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nadiasfiction's review
4.0
Following on from its Classics Crime series, The British Library is expanding its genre interest by releasing two anthologies of classic science-fiction stories: Lost Mars and Moonrise.
Lost Mars is a collection of 10 sci-fi short-stories, classics of the genre, set on Mars or interested in the red planet. Knowledgeable sci-fi fans and new readers of sci-fi will find a volume filled with literary gems that span from 1887 (with W.S. Lach-Szyrma who maps out Mars in ' Letters from Mars') to 1963 (with J.G. Ballard and human looters of Martian tombs in The Time Tombs).
Lost Mars is a captivating collection that compiles stories by writers who marked their time and genre, some now lesser known like P Schuyler Miller (The Forgotten Man, 1933) or George C. Wallis (The Great Sacrifice, 1903), and others still remembered today as masters like H.G. Wells (The Crystal Egg, 1897) or Ray Bradbury (Yulla, 1950).
Lost Mars opens with H.G. Wells "regarded as the Father of Science Fiction" and his story The Crystal Egg, a short story described by Ashley as "magic shop" fiction in which an antiquarian discovers that his prized crystal egg is a window into Mars. The collection closes with The Time Tombs by J.G. Ballard who follows human tomb-raiders who specialize in Martian tombs that survived for millennia.
This anthology is introduced by the bibliographer Mike Ashley, author of the multi-volume History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Before each story, Ashley succinctly introduces the writer, the context and time in which these stories were written and published. The striking cover art is by Chesley Bonestell, 1953.
My favourite writer and most prized discovery was Stanley G. Weinbaum and his 'A Martian Odyssey', a story in which a human explorer lost on Mars discovers an alien explorer and helps him out. The alien then decides to accompany this strange human until he finds his ship. Despite the language barrier and their physical capabilities, both become fast friends along their journey. I liked this story most because it focuses on ecology, and it is one of the rare stories in which an alien's higher intelligence is portrayed as non-threatening to a human being who realises that other life forms are positively amazing, and accepts it with grace.
A miner who must find a way to survive after being abandoned on the red planet by colleagues who have no intention of returning, Martians who look out for Earthlings to protect them, a Martian husband jealous of his wife's dreams of a man from Earth, are a few of the brilliant stories in "The Golden Age of the Red Planet".
Is there water or enough oxygen on Mars to sustain human life? Who are or were this planet's inhabitants? What does this planet look like? When technology could not yet answer these questions, these fiction writers explored them. By portraying humans and Martians as invaders, explorers, survivors or distant observers the writers of this anthology looked at what our relationship to the red planet could be, and ultimately questioned our relationship to our universe.
Lost Mars is a collection of 10 sci-fi short-stories, classics of the genre, set on Mars or interested in the red planet. Knowledgeable sci-fi fans and new readers of sci-fi will find a volume filled with literary gems that span from 1887 (with W.S. Lach-Szyrma who maps out Mars in ' Letters from Mars') to 1963 (with J.G. Ballard and human looters of Martian tombs in The Time Tombs).
Lost Mars is a captivating collection that compiles stories by writers who marked their time and genre, some now lesser known like P Schuyler Miller (The Forgotten Man, 1933) or George C. Wallis (The Great Sacrifice, 1903), and others still remembered today as masters like H.G. Wells (The Crystal Egg, 1897) or Ray Bradbury (Yulla, 1950).
Lost Mars opens with H.G. Wells "regarded as the Father of Science Fiction" and his story The Crystal Egg, a short story described by Ashley as "magic shop" fiction in which an antiquarian discovers that his prized crystal egg is a window into Mars. The collection closes with The Time Tombs by J.G. Ballard who follows human tomb-raiders who specialize in Martian tombs that survived for millennia.
This anthology is introduced by the bibliographer Mike Ashley, author of the multi-volume History of the Science Fiction Magazine. Before each story, Ashley succinctly introduces the writer, the context and time in which these stories were written and published. The striking cover art is by Chesley Bonestell, 1953.
My favourite writer and most prized discovery was Stanley G. Weinbaum and his 'A Martian Odyssey', a story in which a human explorer lost on Mars discovers an alien explorer and helps him out. The alien then decides to accompany this strange human until he finds his ship. Despite the language barrier and their physical capabilities, both become fast friends along their journey. I liked this story most because it focuses on ecology, and it is one of the rare stories in which an alien's higher intelligence is portrayed as non-threatening to a human being who realises that other life forms are positively amazing, and accepts it with grace.
A miner who must find a way to survive after being abandoned on the red planet by colleagues who have no intention of returning, Martians who look out for Earthlings to protect them, a Martian husband jealous of his wife's dreams of a man from Earth, are a few of the brilliant stories in "The Golden Age of the Red Planet".
Is there water or enough oxygen on Mars to sustain human life? Who are or were this planet's inhabitants? What does this planet look like? When technology could not yet answer these questions, these fiction writers explored them. By portraying humans and Martians as invaders, explorers, survivors or distant observers the writers of this anthology looked at what our relationship to the red planet could be, and ultimately questioned our relationship to our universe.
thebrownbookloft's review
4.0
I discovered this little gem while browsing the new book shelves at the main branch of the Denver Public Library. Born in the 50’s, my childhood reading included fantastic fiction about amazing discoveries and about colonizing nearby planets. I used to devour the Danny Dunn books by Jay Williams, as well as the Miss Pickerell books by Ellen MacGregor and the Mr. Bass books by Eleanor Cameron. As a teen I grew up on Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.
But then I left the classics behind, moving on to more modern sci-fi and fantasy. This volume gave me the opportunity to learn about some of the very earliest sci-fi writers and their stories about Mars. Lost Mars: Stories From the Golden Age of the Red Planet covers short stories about Mars from the late 1800’s to the early 1960’s. Some of the authors were familiar to me, but most were not. I found the stories to be deep, reflective and intelligent for the time in which they were written. Note the phrase “for the time in which they were written”. Yes several are misogynistic, written in good old dead white guy style, but while that would rankle in a story written today, these tales laid a solid foundation for generations of writers to come– writers who continue to expand our horizons with their far-reaching imaginations.
Recommended for sci-fi enthusiasts.
But then I left the classics behind, moving on to more modern sci-fi and fantasy. This volume gave me the opportunity to learn about some of the very earliest sci-fi writers and their stories about Mars. Lost Mars: Stories From the Golden Age of the Red Planet covers short stories about Mars from the late 1800’s to the early 1960’s. Some of the authors were familiar to me, but most were not. I found the stories to be deep, reflective and intelligent for the time in which they were written. Note the phrase “for the time in which they were written”. Yes several are misogynistic, written in good old dead white guy style, but while that would rankle in a story written today, these tales laid a solid foundation for generations of writers to come– writers who continue to expand our horizons with their far-reaching imaginations.
Recommended for sci-fi enthusiasts.
sfian's review
5.0
A nice little collection of stories that does exactly what it says on the tin - provides a representation of stories set on or about Mars, written during the Golden Age of SF (and a bit beyond...)
It's hard to criticise the selection without knowing what else is out there, and I can't think of any other stories I would have added. Personal favourites are Bradbury's Ylla and Ballard's The Time-Tombs, but there wasn't one story I didn't enjoy (closest was The Great Sacrifice).
Mostly they are charming and perhaps a little ridiculous by modern standards, but none were difficult to read (unlike some if the novels from similar times that I have tried to read and found hard going.
Add in an introduction in the shape of a brief history of Martian fiction and this is a book I can see myself dipping into again.
It's hard to criticise the selection without knowing what else is out there, and I can't think of any other stories I would have added. Personal favourites are Bradbury's Ylla and Ballard's The Time-Tombs, but there wasn't one story I didn't enjoy (closest was The Great Sacrifice).
Mostly they are charming and perhaps a little ridiculous by modern standards, but none were difficult to read (unlike some if the novels from similar times that I have tried to read and found hard going.
Add in an introduction in the shape of a brief history of Martian fiction and this is a book I can see myself dipping into again.
singlecrow's review
2.0
A couple of interesting stories in this -- particularly "Crucifixus Etiam", by Walter Miller of Canticle For Leibowitz fame, but they're mostly forgettable Golden Age stuff, save the Miller and HG Wells story. What bothers me about these British Library collections is that they're meant to present the Golden Age stories to a new audience, but the extensive new introductions don't engage with the incredible racism and misogyny of the works, not even to merely acknowledge their existence. The only story that gets a pass on its treatment of women is "The Great Sacrifice", which is amazingly non-sexist given it's about 50 years older than some of the others in the collection; the worst on this account is "Ylla", the Bradbury story that employs the Martian landscape as window dressing on what's really an uncritical, pedestrian story about male violence against women. The only story that has any non-white characters is "Crucifixus", presenting us with some noble-savage Tibetans and Peruvians. Again, the introductions don't even mention it. Not impressed.
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