What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

I would like to read interesting non-fiction about Mars or hard sci-fi set on Mars that focuses on scientific accuracy.

Any suggestions?

I read this one when I was younger. I don't know if it would be as good if I read it now.

These are more "hard" science fiction than "space opera." I thought they needed more story and less science fiction, but that's just me.

Listopia list of 100 science fiction and fantasy books set on Mars or about Mars - http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/30...

Two classics set on Mars are Red Planet and Podkayne of Mars by Robert A. Heinlein.

Another classic by Heinlein is mostly set on earth, but has Martian themes and connections: Stranger in a Strange Land.

Another book I enjoyed set on Mars is The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker.

The Margarets: A Novel by Sheri S. Tepper begins on Mars, and then roams far afield.

Just be careful about older SF - some is wildly inaccurate (if that matters to you). For example Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is fable, fantasy, not science at all - despite how many folks shelve it.

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "Just be careful about older SF - some is wildly inaccurate (if that matters to you). For example Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles is fable, fantasy, not science at all - despite how many folks sh..."

Thank you, it actually matters to me and I'll carefully look for more accurate ones.

Bryan457 wrote: " I read this one when I was younger. I don't know if it would be as good if I read it now.

These are more "hard"..."

Thank you, hard sci-fi is just what I'm looking for :)

Kate wrote: "Two classics set on Mars are Red Planet and Podkayne of Mars by Robert A. Heinlein.

Another classic by Heinlein is mostly set on earth, but has Martian themes and connections: Stranger in a Strang..."

Thanks, Kate!!!

Red Thunder

Is the first in a Heinlein-esque feeling set dealing with Mars :)

Red Thunder was a fun read, but it wasn't what I'd call hard SF. It does remain consistent with its own physics-breaking rules, though, and might qualify under the "One exception allowed" rule many hard SF fans go by.

S.M. Stirling wrote an interesting book set on Mars, In The Court Of The Crimson Kings. It's a sequel to The Sky People, which was set on Venus. They're basically a hard(ish) SF tribute to various science fantasy classics, mostly the stuff by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Venus is full of dinosaurs and primitive humans, and Mars is home to an ancient, decadent civilization. This is possible because of mind-bogglingly immense amounts of terraforming and genetic manipulation done by unknown aliens hundreds of thousands of years ago. They made both Venus and Mars suitable for Earth life and transported primitive humans and other species, many of them extinct at the time. So you've got a perfect SF adventure setting with a thin veneer of scientific respectability. I'm not usually a Stirling fan, but I liked these a fair bit.

The first of CS Lewis's space trilogy - Out of the Silent Planet, is set on Mars.

A fun read about Mars is Larry Niven's Rainbow Mars. Its a book with anti-heroing provided by Svetz the time traveler. (Niven does not consider time travel possible so this is not a hard science book by any means.) The fun comes from the multiverse tone of the book with about every notable Martian race from many SF series doing cameos. Martians from Burroughs, Wells, Heinlein and others are rubbing shoulders here.

Some nonfiction books about Mars --

reasons we should explore: The Case for Mars by Robert M. Zubrin

humorous take: Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

photographs from rovers: Postcards from Mars: The First Photographer on the Red Planet by Jim Bell

Mars by Ben Bova is, alongside Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy, considered the pinnacle of hard science fiction about Mars. There are lots and lots of enjoyable books set on Mars or involving Mars, but if you want to read rigorously researched sci-fi about Mars, Bova and Robinson are the essentials. Both are very (and somewhat deservedly) unpopular with readers who do not care for a strong scientific focus.