A Martian Odyssey

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Back aboard the Ares, chemist Dick Jarvis has ten missing days to explain to his fellow explorers. His account begins with an aerial survey of Mars, where a failing motor leaves him hundreds of miles from the expedition's base. Carrying water, food and a sleeping bag, he sets off across orange deserts and grey plains. Along the way he encounters walking vegetation and Tweel, a birdlike creature whose speech takes some effort to understand.

Stanley G. Weinbaum frames this science fiction short story as a conversation among the crew, mixing Jarvis's observations with interruptions, teasing and scientific arguments. One encounter concerns a creature that produces bricks and appears to live through silicon chemistry. These unfamiliar forms of life give the adventure its particular interest: the explorers keep testing earthly ideas against what Mars presents.

About the author

Stanley G. Weinbaum

Stanley G. Weinbaum (1902-1935) was an American writer whose eighteen-month science fiction career proved wildly influential. His 1934 debut, 'A Martian Odyssey,' redefined how the genre imagined alien life. He died of cancer at thirty-three, leaving stories that shaped the writers who came after him.

More by Stanley G. Weinbaum

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Book facts

Author: Stanley G. Weinbaum
Reading time: About 45 minutes
Pages: 24
Language: English
Genre: Adventure
Formats: PDF, EPUB, Read online