Crucifixus Etiam (Walter M. Miller)

A manual worker called Manue Nanti takes a five-year contract on Mars, but he finds it difficult to adapt both physically and mentally. The project is to make Mars habitable without any support from Earth, but the labourers become suspicious of the work they are doing and the seemingly pointless nature of it. Manue struggles with his health and the reason for his existence, as mutinous feelings start to stir when the workmen realise it will take up to 800 years for the work to be completed. The title is Latin and translates as 'crucified also.'

It won't come as any surprise to find that author Walter M. Miller was religious and the story has some rather obvious themes, but it is well written and there is a real air of desolation about the lead character, especially when the narrative describes the damage that his breathing problems are causing - preachy but effective.

Overall:- 7/10

Planet:- Mars  Year:- AD 2134

Included in:-
Spectrum V edited by Kingsley Amis & Robert Conquest (21 pages)

A Martian Odyssey (Stanley G. Weinbaum)

Astronaut Dick Jarvis is exploring the surface of Mars, when his rocket crashes and he is forced to walk the hundreds of miles back to his ship, which has three other crew. He teams up with a strange bird-like creature called Tweel and they continue the long journey together.

'A Martian Odyssey' was written way back in 1934 and is considered a classic of the sci-fi genre (see its own page on Wikipedia for more details), a legacy enhanced by the fact that author Stanley G. Weinbaum died the following year, aged just 33 and so left a very small body of work. The story does come across as dated, but it reminded me of 'The Wizard of Oz' with its episodic journey and strange characters (the pyramid creatures, dream-beasts and barrel monsters). It certainly has an aura of greatness and fully deserves its lofty position in the realms of science-fiction and fantasy.

Overall:- 8/10

Planet:- Mars  Spaceship:- Ares (from the Greek God of War)

Included in:-
Science Fiction Hall of Fame - Vol One edited by Robert Silverberg (28 pages)