n the not-so-distant future of White Mars, the United Nations declares the Red Planet to be a kind of Antarctica in space, a sanctuary set aside for scientific research and non-intrusive study. (Hence the novel's title, as Antarctica is referred to as the "white continent.") But despite these noble sentiments, a mission to Mars is bankrolled by corporations and nations eager to turn a profit. And not just scientists are sent. To underscore the notion that Mars belongs to all the people of Earth, ordinary men and women are selected to live on the Martian surface for months at a stretch, their experiences beamed back to an appreciative audience of Earthlings.
This cozy setup, a cross between MTV's Real World and a National Geographic nature documentary, collapses when a worldwide economic crash severs all contact with Earth. Suddenly the colonists are alone on an inhospitable planet with limited supplies and no indication of when, if ever, to expect rescue.
While some colonists panic, others seek to impose order in the name of absent Earthly authority. A third group, led by a visionary retiree named Tom Jefferies, sees the catastrophe as a blessing in disguise, a chance to build a future free from the mistakes of the past. "I'm going to make us live what we dream of being," Jefferies declares early on. "All we have to dare to do is throw away the old and difficult and embrace what's new and difficult and wonderful!"
Easier said than done. Jefferies' utopian ideals are opposed by some colonists as unrealistic, if not downright dangerous. Others like the idea of utopia just fine, provided it's their utopia. Disagreements--some violent--erupt. And speaking of eruptions, Mars' most famous feature, Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system, is acting kind of strange.
A minor novel by a major novelist
Science fiction fans, needlessly defensive about the pulp origins of the genre, occasionally resort to the truism that SF is a literature of ideas, and that ideas alone are the basis on which SF should be judged. Aldiss's entire career has been a long and energetic repudiation of this notion, which, though it contains a grain of truth, is really a rationalization for bad writing. It comes as a surprise then, and not a wholly pleasant one, that White Mars is first and foremost a novel of ideas and only secondarily concerned with character and plot.
Aldiss wrote White Mars in collaboration with the noted mathematician Roger Penrose, author of The Emperor's New Mind. Its pages fairly crackle with intellectual electricity. Aldiss and Penrose construct their fictional utopia from the raw materials of physics, sociology, philosophy, government and art--in short, every branch of human endeavor. Yet the human element, while not absent, becomes overshadowed by lofty abstractions. Tom Jefferies and his adopted daughter, Can Hai, as well as less central characters, are only partially realized, too often serving as mouthpieces for the authors. A boldly original speculation by Aldiss concerning Olympus Mons dominates the narrative for a few chapters, then inexplicably fades away. The novel feels unfinished, hurried, out of balance.
Even so, Aldiss remains a writer well worth reading, and White Mars, though not among his best novels, is provocative and timely. Humanity stands on the threshold of Mars. Will it arrive like the proud conquistadors of old, or will Mars spark an evolution in its visitors more profound than any terraforming? These are necessary questions, and few writers are better qualified to pose them than Aldiss.
I felt disappointed when I first read this novel. Yet months later, I'm still thinking about it, still working out its arguments and implications.
-- Paul
pace exploration is one of science fiction's most popular subjects, and it must also be a favorite of Gardner Dozois. In this anthology Dozois unveils a collection of 23 short stories which vividly illustrate the broad range of scope and style that SF authors have employed while taking their Earthbound readers to the edge of the solar system and beyond. These tales span five decades of imaginative storytelling, from the 1950s through the 1990s. They appear in chronological order by publication date, beginning with Arthur C. Clark's "The Sentinel," first published in 1951 in Top Story Fantasy. This classic tale provided the inspiration for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but takes a lot less time to read.
Other works from the 1950s include an incredible hike across the moon in H. B. Fyfe's "Moonwalk," a lesson taught by James H. Schmitz in "Grandpa" that it may not be wise to take alien lifeforms for granted, and a study of the aliens within and without in "The Red Hills of Summer" by Edgar Pangborn. Authors representing the remaining decades include such greats as Poul Anderson, Hal Clement, Larry Niven, R.A. Lafferty, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. Le Guin, Kim Stanley Robinson, Stephen Baxter and Greg Egan, among others.
Each story begins with a brief synopsis of the author's work and often explains why a particular piece or author was included in the anthology. There's enough information to send the interested reader in all sorts of directions for additional explorations when this book is completed.
Wonders to behold
Both the exhilaration and danger of exploration are portrayed in these far-flung adventures. Most have a hard science orientation and are notable for their realism. On the other hand, some are just as memorable for their portrayal of the bizarre or unexplainable. One of the strangest expeditions, R.A. Lafferty's "Nine Hundred Grandmothers," involves the asteroid Proavitus, whose inhabitants claim that their ancestors never die, but simply grow smaller with age. Their ancestral heritage gives new meaning to genealogical research, and they may be able to answer the most important question of all.
The territory explored ranges all over the stellar map. In "A Meeting with Medusa," Arthur C. Clarke envisions a voyage through the upper atmosphere of Jupiter on a spacecraft buoyed by a hydrogen balloon. Mercury inspires "Hot Planet" by Hal Clement, as well as G. David Nordley's "Crossing Chao Meng Fu." Venus also gets attention with "Becalmed in Hell" by Larry Niven. The moon and the sun have one story each, and what trip through the solar system would be complete without visiting Mars? Both "In the Hall of the Martian Kings" by John Varley and Kim Stanley Robinson's "Exploring Fossil Canyon" give the Red Planet its due.
The majority of explorations are to alien worlds. Seven tales provide a variety of alien environments and inhabitants for intrepid adventurers to analyze. There are also black holes, time travel and dimensional shifts to evaluate and explain. It's no secret that Dozois knows how to pick quality fiction, and this collection is yet another example of his ability to find just the right combination to satisfy those who enjoy a good short story.
It's interesting to read the "old" stuff and see how much has changed and how much hasn't.
-- Susan
n the not-so-distant future of White Mars, the United Nations declares the Red Planet to be a kind of Antarctica in space, a sanctuary set aside for scientific research and non-intrusive study. (Hence the novel's title, as Antarctica is referred to as the "white continent.") But despite these noble sentiments, a mission to Mars is bankrolled by corporations and nations eager to turn a profit. And not just scientists are sent. To underscore the notion that Mars belongs to all the people of Earth, ordinary men and women are selected to live on the Martian surface for months at a stretch, their experiences beamed back to an appreciative audience of Earthlings.
pace exploration is one of science fiction's most popular subjects, and it must also be a favorite of Gardner Dozois. In this anthology Dozois unveils a collection of 23 short stories which vividly illustrate the broad range of scope and style that SF authors have employed while taking their Earthbound readers to the edge of the solar system and beyond. These tales span five decades of imaginative storytelling, from the 1950s through the 1990s. They appear in chronological order by publication date, beginning with Arthur C. Clark's "The Sentinel," first published in 1951 in Top Story Fantasy. This classic tale provided the inspiration for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but takes a lot less time to read.
