Science Fiction stories about Mars have been popular within the genre for more than the past century starting with The War of the Worlds and with a particular upswing in the 1950s spurred by Ray Bradbury and the pulps of the day. Life on Mars looks to revitalize the well trod upon Martian landscape yet again with a stellar crew of contributors and another inspiring cover piece by Stephan Martiniere. To say this is an amazing group of authors given the topic is something of an understatement. Reynolds, Baxter, Doctorow, McDonald, and Robinson all in the same volume with new stories! Plus what is probably one of Kage Baker's last written stories. Behold the full table of contents:
1. “Attlee and the Long Walk” by Kage Baker
2. “The Old Man and the Martian Sea” by Alastair Reynolds
3. “Wahala” by Nnedi Okorafor
4. “On Chryse Plain” by Stephen Baxter
5. “First Principle” by Nancy Kress
6. “Martian Chronicles” by Cory Doctorow (novella)
7. “Goodnight Moons” by Ellen Klages
8. “The Taste of Promises” by Rachel Swirsky
9. “Digging” by Ian McDonald
10. “LARP on Mars” by Chris Roberson
11. “Martian Heart” John Barnes
12. “Discovering Life” by Kim Stanley Robinson
I'm very curious about Doctorow's piece. Maybe an homage to Bradbury? The anthology is being pitched to a YA audience, but it should play well with adults as well. Also, the McDonald story might have something to do with the YA novel he recently sold to Pyr. Either way this will be a can't miss for Sci-Fi short story or Mars fans. Life on Mars is scheduled to be released in April of 2011 by Viking.
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1) That's a beautiful cover
ReplyDelete2) Are these all exclusive, new stories?
From what I can tell they are all new stories written specifically for this volume. And it certainly looks grand. I don't think I've ever been disappointed by Martiniere.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a SF reader at heart but I'm always looking to expand my reading horizons. That table of contents is an all-star cast; they had me at "Kage Baker."
ReplyDeleteCount me in. This could very well turn me onto something new.
I just picked up Heinlein's the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. I'm a sucker for Mars, Moon stories.
ReplyDelete