|
|
Crowther, Peter, ed. Mars Probes. New York: Daw Books, 2002. 320 pages, paper, $6.99. ISBN: 0-7564-0080-0. Reviewed by Bill Dynes |
Crowther, Peter, ed.
Mars Probes. New York: Daw Books, 2002. 320 pages,
paper, $6.99. ISBN: 0-7564-0080-0. Reviewed by Bill
Dynes
It seems the right time for an anthology of stories devoted to Mars. The early success of the Mars Odyssey orbiter and the ongoing scientific debate about the history of Martian water has kept the planet in the public eye. "It gets to you, this world," admits a character in James Lovegrove's "Out of the Blue, Into the Red," and the recent spate of fiction about Mars certainly substantiates that claim. This collection, due to be published in June, offers a broad and entertaining assortment of stories, though it perhaps will appeal primarily to a niche market rather than to a scholarly or academic one. While I have some reservations about the book, overall the stories are engaging and occasionally thought-provoking, surely the most important criteria for an edition such as this.
Perhaps the most compelling aspect of the book is the range of authors that it includes. Following a brief introduction by British astronomer Patrick Moore, the first story is Ray Bradbury's "The Love Affair," which the cover copy claims has never been published in the US. Other writers represented here include Brian Aldiss, Stephen Baxter, Ian McDonald, Michael Moorcock, and Gene Wolfe. Altogether, the book collects 17 stories, ranging in style from fantasy to parody to requiem. It is perhaps surprising that of the recent company of novelists to have published longer works concerning Mars, only Paul McAuley is represented here, but perhaps this collection offers a refreshing response to the epics of writers like Robinson and Bova.
Alastair Reynold's "The Real Story" introduces us to Jim Grossart, the first astronaut on Mars, who has succumbed to the stress of his journey and discoveries by fracturing into three personalities, each with a distinct opinion about the colonization of Mars. This seems a very apt metaphor for this anthology and for the presence of Mars in current science fiction generally. The fascination and allure of Mars is pervasive, yet radically different responses to that fascination are at work across these stories. One prominent theme, of course, is the question of Martian life, and the responsibilities that the discovery either of Mars' fecundity or barrenness imposes. Bradbury approaches this theme from the point of view of one of the Martians threatened by the arrival of colonists; the story of Sio's attraction to a beautiful girl from Earth, who can only mean death to him, is poignant and effective. In "The Me After the Rock," by Patrick O'Leary, two astronauts returned from Mars insist that the planet is lifeless, yet one has been profoundly changed by his contact with its alien isolation. And researchers in Stephen Baxter's "Martian Autumn" discover in Mars' fossil record clues that help explain the tragic changes now affecting the earth, though the explanation may come too late.
Another motif at work in a number of these stories uses Mars as a symbol for loneliness. The cold desert wastes of the planet and its distance from the Earth serve as powerful tools for exploring these traumas. O'Leary's astronauts struggle with the seclusion they've encountered on Mars, and Lovegrove's epistolic story depicts a father and son reaching out to one another across the gaps of time and space that imitate those of the human heart. In "A Walk Across Mars," a journalist discovers that a story of heroism has its roots in betrayal and infidelity.
Perhaps the most charming stories in this collection are those that reflect upon the various ways Mars has already been captured in the popular imagination. James Morrow's "The War of the Worldviews" offers a Martian invasion radically different from that described by Wells; Morrow's Martians aren't interested in conquering the Earth, they merely want a convenient neutral territory for their own battles. Resnick and Bell offer a delightful parody of Burrough's epic fantasies in "Flower Children of Mars," as John Carter look- and sound-alike James Carruthers is disgusted to find Mars populated by free-loving hippies who aren't the least interested in his outdated values. Similarly, Paul DiFilippo tweaks the adolescent enthusiasms of the pulps with "A Martian Theodicy," bringing a stereotypic team of adventurers, including Captain Harrison, sporting the requisite "chiseled chin," and the "gorgeous blond" Fancy Long, the brightest sight in millions of miles" (43) to a confrontation with the dastardly traitor Dick Jarvis. Jarvis has abandoned his fellow humans for reasons that the 40s SF editor might not have found suitable for publication, but Fancy Long does get her revenge.
Readers coming to this collection from the hard science fiction of Robinson, Bova, Landis, and others, may notice the lack of specific areological detail in these stories; although the back cover copy claims that "ongoing NASA missions to Mars begin to turn science fiction into science fact," beyond occasional references to place names and probes, the stories do not engage the ongoing scientific discoveries particularly deeply. Indeed, some of the collections' finest stories do not take place on Mars at all; Scott Edelman's "Mom, the Martians, and Me" is a persuasive look at the psychology of loss and hurt, while "Under Mars," by Paul McAuley, is set in a Florida theme park where tourists experience the Mars of Burroughs and Wells with the help of summer workers in sweaty costumes. This may raise the question, why Mars? Yet most of these stories do not seem to have been arbitrarily set on the Red Planet simply to fit into the topic of the collection; the quest for life, the exploration of loneliness, and the exploration of the SF traditions of Mars make for very entertaining reading.
