Sporadic science and fantasy mix freely in first of Burroughs' John Carter tales. Loosely defined process sees Carter end up on Mars as prisoner of the savage green men of Thark. A beautiful princess comes into the picture and rescue is fraught with seemingly endless danger. Set the stage for a flood of scientific romances to follow.
Allegorical story of the life of Christ. Cambridge linguist Dr Ransom is kidnapped and taken to Malacandra (Mars). After escaping he learns from the peaceful inhabitants that Earth is a fallen planet in need of salvation in order to end its silent ostracism. Best known for his fantasy novels, this is the strongest and most science fictional of Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy.
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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Popular collection of linked stories depicting the near-future colonisation of Mars. Published in the UK as The Silver Locusts, the book has a haunting quality, perhaps flagging Bradbury's later forays into horror. Nevertheless, there is no denying the power of these stories and Bradbury's significant contributions to the sci-fi genre.
Martian Time-Slip by Philip K Dick (1964)
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A handyman on the arid Martian planet gets tangled up with a Water Workers' Union boss and an "anomalous" boy. The boy's ability to communicate via time-slip with the hated "natives" triggers a politically-motivated wave of crime and violence. Dick's empathy for the little people shines through, making this one of the best of his early novels.
Man Plus by Frederik Pohl (1976)
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RoboCop meets the Borg when humans are cybernetically adapted to survive on Mars. A government computer makes some sinister predictions. As global tensions approach boiling point, the Man Plus program may be humankind's last hope of survival. Pohl's welcome rebirth as a writer following years of heavy-duty editing. Solid effort.
Mars by Ben Bova (1992)
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Renowned sci-fi editor proves he can pen a good story with the best of them. A half-Navajo geologist strikes it lucky and joins the first manned expedition to Mars. On getting there he forgets his lines and the political fallout causes chaos. An extremely human story ensues, with Bova deftly confronting the reader with a host of political and social issues. A bit of adventure doesn't go astray either.
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1992)
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Humankind once dreamt of finding life on Mars, so a group of idealistic scientists sets out to create it using 'terraforming'. Nasty multinational corporations, political radicals and others on overpopulated Earth all have ideas about how to exploit the new Mars. Robinson's terraforming technology is complex, imaginative and believable.
Ilium by Dan Simmons (2003)
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Simmons returns to sci-fi with this staggering variation on the alternate history theme. Three storylines linked by Homer's Iliad come together in a riveting adventure that takes us from post-tech Earth, to a Mars inhabited by scholarly Greek 'gods' and to Jupiter where sentient robots quote Shakespeare. Absolutely dazzling modern sci-fi.
