Reading Old Mars inspired me to plan for a whole week about Mars. Bill Crider encouraged me so August 4 through August 10 will be MARS WEEK on this blog. I had dozens of books to choose from so it was fun coming up with titles you might not be familiar with. Enough of this hype, let’s get back to Old Mars. Martin and Dozois projected a Mars that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote for: a Mars with canals and a breathable atmosphere (things we know don’t exist since we sent satellites to Mars). If you’re a fan of “traditional” (not scientific) Mars stories, you’ll find a lot to like in Old Mars. I liked “In the Tombs of the Martian Kings” by Mike Resnick the best. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
‘Martian Blood’ (Allen M. Steele)
‘The Ugly Duckling’ (Matthew Hughes)
‘The Wreck Of The Mars Adventure’ (David D. Levine)
‘Swords of Zar-tu-kan’ (S.M. Stirling)
‘Shoals’ (Mary Rosenblum)
‘In The Tombs of the Martian Kings’ (Mike Resnick)
‘Out Of Scarlight’ (Liz Williams)
‘The Dead Sea-Bottom Scrolls’ (Howard Waldrop)
‘A Man Without Honor’ (James S.A. Corey)
‘Written In Dust’ (Melinda Snodgrass)
‘The Lost Canal’ (Michael Moorcock)
‘The Sunstone’ (Phyllis Eisenstein)
‘King Of The Cheap Romance’ (Joe R. Lansdale)
‘Mariner’ (Chris Roberson)
‘The Queen Of Night’s Aria’ (Ian Mcdonald)