First published 2005
This anthology spans decades of Mars fiction, from the soul-searching lyricism found in Ray Bradbury's work to Philip K. Dick's paranoid and baroque planetary visions. The collection opens with Bradbury's "The Wilderness" from The Martian Chronicles, then moves through Arthur C. Clarke's "Crime on Mars" and Leigh Brackett's "Purple Priestess of the Mad Moon." Roger Zelazny contributes "A Rose for Ecclesiastes" while Dick offers "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." Later entries include collaborative work from Gordon Eklund and Gregory Benford in "Hellas Is Florida," John Varley's "In the Hall of the Martian Kings," and more recent stories like Jerry Oltion's "The Great Martian Pyramid Hoax" and Alexander C. Irvine's "Pictures from an Expedition." The anthology captures the red planet's hold on human imagination, reflecting our species' obsession with the fourth world from our sun.
Genres: fiction, short-stories, science-fiction
Vibes: atmospheric, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Mars
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
304 pages · Paperback · Thunder's Mouth Press