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a_pilgrim's review against another edition
4.0
This short story by Stanley G. Weinbaum proves that it is not about the number of pages or words in a story/book - what matters is the passion and potency of the imagination!
In about 30 pages, Stanley G. Weinbaum takes you to Mars and then on an amazing journey. First published in 1934, A Martian Odyssey is about one of the experiences of the famous crew of the Ares expedition - the first human beings to set foot on the mysterious neighbour of the earth, the planet Mars.
A science-fiction classic!
In about 30 pages, Stanley G. Weinbaum takes you to Mars and then on an amazing journey. First published in 1934, A Martian Odyssey is about one of the experiences of the famous crew of the Ares expedition - the first human beings to set foot on the mysterious neighbour of the earth, the planet Mars.
A science-fiction classic!
blchandler9000's review against another edition
3.0
Truth be told, the edition of the book I read is not on Goodreads for some reason, so I'm putting my review here.
After reading a great short story by this author in a scifi anthology about Venus, I seeked him out to see where else he could take me.
Weinbaum had a career that was brief but prolific, and notable for his ability to imagine new worlds. All of his "Planetary" stories are collected into one volume here, spanning from Venus to Mars, to the moons of the gas giants, and even out to little, black Pluto.
The science might annoy the pedantic; Weinbaum was writing in the 1930s when information about the solar system's planets and moons was largely guesswork, so here Jupiter heats its moons, Mars is criss-crossed with canals, Venus is tidally locked with the sun, and so on. But if you're reading these stories for realism, you're doing it wrong. Weinbaum's gifts were not hard science, but pure fabrication. The best of these stories use those talents to their fullest, describing life forms and ecosystems quite unlike those seen on Earth. "A Martian Odyssey" and "The Lotus Eaters" are probably the best examples, with their intelligent plants, stone-eating organisms, and drum-critters whose motivations seem totally nonsensical to our Earthly eyes. Exploring those worlds with the protagonists is pretty fun.
Not all of the stories are brilliant, of course, and some seem redundant. There's a lot of survival-type tales, some more imaginative than others, with people scaling frozen mountains or running from deadly creatures. There's a few romances, too, most of which seem to work under the stress-equals-love trope as astronauts scale said mountains and run from aforementioned creatures. There's an amusing amount of capitalism driving the plots. Every planet has something people want to sell, and many characters are in it for the money, not the thrill of discovery. Some of the ideas in these stories seem like scifi standards now—such as space pirates, or the alien who takes the shapes of its prey—but these surely must be among the first examples of such cliches, and such well-worn routes are sometimes fun to visit.
After reading a great short story by this author in a scifi anthology about Venus, I seeked him out to see where else he could take me.
Weinbaum had a career that was brief but prolific, and notable for his ability to imagine new worlds. All of his "Planetary" stories are collected into one volume here, spanning from Venus to Mars, to the moons of the gas giants, and even out to little, black Pluto.
The science might annoy the pedantic; Weinbaum was writing in the 1930s when information about the solar system's planets and moons was largely guesswork, so here Jupiter heats its moons, Mars is criss-crossed with canals, Venus is tidally locked with the sun, and so on. But if you're reading these stories for realism, you're doing it wrong. Weinbaum's gifts were not hard science, but pure fabrication. The best of these stories use those talents to their fullest, describing life forms and ecosystems quite unlike those seen on Earth. "A Martian Odyssey" and "The Lotus Eaters" are probably the best examples, with their intelligent plants, stone-eating organisms, and drum-critters whose motivations seem totally nonsensical to our Earthly eyes. Exploring those worlds with the protagonists is pretty fun.
Not all of the stories are brilliant, of course, and some seem redundant. There's a lot of survival-type tales, some more imaginative than others, with people scaling frozen mountains or running from deadly creatures. There's a few romances, too, most of which seem to work under the stress-equals-love trope as astronauts scale said mountains and run from aforementioned creatures. There's an amusing amount of capitalism driving the plots. Every planet has something people want to sell, and many characters are in it for the money, not the thrill of discovery. Some of the ideas in these stories seem like scifi standards now—such as space pirates, or the alien who takes the shapes of its prey—but these surely must be among the first examples of such cliches, and such well-worn routes are sometimes fun to visit.
ashleym10148's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this short story. It was a fun read and I loved all the different aliens and creatures there were. It was very entertaining.
phthadani's review against another edition
3.0
Brilliant plot! It was rather short and can be read in 30 minutes. But the plot was fairly straightforward and intriguing. As I was reading it, it reminded me of The Little Prince, which is one of my favorite book.
hoppy500's review against another edition
4.0
This was a short and interesting read. The dialogue feels dated, but there is a real effort to depict the alienness of extraterrestrial lifeforms which defy human logic and are not readily understandable to the protagonist. It was certainly something entirely new when it was first published in 1934.
yanina_daniele's review against another edition
5.0
No conocía a este autor, pero navegando en los podcast de ivoox en una de mis suscripciones, me apareció este cuento de ciencia ficción, y para variar decidí darle una oportunidad. Y no me he arrepentido, al contrario, esta es una de mis lecturas favoritas del año. Tenemos un viaje a marte, y una gran aventura cruzando las distintas zonas del planeta narradas por el personaje principal, Jarvis, quien conocerá distintas criaturas en este planeta misterioso.
He de decir que disfruté mucho con cada nueva especie que hacía aparición, quizás mis favoritos han sido los últimos, además de Tweel. Si les gusta la ciencia ficción, no se pueden perder de esta historia.
He de decir que disfruté mucho con cada nueva especie que hacía aparición, quizás mis favoritos han sido los últimos, además de Tweel. Si les gusta la ciencia ficción, no se pueden perder de esta historia.
jpjordicat's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn't even tell you what happened in this story.
lukesbe's review against another edition
5.0
This story is almost 100 years old, but still stays as fresh as ever :-)
sexton_blake's review against another edition
5.0
A collection of stunning short stories written in the 30's but ahead of their time in their depiction of bizarre alien life forms.