Lost Race of Mars

by Robert Silverberg

Are the Old Martians really a lost race--just withered mummies lying in dark caves? Or are they still alive--somewhere on the red planet? Sally and Jim must find out. They must help their father discover if the Old Martians still exist. His life work as a scientist is at stake! But it's not easy. They are only visitors to the Mars colony in this year 2017. And no one really wants them there.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Classics, Young Adult, Collections

123 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1976

About the author

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Robert Silverberg is a highly celebrated American science fiction author and editor known for his prolific output and literary range. Over a career spanning decades, he has won multiple Hugo and Nebula Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2004. Inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1999, Silverberg is recognized for both his immense productivity and his contributions to the genre's evolution.
Born in Brooklyn, he began writing in his teens and won his first Hugo Award in 1956 as the best new writer. Throughout the 1950s, he produced vast amounts of fiction, often under pseudonyms, and was known for writing up to a million words a year. When the market declined, he diversified into other genres, including historical nonfiction and erotica.
Silverberg’s return to science fiction in the 1960s marked a shift toward deeper psychological and literary themes, contributing significantly to the New Wave movement. Acclaimed works from this period include Downward to the Earth, Dying Inside, Nightwings, and The World Inside. In the 1980s, he launched the Majipoor series with Lord Valentine’s Castle, creating one of the most imaginative planetary settings in science fiction.
Though he announced his retirement from writing in the mid-1970s, Silverberg returned with renewed vigor and continued to publish acclaimed fiction into the 1990s. He received further recognition with the Nebula-winning Sailing to Byzantium and the Hugo-winning Gilgamesh in the Outback.
Silverberg has also played a significant role as an editor and anthologist, shaping science fiction literature through both his own work and his influence on others. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, author Karen Haber.

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a kids' book, a science fiction novel set on Mars in the future world of 1991. It was the first science fiction book for a lot of fans, leading to Norton and Heinlein and a lifelong interest in the field. I don't remember much about it other than I liked it a lot, but I plan to revisit it one of these days.

[Clara Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this fun vintage science fiction book for kids! It's so interesting to read about what the author imagined could possibly be waiting for explorers to Mars. I loved reading about life on Mars in a special dome, the visits outside the dome in the desert-like terrain, and the adventures of the kids who happened upon a big surprise in a Mars cavern. Pure fun!

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few days ago I was looking somewhat frantically through the books on the shelves in my closet (yes, I have a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in my closet) for something to read to my son, Sebastian. Lost Race of Mars almost fell into my lap. I'd read it several times as a child myself, and remembered liking it quite a lot. I'd nearly forgotten about it, but I grabbed it and read it to him.

It was written by Robert Silverberg in 1960, and includes some charmingly albeit slightly crude illustrations. Sebastian loved the book, and chuckled over every drawing.

It's the story of a family who visits Mars for a year on that far-off date of 1991. The children, Jim and Sally, are the primary focus. But what grabbed Sebastian the most were the cats. First was the family cat, Chipper, who is left behind on Earth early on. Sebastian asked several times if we'd see Chipper again. A few illustrations later in the book showed Chipper, and he was particularly interested in those. He is a cat person (we're a cat family, in fact), so his interest was quite natural. Perhaps someone who doesn't like cats wouldn't enjoy the book as much as we did.

There was also Mitten, the Mars cat, in the later chapters. Again, Sebastian loved Mitten and chortled over the drawings of him.

The story is nicely paced, well-written, easy to read aloud, and has a very satisfying ending. The science is a little shaky, but not outrageously so (I'm still tempted to look up the temperatures on Mars). The prognostications are way off - a thriving Mars colony by 1991?!? - but that's not an insurmountable problem. The Martians themselves are, well, pedestrian by modern science fiction standards. But they work well for children, and that's who the book is written for. I'll also credit Silverberg with giving Sally, the younger girl in the book, a stronger-than-customary role for the time; she's not simply a stereotypical docile little sister, nor is she one of those cliched "spunky" girls.

Sebastian is nine and a half. He's a bit advanced when it comes to books, but I'd say we hit the sweet spot with this one - he's the perfect age to enjoy it. I think any child from say, eight to thirteen would be likely to enjoy the book, and many older children would too.

I'm giving the book four stars just because I can't classify it as a deathless classic that will last through the ages. But Sebastian gives it fives stars without reservation.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a kid (many times), and loved it. Recently unearthed it when emptying my parents house to go on the market. Perfect timing, for my two daughters (8 & 11) to read! A bit outdated now - it's set in the year 2017, in a colony on Mars, but still delightful.
A wonderful start to a life-long love of reading science fiction.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is extremely dated, but I enjoyed it when I first read it in elementary school as a wonderful introduction to the sci-fi genre.

[Thomas Clardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It was one of the first sci-fi books I ever read. Looking back, I now understand why i love anything about Mars and aliens.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun. I considered giving it four stars, but a significant plotting problem stopped me. In the novel, Mars has recently been colonized by humanity, who live under domes and control resource use carefully. Into this environment comes Dr Chambers and family. Chambers is there to look for evidence that the ancient Martians might still survive (evidence of their existence suggests they have been long extinct). The colony is reluctant to support such impractical research but grudgingly go along with it. Of course the ancient Martians still exist, and of course Chambers's kids find them (this is a juvenile, after all). I quite liked the way this book uses fiction to sneak in a lot of scientific fact, some relatively simple social speculation (it's a short book, but we get some sense of how Mars society differes from Earth societies), and even support for the pursuit of "impractical" knowledge. Of course, it turns out that apparently impractical knowledge will prove very practical indeed, as what Chambers learns has the potential to generate an oxygen-richer atmosphere on Mars and to restore relatively easy access to water, so this isn't quite a dissertation in favour of knowledge for its own sake, but in the disturblingly anti-intellectual and bottom-line-driven world in which we live, I will take what I can get on this front. Sadly, the plot goes somewhat wonky when the kids discover the Martians, who don't want their existence known to the general human community. As telepaths, they know that Jim and Sally will never betray them or break their rules--which Jim and Sally immediately do when they return to the dome, by telling everyone about the Martians (nobody believes them) and then taking their father out to find them. I don't think Silverberg is intending any sort of critique of colonialism here. It is difficult in 2016 to read a book in which the wishes of the natives of a world are blithely disregarded and their knowledge used to better the human lot. The Martians are an old, tired race, we are told, while humans are more vital--Martians just don't have the energy or drive to restore their planet, but humans do. One wonders what might happen a generation or two down the road, if the Martians decide they want to come out of their caves--or if the humans decide they need the caves too. . . . Silverberg's view here is perhaps just a tad rosy, if not blinkered. Still, for a SF book for kids published in 1960, this is an enjoyable enough read, if not a classic of either SF or children's literature.

[Craig Childs · Rating 4 out of 5]

12-year old Jim and his younger sister Sally travel to the Mars colony in 2017 with their parents. Right off the bat, they have to deal with several unexpected problems. Will they be able to make new friends in a school that does not like outsiders? Will they find a new pet to replace their earth cat? Most importantly, can they save their dad's job by finding evidence that the lost race of Old Martians is actually still alive and living in underground caves?

This 124-page children's novel (aimed at older elementary school kids) is quite charming and well-written. Published in 1960, it contains a lot of speculation about what plant and animal life might have evolved on the Red Planet, and the effort it would take for a human colony to be able to live on its surface.

There is a bit of science in the background, but the focus is on the children's adventures, such as getting caught in a sudden sandstorm, getting lost in the desert, and navigating the whims of an alien species that communicates via telepathy.

The book feels like a bit of an oddity on Robert Silverberg's backlist, but perhaps it is an important one. It was reprinted by Scholastic seven times and stayed in print for thirteen years, until science progressed far enough to make the events of the story seem flatly impossible. (For example, deep space probes showed Mars does not have the atmosphere or the water content described to make life possible.)

A quick google search reveals several reviews and reddit comments from people who remember this book fondly from childhood and recall it as their first exposure to science fiction in general and the works of Robert Silverberg, in particular.

It may be outdated, but it is still fun to read.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please let me love this book!

Robert Silverberg is one of those authors I can't help but admire. He supported himself by writing - pulp mostly in the early days. This book is a perfect example of that. Set in the startling future of 2017, we follow two children and their parents to the Mars Colony (which is a somewhat common trip at this point) where they set out to see if they can discover life on the red planet. They're not disappointed.

I absolutely adored the descriptions. The idea of what life would be like that many years in the future - this book was written ...what...50 years ago? was priceless. Some things are eerily true. Others you look at and can't figure out how it was no one guessed that those things might go away.

Then of course, there are the space cats. Because, obviously you need space cats.

The science aspect is libel to make you cringe. Set that aside, enjoy it for what it was. This is just pure fun to read, with a silly and trite ending. But Silverberg makes it fun, and for that, it's definitely worth picking up.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer]

I read this as a kid and loved it, but don't remember much about the story. I recently unearthed it and would like to read it again.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

really simple enjoyable sci-fi
one for my young boys to be introduced to

[Carson Elliott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Look, I realize that this book is for kids. And I realize that it's extremely dated, the description of space travel makes no sense, and the science is completely backwards.
But did it HAVE to be written SO...trope-ish?
Of course the dad is famous and misunderstood - because that's exactly what famous and misunderstood people have, functional and healthy family lives.
Of course the kids just happen to make a discovery that the most advanced scientists in the world completely overlook -because that's exactly how that works in real life.
Of course the aliens trust the kids more than the adults - because purity of heart, or something.

Literally rolling my eyes from start to finish.

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read quite a few of Silverberg's juvenile stories and always enjoyed them. My favorites are Conquerors from the Darkness and Time of the Great Freeze. This book, however, is an out and out children's story, very simplistic. A scientist gets a year on Mars to try and discover what happened to the lost race of Mars and takes along his son and daughter, who make a big discovery. I would have loved this as a kid and probably given it 5 stars. Now, of course, at age 66, it wasn't much of a surprise and didn't really have any suspense. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I'm glad to have it.

[F.A. Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have loved this book if I'd read it in third grade (which was only a year after it was written), and I would still recommend it for third- to fifth-graders. But, unlike some children's books, and despite my love for the genre, this didn't stand up to an adult read. Oh, it was moderately enjoyable despite the predictable plot, but it lacked the sense of wonder I still cherish in a good children's book.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exercise in nostalgia for me - I read this several times as a kid and loved the descriptions of how Earth people established a community on Mars. Of course as an adult I have a different perspective- and am actually a bit shocked at how everyone thought the proper role of the Earth kids was to foster the resources of Mars. But it definitely satisfied a craving for me- to revisit a simpler time in my life.

[Kenneth Speth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little futuristic tale of Martians accidentally discovered by two children while visiting Mars with their parents.

[Jeffrey Diehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short novel stirred my imagination so much when I was a boy.

[Firiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book growing up. Has everything -- telepathy, Martian cats, weird plants. A+

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun reading with the kids.

[C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun reading with the kids.

[Yev · Rating 2 out of 5]

This must have been written for children. Maybe if I had read it when I was around 8-10 or around that I may have enjoyed it. As I am not, I wasn't able to.
Story summary: Family travels to the Mars colony which was established in 1991, the current year is 2017. The father's goal is to find Martians. His children find them by stealing a sandcrawler and journeying out into the wastes with a martian cat. A sandstorm happens. The martian cat leads them to the Martians who tells them they understand the true meaning of friendship. The children return and convince the colonists somewhat about their existence. The children go back to the Martians and take pictures of them. The Martians say only these two children understand and that they will never meet any other humans ever. The children return and prove the Martians are real. The End.
Rating: 1.5/5

[Chris Gager · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up at the town transfer station because of the author. It's a kid's book as the cover clearly illustrates; a one night read for a grownup. It's kind of fun and RS tries to introduce a few "harder" sci-fi issues into the plot. The description of Mars is pretty accurate but for the vegetation and the small animals, neither of which have turned up thus far. For that reason it's a bit outdated of course. He also over-estimates the focus of humanity vis-a-vis space exploration. Too many problems on Terra Firma I suppose. A bit suggestive of "The Martian Chronicles". 2.75* rounds up to 3*.

[Ronak Patel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story for young readers between the ages of 5 and 8. I read it together out loud with my cousin who is 7 years old at the time of reading and she was fascinated by the story. I read it alone as well and found it to be engaging and pleasurable if I established a child-like mindset going into the story. It doesn't have good reread value on its own merit but could be returned to as a piece of nostalgia if strong memories have been linked with the reading of the book. For me, that memory would be the memory of reading it aloud with my cousin.

[Lisa Macklem · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining enough read. Definitely your standard outsider kids work to fit in and do so while also saving their dad's reputation. It is definitely a product of its time - don't expect housewife mom to have any role to play other than to gratefully follow dad and support his career - she basically disappears for most of the book. In fact, don't look for any female role models, though it is a brother-sister team at the heart of the story.

[Gordon W Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the very first book, of any length, that I read from cover to cover.
It's a good story about a family who moves to Mars and starts a new life. The kids discover something new along the way. Good story.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enough science to qualify as science fiction and enough gentle kid adventures to be a good kid's book. Silverberg was rather optimistic about the future of manned explorations to Mars in 1960.