
The British Library’s new science fiction classics are a series of themed anthologies, exploring the history of the genre through collected short stories. The first two books look at Mars and the Moon, and I chose to jump into Lost Mars first.
The book has both a general introduction about Mars’ place in science fiction writing and individual introductions for each story, adding a little context to them. The collection contains ten stories and they are ordered in a chronological manner from earliest to latest. This structure highlights the change from optimism over life on Mars in the early days versus the realisation that Mars is inhospitable in the latter days.
As with all anthologies there are some stories that are less enjoyable than others, but overall, I liked this slice of science fiction history. I do think the later stories are generally the better, it’s harder to believe the fantastical or romantic images of Mars with a modern knowledge and there is a side-helping of European colonialism that’s sometimes hard to stomach. I did enjoy H.G. Wells’ The Crystal Egg which is the first story. You can kind of understand why people might have thought War of the Worlds was real, because his writing comes across as very journalistic.
A Martian Odyssey by Stanley G. Weinbaum attempts to imagine a whole range of Martian fauna, including speculating what non-carbon lifeforms might be like. It touches on the idea of alien language not being straightforward to translate or interpret (although watch Arrival for a really good take on this subject). Though it is mind-boggling how they couldn’t quite grasp this concept with African languages, thinking them primitive, yet are more open minded with alien language.
As time progresses and the world started to learn more about Mars, the tone gets darker and the stories look at the dangers of Mars and the exploitation of people. E.C. Tubb’s Without Bugles deals with occupational disease and hints at how America was starting to question the cost of space exploration without much to show in return. Walter M. Millers’s Crucifixus Etiam speculates at the kind of people who would be sent to work in a thin atmosphere, taking those from high altitude communities and putting them to work with great risk to their health. A lot of the stories assume Mars would be mined for its natural resources.
There is also a story from Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles which is probably the best known and the book ends with something from J.G. Ballard. As you might expect, there really aren’t many women featured, however there is one story by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Lost Mars is published by the British Library and is available now in paperback. Thanks go to the publisher for providing a copy for review.
Read Harder: A classic of genre fiction
Goodreads | Amazon | Waterstones | Hive | Wordery | British Library
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book free of charge for review purposes only. Receipt of a book does not guarantee a review or endorsement. My reviews are my honest opinion and are not biased for the purpose of personal gain.
A post shared by Ellie (@patchworkbunny) on
Related posts
2 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Read Next
Subscribe via Email
Recent Posts
I don't think the budget needs so many posed photos. What's wrong with a stock photo of some money like they used to do?
FollowAs if the traffic wasn't bad enough, lets add lots of lorries! Glad to be out of BCP really... https://t.co/Y80UsKh9v2
FollowSomehow it's March already, here are 28 books hitting the shelves this month! https://t.co/xfhhuDSBIp
FollowCurrently Reading
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
Gora is a planet without resources, its only use is a stopover for interplanetary travel. The Five-Hop One-Stop is one such place for long distance travellers to rest and refuel. Run by a Laru and her child, it’s not the most glamourous of stops but…
Black Sun
Today he would become a god. His mother had told him so. The opening line may seem like something any mother would tell her son, but in the case of Serapio, his mother truly believes he will become the Crow God reborn. She blinds him,…
Legendborn
The day Bree gets accepted into an early college placement at UNC, is the day her mother dies. The last words they spoke were of anger. Unable to deal with her dad’s grief on top of her own, Bree goes ahead with the placement. Once…
Ninth House
Alex Stern does not belong at Yale. When she awakes as the sole survivor of a multiple homicide, presumed a drug deal gone wrong, she is given an unlikely offer. Come to Yale, join the House of Lethe and oversee the rituals of the other…
I do like that cover! and an interesting idea for an anthology too.
This sounds great. And I think I know what you mean about the European collonialism, although I haven't read this collection. Tends to happen in older stories. And I loved the Martian Chronicles, which story was included?
Also, those are some amazing covers.