One Good Read: Going to Mars

Recommendation: “The Martian Chronicles” by Ray Bradbury 

Why it’s a good read: The holy grail of Mars fiction showcases Bradbury’s explosive imagination at its best. A collection of intwined tales of Martian colonization is so much more than some far-out stories. Bradbury’s chronicles of humans allowing technology to race ahead of its humanity is a twisting, upside down and back again rollercoaster ride of stories that would stand alone as classics. You can feel the mid-20^th Century excitement about space travel, even if you’ve read it a dozen times. Is humankind really better off colonizing other worlds than problem-solving at home? Those dreaming of space colonization should give this a read. 

Recommendation: “The Sands of Mars” by Arthur C. Clarke 

Why it’s a good read: If Bradbury puts the “fiction” in sci-fi, Clarke is responsible for the “science.” The first full-length novel from the genius behind “2001” is classic Clarke: rooted in science and a semblance of reality until a huge twist turns everything inside out. No one in sci-fi did endings like Clarke, and they were almost always heartening as his genius always believed in humankind – or at least a much bigger picture. One can see the theoretical structure of his later books here. Like Bradbury’s classic, the mid-century excitement about space travel is palpable. 

Recommendation: “Stranger in a Strange Land,” by Robert Heinlein 

Why it’s a good read: Another mid-century classic about travel between Earth and Mars, though Heinlein reverses field and sends his protagonist from Mars to Earth. Michael Smith becomes an instant celebrity and much, much more, though Heinlein only hints at his importance. The story resonates all these decades later when it comes to cults of personality and the power of perceived persuasion and absolutes. Heinlein gets meta years before such ideas were trendy and the ideas portrayed are still powerful enough to scare some people. Which makes it all the better.