10 Stories Worth Reading From “Old Mars”

Once upon a time there was a planet called Mars, a world of red sands, canals, and endless adventure. I remember it well, for I went there often as a child.

The first paragraph to George R. R. Martin’s introduction of Old Mars. It seems like every pre-New Wave SF author went to Mars sooner, or later. From Burroughs to Zelazny, from War of the Worlds to Martian Time-Slip, the fourth planet from the sun fired the imaginations of storytellers, be they novelists, filmmakers or musicians. If we were to make a list of every novel, novella and short story set on Mars, that could take hours, maybe even days.

And then we learned, thanks to multiple Mariner probes, that the Angry Red Planet was not suitable for life, alien or otherwise.

Yet Mars has seen something of a revival in recent years. The first that comes to mind is Kim Stanley Robinson’s award-winning Mars Trilogy – Red Mars (1992), Green Mars (1993) and Blue Mars (1996). The 2008 novel In the Courts of the Crimson Kings, by S.M. Stirling, uses alternate history to imagine another universe where intelligent life is discovered on Mars. Then there was the more recent The Martian (2011) by Andy Weir, which was made into a movie starring Matt Damon.

And then in 2019, for the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, NASA announced the Artemis Project, with the goal of landing the first person on Mars. Think of the slogan “Occupy Mars.”

The very anthology you see before you, was published in 2013, but like it’s companion piece, Old Venus (which I reviewed previously), it’s inspired by stories of a Mars, that had watery canals, red deserts and inhabitants that resembled insects or squid. From the 15 stories in the anthology, I chose 10 that I found enjoyable and I hope you enjoy them too, if you ever get your hands (or mandibles, or tentacles) on this book.

“Martian Blood” – Allen M. Steele: An Earth scientist enlists the help of a tour guide with a very ambitious theory that may change human/Martian relations forever.

“The Ugly Duckling” – Matthew Hughes: An archaeologist discovers a Martian relic – and gets more than he bargained for.

“The Wreck of the Mars Adventure” – David D. Levine: What if Captain Kidd was hired by King William III to lead an expedition to Mars?

“In the Tombs of the Martian Kings” – Mike Resnick: Private gun-for-hire Scorpio and his telepathic buddy, Merlin, help a Martian find an ancient, sacred text in…The Tombs of the Martian Kings (note: Scorpio and Merlin’s adventures continue in the follow-up anthology, Old Venus.)

“Out of Scarlight” – Liz Williams: Disguised as a man, a former dancing girl-turned-bounty hunter searches for a fellow dancer on the deserts of Mars. But the bounty has other plans.

“The Dead Sea-Bottom Scrolls” – Howard Waldrop: A story that’s kinda confusing but is still worth reading because it’s the shortest story in the anthology. Plus it gives a shout-out to “The Martian Hop” by the Ran-Dells, so, bonus points for that.

“The Sunstone” – Phyllis Eisenstein: The Martian-born son of an Earthling archaeologist, inherits his father’s sunstone – a precious gem only worn by native Martians. And I mean only.

“King of the Cheap Romance” – Joe R. Lansdale: Angela King, must deliver a vaccine to a Martian city, no matter the cost. Even if it means life and death.

“Mariner” – Chris Roberson: Pirate Captain Jason of the Argo (no, not that Argo) must rescue a group of refugees from slavery using the Pirate’s Code. But in the end, the decision will be made with a good old fashioned duel with a rival captain.

“The Queen of the Night’s Aria” – Ian McDonald: Who’s the number one fan of a flamboyant Earth opera singer sent to Mars to entertain the troops? The answer is in the title – and the story.

I’m pleased to learn that Old Mars won the Locus Award for Best Anthology. I’m saddened to learn that there were no follow ups to Old Venus and that co-editor Gardner Dozois passed away in 2018. But oh, how great it would’ve been to see titles like Old Moon or Old Mercury, with stories that imagined thriving civilizations of yesteryear and the humans that encountered them. I could always ask Mr. Martin if there’s still a chance he could edit more anthologies…

… But Mr. Martin is not my servant.