copy bound in full brown leather c.1966. Gilt lettering on spine. Very near fine.

Price: $800

To learn more about Tarzan On Mars, its contents, and its storied history as one of the rarest of the Burroughs collectibles, read these articles:

• “The Burroughs Bilbio-Pro-Philes Series Presents Stuart Byrne aka John Bloodstone” (ERBzine.com, Volume #1967)

• “Tarzan Never Dies!” by editor Ray Palmer, from the November 1955 issue of Other Worlds Science Stories magazine (ERBzine.com, Volume #0313)

• “Ganymede or Bust,” by Den Valdron (ERBzine.com, Volume #1930)

• “In the Footsteps of the Master, Unsteadily: a Review of Tarzan On Mars,” by John Allen Small (ERBzine.com, Volume #1966)

• “Why I Wrote Forgotten Sea of Mars,” (2000) by Mike Resnick (ERBlist.com)

• “Tales of the Prozines,” by Mike Resnick (Jim Baen’s Universe, 14 Vol. 3 Num. 2 August 2008)

As Resnick noted recently, "you can still find illegally-photocopied copies of Tarzan On Mars for sale here and there." Indeed!

An Interview with Dr. Coren Ravell, the chief geneticist of a Martian community

Andrea Smart of the e-zine Smart Interface interviews Dr. Coren Ravell, the chief geneticist of a Martian community, at Scifialiens’s Weblog. It’s part of the growing body of supplemental material Canadian author Phyllis K. Twombly has created to accompany her Martian Symbiont series of science fiction novels. Previous interviews included conversations with Kelly Ravell, a Martian matriarch, and Jerod Ravell, her husband.

Twombly’s Martian Symbiont series consists of two novels to date: Been Blued (2007) and Martian Blues (2008). A third novel is due out in early 2009 and Twombly is working on a fourth.

SpaceX entrepreneur Elon Musk: Forget the bungalow, retire to Mars

Forget the Bungalow, Retire to Mars

Elon Musk, the tycoon behind PayPal, Tesla electric cars and the rocket company SpaceX, tells Mark Harris his next goal is to put life on the red planet.

The Sunday Times (London)
January 4, 2009

When someone looks you in the eye and tells you he’s planning a supersonic electric plane and a retirement community on Mars, it can be hard to take him seriously.

It gets a little easier when you realise he is worth more than $325m (£223m), owns the world’s most successful electric sports car company, has put a rocket into orbit and was hired by Nasa last month to help it keep the International Space Station supplied. ...

Read the entire article in The Sunday Times.

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

New Flash Fiction: “What My Granddad Told Me About The Martians” by David Rees-Thomas

The free science fiction story site 365 tomorrows has a new piece of flash fiction titled “What My Granddad Told Me About The Martians” (2009), by David Rees-Thomas. Here's the first line: "Back in 1938 before we had to move again I remember we would often go to my Granddads house for tea."

Looking back: Mars geological features named for four SF authors in 2008

In listing its Top 10 Posts of 2008, the blog File 770, Mike Glyer's fanzine about the news of sf fandom, has “Mars Geological Features Named for Williamson, Zelazny, C.S. Lewis & Fredric Brown,” from April 2008, listed at #7. I was out of town for much of last year, so this is really new news to me. Thanks, Mike!

New John Carter of Mars painting by artists Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell

Thanks to John DeNardo of the blog SF Signal,
here's a glimpse of the real John Carter of Mars, gentleman from Virginia, in a brand new painting
by esteemed artists Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell.

At left: A small portion of John Carter of Mars,
by Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell.

Editor Annalee Newitz of the blog io9 writes about Barsoom in The Washington Post

Annalee Newitz, editor of the stellar science fiction blog io9, has written a fascinating feature titled
“Fasten Your Seatbelts” for the Sunday, January 4, 2009, issue of The Washington Post. Focusing on
“how people have imagined the future during difficult periods in history (including our own),” Newitz discusses Star Trek, Terminator, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, Robert Heinlein, and Ray Bradbury, as well as a pulp writer from Chicago named Edgar Rice Burroughs. Check it out but disregard the newspaper's picture of
U.S. Representative John Carter (R-Texas), as the real John Carter of Mars is a gentleman from Virginia!

Confessions of an SF addict: The Red Planet by Russ Winterbotham

The Red Planet: a Science Fiction Novel, by Russ Winterbotham (1962)

At left: Paperback original (Derby, Conn.: Monarch Books, 1962), #270, 35¢. Cover painting by Ralph Brillhart. Here’s a description of the book, taken from the back cover:

“When the spaceship Jehad blasted off for Mars, millions of miles from Earth, four men and one woman placed themselves under the rule of Dr. Lewis Spartan, sadistic, power-mad leader of the expedition. Only when they were well on their way did they learn that Spartan planned to return to Earth alone! By the time the ship reached Mars, jealous rivalry over the love of Gail Loring had turned the Jehad into a crucible of tension and strife. But their internal struggles were nothing compared to the threat of the grotesque Martians who used electrical energy as a weapon of war. Suddenly, the Earthmen had to unite to stave off a massed Martian attack -- a fight which, if lost, meant isolation and death on Mars and, if won, meant bucking Spartan's demonic schemes.”

According to a piece from inside the novel’s front cover, “The author’s son-in-law is a member of the team developing the plasma space motor which is planned to carry men to Mars within the next 10 years.”

For a moving reflection and affectionate review of The Red Planet, read “Confessions of an SF Addict,” by R. Graeme Cameron, which appeared in Issue #2 (March 1995) and Issue #3 (June 1995) of his fanzine The Space Cadet Gazette. The Red Planet was the first pocketbook Cameron ever purchased, back in 1962. Thanks for the memories, Mr. Cameron!

Coincidently, William J. Locke's The Red Planet (1917), a best-selling war novel which seems to have nothing to do with science fiction, has a character named Mr. Winterbotham. Small universe.

Rocketship Tours: the crimson canyons of Mars

Thanks to a generous blog post by Capt. Xerox of The Website at the End of the Universe, I had the pleasure of browsing a beautiful collection of
“Rocketship Tours” travel posters created by artist Steve Thomas. Reminiscent of vintage travel posters from the early 20th-century, Thomas has produced a handsome portfolio depicting the romance and excitement of venturing to the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto and other destinations in our solar system.

Pictured above: Mars travel poster by Steve Thomas.

Geoff Ryman reads his “The Film-makers of Mars"

Thanks to StarShipSofa's Aural Delights No. 57, a science fiction audio podcast, I had the pleasure of listening to author Geoff Ryman read his new short story “The Film-makers of Mars” (2008). The podcast is more than two hours, but an introduction to the story starts at about the 13:30 minute mark and Ryman starts reading at about the 17:00 minute mark. The story concludes at about the 47:30 minute mark.

Published on the website of Tor books, “The Film-makers of Mars” was one of my favorite short stories of 2008. If you have ever wondered what the folks at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., have locked up in the vault at Tarzana, you’ll enjoy this story!

Cheers to Dave Tackett of the blog QuasarDragon and Tony Smith of the blog SFFaudio for the tip. A wonderful way to start the New Year.