 First book publication | |
| Author | Leigh Brackett |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
Publication date | March 1951 (first book publication) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 128 |
Shadow Over Mars is the debut science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, published in 1944.
The novel was first published in the Fall 1944 issue of Startling Stories . Its first book publication came in 1961 with a paperback edition distributed by Sydney Pemberton but it is more widely known for its appearance as Ace Double F-123 with Robert Silverberg's Collision Course . This edition was retitled The Nemesis from Terra. [1]
The novel is set on Mars, where tension is building between rebellious Martians and humans in the thrall of the Company. At the beginning of the novel, the protagonist Rick Urquhart is attempting to evade the Company when he encounters a Martian, who makes a prophecy that he will ultimately rule the planet. He is forced to kill her in self-defense but the company soon catches up with him and sends him back to labor in the mines.
However, he is able to escape and meets Martian-rights activist Mayo McCall. He is captured by the Martians and made to atone for his murder but after a failed rebellion, Rick becomes their greatest hope for success and the stakes are raised when Company operative Jaffa Storm kidnaps Mayo. In order to discover his fate and rescue Mayo, Rick sets out to the Martian North Pole, home of the mysterious "Thinkers".
In 2012, Rich Horton gave a mostly positive review to the Ace Double edition, describing it as "decent work, early Brackett in more of a tough and cynical mode than the poetic mode she later found." He found the politics of the Martian rebellion particularly interesting but commented that it didn't fit well with Brackett's other Mars stories. [2]
In 2020, Shadow Over Mars was awarded the 1945 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novel. [3]
Donald Allen Wollheim was an American science fiction editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell, Martin Pearson, and Darrell G. Raynor. A founding member of the Futurians, he was a leading influence on science fiction development and fandom in the 20th-century United States. Ursula K. Le Guin called Wollheim "the tough, reliable editor of Ace Books, in the Late Pulpalignean Era, 1966 and '67", which is when he published her first two novels in Ace Double editions.
John Kilian Houston Brunner was a British author of science fiction novels and stories. His 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, about an overpopulated world, won the 1969 Hugo Award for best science fiction novel and the BSFA award the same year. The Jagged Orbit won the BSFA award in 1970.
Leigh Douglass Brackett was an American science fiction writer known as "the Queen of Space Opera." She was also a screenwriter, known for The Big Sleep (1946), Rio Bravo (1959), and The Long Goodbye (1973). She worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), elements of which remained in the film; she died before it went into production. In 1956, her book The Long Tomorrow made her the first woman ever shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, and, along with C. L. Moore, one of the first two women ever nominated for a Hugo Award. In 2020, she posthumously won a Retro Hugo for her novel The Nemesis From Terra, originally published as Shadow Over Mars.
Double Star is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction and published in hardcover the same year. It received the 1956 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
Slan is a science fiction novel by American-Canadian writer A. E. van Vogt, as well as the name of the fictional race of superbeings featured in the novel. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction. It was subsequently published in hardcover in 1946 by Arkham House, in an edition of 4,051 copies. In 2016, Slan was awarded the Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novel for 1941.
Planet Stories was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House between 1939 and 1955. It featured interplanetary adventures, both in space and on some other planets, and was initially focused on a young readership. Malcolm Reiss was editor or editor-in-chief for all of its 71 issues. Planet Stories was launched at the same time as Planet Comics, the success of which probably helped to fund the early issues of Planet Stories. Planet Stories did not pay well enough to regularly attract the leading science fiction writers of the day, but occasionally obtained work from well-known authors, including Isaac Asimov and Clifford D. Simak. In 1952 Planet Stories published Philip K. Dick's first sale, and printed four more of his stories over the next three years.
Eric John Stark is a character created by the science fiction author Leigh Brackett. Stark is the hero of a series of pulp adventures set in a time when the Solar System has been colonized. His origin-story shares some characteristics with feral characters such as Mowgli and Tarzan; his adventures take place in the shared space opera planets of 1940s and 1950s science fiction.
Raymond Fisher Jones was an American science fiction author. He is best known for his 1952 novel This Island Earth, which was adapted into the eponymous 1955 film.
People of the Talisman is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set on the planet Mars, whose protagonist is Eric John Stark.
The 20th World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known unofficially as Chicon III, was held on 31 August–3 September 1962 at the Pick-Congress Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
The Starmen is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett. It was published in 1952 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. It was also published by Ballantine Books in 1976 under the original magazine title of The Starmen of Llyrdis. Ace Books published an abridged edition under the title The Galactic Breed. The Ace edition was published as an Ace Double with Conquest of the Space Sea by Robert Moore Williams. The novel was originally serialized in the magazine Startling Stories in 1951.
Mary Robinette Kowal is an American author and puppeteer. Originally a puppeteer by primary trade after receiving a bachelor's degree in art education, she became art director for science fiction magazines and by 2010 was also authoring her first full-length published novels. The majority of her work is characterized by science fiction themes, such as interplanetary travel; a common element present in many of her novels is historical or alternate history fantasy, such as in her Glamourist Histories and Lady Astronaut books.
In the Courts of the Crimson Kings is a 2008 alternate history science fiction novel by American writer S. M. Stirling.
Conjure Wife (1943) is a supernatural horror novel by American writer Fritz Leiber. Its premise is that witchcraft flourishes as an open secret among women. The story is told from the point of view of a small-town college professor who discovers that his wife is a witch.
The Sword of Rhiannon is a science fantasy novel by American writer Leigh Brackett, set in her usual venue of Mars. A 1942 Brackett story, "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon", also uses the name; however, it is the name of a place rather than a character.
Alpha Centauri or Die! is a science fiction novel by American writer Leigh Brackett.
The Martian is a 2011 science fiction debut novel written by Andy Weir. The book was originally self-published on Weir's blog, in a serialized format. In 2014, the book was re-released after Crown Publishing Group purchased the exclusive publishing rights. The story follows an American astronaut, Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in 2035 and must improvise in order to survive.
The Valley Where Time Stood Still is a science fantasy novel by American writer Lin Carter, the second in his Edgar Rice Burroughs- and Leigh Brackett-inspired series The Mysteries of Mars. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in December 1974 and in paperback by Popular Library in February 1976. It was reissued by Wildside Press in April 2008.
The Best of Leigh Brackett is a collection of science fiction short stories by American author Leigh Brackett, edited by Edmond Hamilton. It was first published in hardcover by Nelson Doubleday in July 1977 and in paperback by Ballantine Books in September of the same year as a volume in its Classic Library of Science Fiction. A second hardcover edition was issued by Garland Publishing in March 1983, and Del Rey/Ballantine reprinted the paperback edition in June 1986. The book has been translated into German.
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