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The Sands of Mars
Space writers holiday. When a celebrated science fiction writer takes to space on his first trip to Mars, he's sure to be in for some heckling from the spaceship crew. But Martin Gibson, man about space, takes it all in his stride. That is, until he lands on the red planet. Once there the intrepid author causes one problem after another as he stumbles upon Mars's most carefully hidden secrets and threatens the future of an entire planet!
217 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1951
417 people are currently reading
3439 people want to read
About the author
Arthur C. Clarke
1,634 books11.4k followersStories, works of noted British writer, scientist, and underwater explorer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, include
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968).
This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.
Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.
He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.
This most important and influential figure in 20th century fiction spent the first half of his life in England and served in World War II as a radar operator before migrating to Ceylon in 1956. He co-created his best known novel and movie with the assistance of Stanley Kubrick.
Clarke, a graduate of King's College, London, obtained first class honours in physics and mathematics. He served as past chairman of the interplanetary society and as a member of the academy of astronautics, the royal astronomical society, and many other organizations.
He authored more than fifty books and won his numerous awards: the Kalinga prize of 1961, the American association for the advancement Westinghouse prize, the Bradford Washburn award, and the John W. Campbell award for his novel Rendezvous with Rama. Clarke also won the nebula award of the fiction of America in 1972, 1974 and 1979, the Hugo award of the world fiction convention in 1974 and 1980. In 1986, he stood as grand master of the fiction of America. The queen knighted him as the commander of the British Empire in 1989.
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December 9, 2022
A classic that stands the test of time!
THE SANDS OF MARS is a joy - a lightweight, easy-reading, far-sighted hard sci-fi novel that addresses the broad topics of interplanetary travel and colonization, development and terraforming of the hostile extra-terrestrial Martian environment. One could quibble, I suppose, that the science is slightly dated and there were certainly a couple of predictions that have since been proven incorrect but, for my money, the story is made all the more exciting and amazing for the degree to which it is now, fifty years later, approaching reality and the possibility of achievement!
Martin Gibson, a celebrated science fiction writer, has been invited to be the first and only passenger on the maiden voyage of Ares, the first interplanetary vessel that will be devoted to passenger travel. A simple thesis indeed for a marvelous novel - Gibson's job is to report back to earth on the trip and his perceptions of the progress that the first colonists have made in their establishment of a flourishing base on Mars. Unlike Asimov's THE GODS THEMSELVES which addresses the philosophical and psychological impact of living in an alien environment on Earth's moon, THE SANDS OF MARS restricts itself almost exclusively to addressing the hard core physical and scientific issues. Not to suggest that makes it less interesting or a weaker novel - that's just the side of the sci-fi coin that turned up when Clarke flipped it, I suppose! There certainly wasn't any shortage of topics - oxygen, air pressure, weather, heat, buildings, local travel (both on the planet and to Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos), interplanetary travel back and forth to Mars, emergency preparedness, government, effective utilization of limited manpower, biology and zoology (or at least Clarke's rather exciting vision of what is possible), communication and more!
I also appreciated the fact that, while the science was straightforward and not particularly complex, neither was it dumbed down or patronizing. For example, when Ares first left Earth's orbits to begin the long trip to Mars, it was described as follows:
" ... she would pull away out of the orbit in which she was circling and had hitherto spent all her existence, to swing into the long hyperbola that led to Mars."
I haven't been a big fan of Arthur C Clarke's other more open-ended esoteric novels such as AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT but I certainly enjoyed this one!
Paul Weiss
THE SANDS OF MARS is a joy - a lightweight, easy-reading, far-sighted hard sci-fi novel that addresses the broad topics of interplanetary travel and colonization, development and terraforming of the hostile extra-terrestrial Martian environment. One could quibble, I suppose, that the science is slightly dated and there were certainly a couple of predictions that have since been proven incorrect but, for my money, the story is made all the more exciting and amazing for the degree to which it is now, fifty years later, approaching reality and the possibility of achievement!
Martin Gibson, a celebrated science fiction writer, has been invited to be the first and only passenger on the maiden voyage of Ares, the first interplanetary vessel that will be devoted to passenger travel. A simple thesis indeed for a marvelous novel - Gibson's job is to report back to earth on the trip and his perceptions of the progress that the first colonists have made in their establishment of a flourishing base on Mars. Unlike Asimov's THE GODS THEMSELVES which addresses the philosophical and psychological impact of living in an alien environment on Earth's moon, THE SANDS OF MARS restricts itself almost exclusively to addressing the hard core physical and scientific issues. Not to suggest that makes it less interesting or a weaker novel - that's just the side of the sci-fi coin that turned up when Clarke flipped it, I suppose! There certainly wasn't any shortage of topics - oxygen, air pressure, weather, heat, buildings, local travel (both on the planet and to Mars' moons, Phobos and Deimos), interplanetary travel back and forth to Mars, emergency preparedness, government, effective utilization of limited manpower, biology and zoology (or at least Clarke's rather exciting vision of what is possible), communication and more!
I also appreciated the fact that, while the science was straightforward and not particularly complex, neither was it dumbed down or patronizing. For example, when Ares first left Earth's orbits to begin the long trip to Mars, it was described as follows:
" ... she would pull away out of the orbit in which she was circling and had hitherto spent all her existence, to swing into the long hyperbola that led to Mars."
I haven't been a big fan of Arthur C Clarke's other more open-ended esoteric novels such as AGAINST THE FALL OF NIGHT but I certainly enjoyed this one!
Paul Weiss
July 1, 2019
We will get the obvious stuff out of the way first. “The Sands of Mars” was Arthur C. Clarke’s first foray into the science-fiction novel format after publishing a series of successful short stories. First published in 1951, it is a somewhat unusual offering within the greater Clarke canon, for reasons which we shall discuss in this review later. Now we can argue all day as to the dates of what constitutes the true “Golden Age of Science-Fiction,” but in my mind this book and quite a few of the others published in the early 1950s still fall within that nomenclature. Whatever the case, “The Sands of Mars” is an excellent novel of space-age adventure, part travelogue, part soap opera, and part love letter to the act of discovery and exploration as essential qualities of what makes us human.
The plot is as straightforward as you will ever get. Science-Fiction author Martin Gibson (a very obvious stand-in for Clarke himself) is traveling to the colonies of Mars on board the newest commercial space cruiser Aries. As it is the Arie’s shakedown cruise, Gibson is the only passenger, accompanied only by the small crew of the gigantic spacecraft. There are a few comic moments when Gibson has issues adjusting to the reality of weightless travel, but he quickly figures things out and he and the crew begin to bond over the course of their months long voyage. There are a few on board adventures to be had, including the interception of a vital experimental medicine necessary to combat what the colonists are calling “Martian fever.”
Gibson arrives on Mars having made friends with one of the junior members of the crew, Jimmy Spencer, who has an unusual personal tie to Gibson. Gibson soon settles into his role of intrepid travel explorer and reporter, sending missives back to Earth on a regular basis. The Mars colony itself is small, and contained within clear domes that have been terraformed to sustain human life. Gibson soon begins to get a feel for the colony, and manages to get himself into a scrape or two along the way. He finds a mysterious outpost during one of his travels in the Mars “outback.” He then seizes an opportunity to travel to one of the outlying cities on Mars, but the plane that he is flying on runs into a massive dust storm and crash lands. It is here where the story begins to take a turn towards adventure and mystery, as Gibson and his mates from the downed plane soon discover a new species of plant life on Mars, as well as a small colony of “Martians,” a reasonably intelligent animal species that sort of resembles kangaroos. Gibson ends up taking a sample of each new life form back to Port Lowell, the main city on Mars. He names his new pet “Squeak” in honor of the sound that it most often vocalizes. Along the way, Gibson finds himself drawn to the Martian colony, and he begins to think in long-term plans.
But there are many unanswered questions. What is the nature of the odd outpost that he discovered earlier, and how does it tie into the new plant that he discovered? Are “Squeak” and his marsupial companions the only remaining examples of animal life left on Mars? What is the nature of “Project Dawn,” a much-whispered about but never revealed plot thought to be covertly run by the Mars Administration? What exactly is the relationship between Gibson and Jimmy? What secrets does Warren Hadfield, the gruff Chief Executive of Mars Administration hide? Will Gibson’s immersion into Martian culture cause him to “switch allegiances” and commit himself fully to the colonist’s causes? Don’t worry, all of these questions and more will be deftly answered by the end of the novel, but you will get no more spoilers from me.
I’ll state for the record right here that “The Sands of Mars” contains some of Clarke’s most personable writing. Often criticized for his lack of characterization, Clarke paints some pretty deep people in this book. There are times when it almost feels like a soap opera in space as he traces all of the relationships down to their logical ends. The Gibson character mirrors Clarke’s own life to some degree, even down to the failed relationship with a woman in college that may explain the nature of his relationship to Jimmy. Clarke himself had a short marriage to a woman, and remained a bachelor for the rest of his life thereafter. Fortunately there is little in the way of sexuality in “The Sands of Mars,” so we can leave all of the “other” speculations behind and focus on the adventure and fun to be had as the book comes to its satisfying climax.
What Clarke IS most often known for is his keen grasp on hard science-fiction ideas and his uncanny ability to forecast future technologies and societal trends. He’s a bit off base here, but not too far if you consider what we actually knew about Mars back in 1951. This is a far cry from H. G. Wells or Edgar Rice Burroughs. You will find no vicious Martian land rovers spouting deadly fire, nor will you discover scantily clad alien princesses idling lazily as heroes draw swords and heave their massive thews. No, what you get in “The Sands of Mars” is a reasonable portrait of interplanetary travel as it might have existed in the future, along with a bevy of other interesting technical details that hit or miss the mark in various ways. Clarke was certainly not short on ideas. And you can even see the beginnings of what would eventually turn Clarke from a “good” science-fiction writer into one of the all-time greats, a concept that I like to call “The Big Idea.” A lot of Arthur C. Clarke’s later works would enter into Big Idea territory. The transformation of the entire human race in “Childhood’s End.” The senses-shattering journey into the farthest reaches of the galaxy with a side shot of the transformation of the entire human race in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The monumental first contact with an alien artifact in “Rendezvous With Rama.” These are the books that Clarke is best known for, and while “The Sands of Mars” harbors no such aspirations, you can still see the seed of Clarke’s grand ambition on display here.
Personally, I loved this book. I’m not going to give it five stars as it never ramps itself up to anything of a major status. But I liked the cast of characters. I liked Clarke’s happy-go-lucky sort of British pluck that he infuses the entire story with. I didn’t mind that the whole thing read like a 1950s science-fiction travelogue crossed with a soap opera of epic proportions. At the end of the day the book just made me feel GOOD. “The Sands of Mars” is a prime reason why I enjoy Golden Age science-fiction so much. The idea that the universe was ours to explore, the grand scale, the epic notion that human beings could work together to achieve massive and far-reaching goals, the sheer OPTIMISM of the whole thing. Arthur C. Clarke and a number of other authors envisioned a world where anything was possible, and that sort of enthusiasm wasn’t lost on an entire generation of people who would eventually come together and place the footprints of human beings upon the moon.
In short, “The Sands of Mars” is a tidy, fun read that never gets too far off of its path and will leave you feeling satisfied and happy after you have turned the last page. It’s a short step up from some of the “juvenile” fiction that Robert Heinlein was writing around the same time, and you could easily fit this book into the “YA” category today. Highly recommended for any Arthur C. Clarke fan and/or any fan of Golden Age science-fiction.
The plot is as straightforward as you will ever get. Science-Fiction author Martin Gibson (a very obvious stand-in for Clarke himself) is traveling to the colonies of Mars on board the newest commercial space cruiser Aries. As it is the Arie’s shakedown cruise, Gibson is the only passenger, accompanied only by the small crew of the gigantic spacecraft. There are a few comic moments when Gibson has issues adjusting to the reality of weightless travel, but he quickly figures things out and he and the crew begin to bond over the course of their months long voyage. There are a few on board adventures to be had, including the interception of a vital experimental medicine necessary to combat what the colonists are calling “Martian fever.”
Gibson arrives on Mars having made friends with one of the junior members of the crew, Jimmy Spencer, who has an unusual personal tie to Gibson. Gibson soon settles into his role of intrepid travel explorer and reporter, sending missives back to Earth on a regular basis. The Mars colony itself is small, and contained within clear domes that have been terraformed to sustain human life. Gibson soon begins to get a feel for the colony, and manages to get himself into a scrape or two along the way. He finds a mysterious outpost during one of his travels in the Mars “outback.” He then seizes an opportunity to travel to one of the outlying cities on Mars, but the plane that he is flying on runs into a massive dust storm and crash lands. It is here where the story begins to take a turn towards adventure and mystery, as Gibson and his mates from the downed plane soon discover a new species of plant life on Mars, as well as a small colony of “Martians,” a reasonably intelligent animal species that sort of resembles kangaroos. Gibson ends up taking a sample of each new life form back to Port Lowell, the main city on Mars. He names his new pet “Squeak” in honor of the sound that it most often vocalizes. Along the way, Gibson finds himself drawn to the Martian colony, and he begins to think in long-term plans.
But there are many unanswered questions. What is the nature of the odd outpost that he discovered earlier, and how does it tie into the new plant that he discovered? Are “Squeak” and his marsupial companions the only remaining examples of animal life left on Mars? What is the nature of “Project Dawn,” a much-whispered about but never revealed plot thought to be covertly run by the Mars Administration? What exactly is the relationship between Gibson and Jimmy? What secrets does Warren Hadfield, the gruff Chief Executive of Mars Administration hide? Will Gibson’s immersion into Martian culture cause him to “switch allegiances” and commit himself fully to the colonist’s causes? Don’t worry, all of these questions and more will be deftly answered by the end of the novel, but you will get no more spoilers from me.
I’ll state for the record right here that “The Sands of Mars” contains some of Clarke’s most personable writing. Often criticized for his lack of characterization, Clarke paints some pretty deep people in this book. There are times when it almost feels like a soap opera in space as he traces all of the relationships down to their logical ends. The Gibson character mirrors Clarke’s own life to some degree, even down to the failed relationship with a woman in college that may explain the nature of his relationship to Jimmy. Clarke himself had a short marriage to a woman, and remained a bachelor for the rest of his life thereafter. Fortunately there is little in the way of sexuality in “The Sands of Mars,” so we can leave all of the “other” speculations behind and focus on the adventure and fun to be had as the book comes to its satisfying climax.
What Clarke IS most often known for is his keen grasp on hard science-fiction ideas and his uncanny ability to forecast future technologies and societal trends. He’s a bit off base here, but not too far if you consider what we actually knew about Mars back in 1951. This is a far cry from H. G. Wells or Edgar Rice Burroughs. You will find no vicious Martian land rovers spouting deadly fire, nor will you discover scantily clad alien princesses idling lazily as heroes draw swords and heave their massive thews. No, what you get in “The Sands of Mars” is a reasonable portrait of interplanetary travel as it might have existed in the future, along with a bevy of other interesting technical details that hit or miss the mark in various ways. Clarke was certainly not short on ideas. And you can even see the beginnings of what would eventually turn Clarke from a “good” science-fiction writer into one of the all-time greats, a concept that I like to call “The Big Idea.” A lot of Arthur C. Clarke’s later works would enter into Big Idea territory. The transformation of the entire human race in “Childhood’s End.” The senses-shattering journey into the farthest reaches of the galaxy with a side shot of the transformation of the entire human race in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” The monumental first contact with an alien artifact in “Rendezvous With Rama.” These are the books that Clarke is best known for, and while “The Sands of Mars” harbors no such aspirations, you can still see the seed of Clarke’s grand ambition on display here.
Personally, I loved this book. I’m not going to give it five stars as it never ramps itself up to anything of a major status. But I liked the cast of characters. I liked Clarke’s happy-go-lucky sort of British pluck that he infuses the entire story with. I didn’t mind that the whole thing read like a 1950s science-fiction travelogue crossed with a soap opera of epic proportions. At the end of the day the book just made me feel GOOD. “The Sands of Mars” is a prime reason why I enjoy Golden Age science-fiction so much. The idea that the universe was ours to explore, the grand scale, the epic notion that human beings could work together to achieve massive and far-reaching goals, the sheer OPTIMISM of the whole thing. Arthur C. Clarke and a number of other authors envisioned a world where anything was possible, and that sort of enthusiasm wasn’t lost on an entire generation of people who would eventually come together and place the footprints of human beings upon the moon.
In short, “The Sands of Mars” is a tidy, fun read that never gets too far off of its path and will leave you feeling satisfied and happy after you have turned the last page. It’s a short step up from some of the “juvenile” fiction that Robert Heinlein was writing around the same time, and you could easily fit this book into the “YA” category today. Highly recommended for any Arthur C. Clarke fan and/or any fan of Golden Age science-fiction.
January 16, 2024
Bueno no ha estado tan mal, ha habido de todo un poco, partes buenas y partes lentas.
Partes mas lentas: todo el viaje en la nave Ares;
Partes mas interesantes: la solución final al problema de falta de oxigeno en la atmósfera de Marte.
En general una lectura acorde a lo poco que he leído de Clarke.
Valoración: 6/10
Sinopsis: Esta obra narra el viaje de un famoso novelista de ciencia ficción, Martin Gibson, a una de las más prósperas colonias extraterrestres, donde los más célebres científicos están logrando cambiar el aspecto de Marte para hacerlo habitable. Sin embargo, lo que tenía que ser un viaje de placer no tarda en convertirse en una complicada red de intereses políticos y científicos que atrapa a Martin y le enfrenta a una desagradable evidencia: las relaciones entre la Tierra y Marte no son tan plácidas como parecen.
Partes mas lentas: todo el viaje en la nave Ares;
Partes mas interesantes: la solución final al problema de falta de oxigeno en la atmósfera de Marte.
En general una lectura acorde a lo poco que he leído de Clarke.
Valoración: 6/10
Sinopsis: Esta obra narra el viaje de un famoso novelista de ciencia ficción, Martin Gibson, a una de las más prósperas colonias extraterrestres, donde los más célebres científicos están logrando cambiar el aspecto de Marte para hacerlo habitable. Sin embargo, lo que tenía que ser un viaje de placer no tarda en convertirse en una complicada red de intereses políticos y científicos que atrapa a Martin y le enfrenta a una desagradable evidencia: las relaciones entre la Tierra y Marte no son tan plácidas como parecen.
September 1, 2025
The Sands of Mars was written in the late 1940s at a time when human space travel was something that only a few scientists and engineers were contemplating. Mars was also an eccentric anomaly about which we knew only the most basic of facts concerning its environment. Clarke used this limited amount of information, threw in a few embellishments, and produced an extrapolating science fiction novel that mostly respects the possibilities of his day.
While we are not yet at the point in time imagined by Clarke, the path that Clarke charted from the 1940s to the present and beyond is surprisingly accurate. The astronauts in space must cope with weightlessness, spaceships use nuclear reactions to propel their journeys, and it takes extended times in space to travel from one planet and the next. All of these aspects of a journey to Mars appear in present-day discussions about a future voyage to that planet.
Mars is where the setting becomes a bit embellished. It’s probably true that the largest gap in scientific knowledge gave Clarke the greatest amount of flexibility in shaping the story. Even then, however, Clarke’s imaginative license was restrained. He tweaked what he knew of the planet in the 1940s only enough to make the story viable and entertaining.
Overall, the novel is an example of how good science fiction can remain relevant over the span of decades. In addition to the science, societal stresses between homeworld and colony are examined that will one day be experienced. Clarke also throws in a bit of human emotion that lets the readers of the future know that their lives are made of the same stuff as those that read this novel in the past.
While we are not yet at the point in time imagined by Clarke, the path that Clarke charted from the 1940s to the present and beyond is surprisingly accurate. The astronauts in space must cope with weightlessness, spaceships use nuclear reactions to propel their journeys, and it takes extended times in space to travel from one planet and the next. All of these aspects of a journey to Mars appear in present-day discussions about a future voyage to that planet.
Mars is where the setting becomes a bit embellished. It’s probably true that the largest gap in scientific knowledge gave Clarke the greatest amount of flexibility in shaping the story. Even then, however, Clarke’s imaginative license was restrained. He tweaked what he knew of the planet in the 1940s only enough to make the story viable and entertaining.
Overall, the novel is an example of how good science fiction can remain relevant over the span of decades. In addition to the science, societal stresses between homeworld and colony are examined that will one day be experienced. Clarke also throws in a bit of human emotion that lets the readers of the future know that their lives are made of the same stuff as those that read this novel in the past.
August 18, 2018
I am attracted to Science Fiction from the first half of the twentieth century. I like the cover art from the paperbacks; I like the retro feel from the stories too.
If you like books based primarily on world building, then you will enjoy this book. If you depend more on a story-line with an arc and characters that are well-developed, this story may disappoint.
Martin Gibson is a writer and he has been selected to fly on a spaceship to Mars and send back news to Earth. Earth wants to know if the efforts and financial expense to colonize the planet is worth continuing. Mars hopes that his reports will encourage their home planet to continue their support.
The first half of the book takes place on the ship where Gibson learns his way around and gets to know the astronauts. Each astronaut has a strong distinctive character and I am sorry that they did not play a larger role in the story. As soon as the ship lands on Mars, they all but disappear and the story shifts to Gibson's observations of the land he sees and the work the colonists have done to make it inhabitable for humans.
Maybe this would have been interesting if it was non fiction, but just reading one person's idea of what living on another planet would be like is not my cup of tea, but other readers might like it. For me it felt like reading a text book on ecology.
There are moments of tension, but they are brief. Mostly it's comparable to a mechanical Disney ride where one sits and observes the scenery while your cart takes you around the different "lands".
If you're a Six Flags type of person, you might go for something with a little more suspense.
If you like books based primarily on world building, then you will enjoy this book. If you depend more on a story-line with an arc and characters that are well-developed, this story may disappoint.
Martin Gibson is a writer and he has been selected to fly on a spaceship to Mars and send back news to Earth. Earth wants to know if the efforts and financial expense to colonize the planet is worth continuing. Mars hopes that his reports will encourage their home planet to continue their support.
The first half of the book takes place on the ship where Gibson learns his way around and gets to know the astronauts. Each astronaut has a strong distinctive character and I am sorry that they did not play a larger role in the story. As soon as the ship lands on Mars, they all but disappear and the story shifts to Gibson's observations of the land he sees and the work the colonists have done to make it inhabitable for humans.
Maybe this would have been interesting if it was non fiction, but just reading one person's idea of what living on another planet would be like is not my cup of tea, but other readers might like it. For me it felt like reading a text book on ecology.
There are moments of tension, but they are brief. Mostly it's comparable to a mechanical Disney ride where one sits and observes the scenery while your cart takes you around the different "lands".
If you're a Six Flags type of person, you might go for something with a little more suspense.
March 21, 2024
Finalmente riesco a leggere il primo romanzo pubblicato dalla collana Urania - che da poco ha spento le 70 candeline e si conferma la collana di fantascienza in Italia più longeva -, ovvero Le sabbie di Marte (The Sands of Mars, 1951) di Arthur C. Clarke.
Uno dei sogni dell'uomo è sempre stato quello di spingersi oltre, di superare l'ignoto, sia geografico che spirituale. In questo caso Clarke ci parla di una spedizione di astronauti che arrivano su Marte, il pianeta che in molti romanzi di fantascienza l'umanità ha tentato di terraformare per poterci anche abitare come una sorta di seconda Terra (che poi non è un'idea tanto campata in aria, visto che ci sono interessanti e seri studi su questa ipotesi). E atterrato sul pianeta Rosso il protagonista, uno scrittore e giornalista, proverà a documentare tutti quei passi in avanti che gli uomini, ormai divenuti marziani, stanno compiendo per appunto rendere abitabile quel misterioso pianeta pieno di sabbie rosse.
Che dire, leggere questo romanzo, uno dei primi mi pare di Clarke, ti fa emozionare, soprattutto perché traspare il sense of wonder dell'autore che aveva negli anni 50, emerge quell'ottimismo che si aveva nella tecnologia come strumento per migliorare il mondo e l'umanità (oggi, purtroppo, si ritorna a parlare di bombe atomiche e sembra davvero che l'uomo non impari mai dai suoi precedenti "errori"). Clarke è sempre una garanzia, anche se il suo stile ancora risulta acerbo rispetto alle opere che scriverà successivamente, ma godibile ugualmente.
Se ve lo state chiedendo ve lo dico: sì, ci sono anche i marziani originali.
Uno dei sogni dell'uomo è sempre stato quello di spingersi oltre, di superare l'ignoto, sia geografico che spirituale. In questo caso Clarke ci parla di una spedizione di astronauti che arrivano su Marte, il pianeta che in molti romanzi di fantascienza l'umanità ha tentato di terraformare per poterci anche abitare come una sorta di seconda Terra (che poi non è un'idea tanto campata in aria, visto che ci sono interessanti e seri studi su questa ipotesi). E atterrato sul pianeta Rosso il protagonista, uno scrittore e giornalista, proverà a documentare tutti quei passi in avanti che gli uomini, ormai divenuti marziani, stanno compiendo per appunto rendere abitabile quel misterioso pianeta pieno di sabbie rosse.
Che dire, leggere questo romanzo, uno dei primi mi pare di Clarke, ti fa emozionare, soprattutto perché traspare il sense of wonder dell'autore che aveva negli anni 50, emerge quell'ottimismo che si aveva nella tecnologia come strumento per migliorare il mondo e l'umanità (oggi, purtroppo, si ritorna a parlare di bombe atomiche e sembra davvero che l'uomo non impari mai dai suoi precedenti "errori"). Clarke è sempre una garanzia, anche se il suo stile ancora risulta acerbo rispetto alle opere che scriverà successivamente, ma godibile ugualmente.
Se ve lo state chiedendo ve lo dico: sì, ci sono anche i marziani originali.
November 13, 2022
Хареса ми , младият Кларк поставя основите на творчеството си с тази хубава книжка за колонизирането на Марс .Не очаквайте геройства и шеметни приключения на червената планета , както и в много от бъдещите му книги тя е по-скоро размисъл върху основите и бъдещето на човека като вид във вселената .
June 5, 2017
1951- ci ildə yazıldığını nəzərə alsaq, dövrünə görə kifayət qədər yaxşıdır.
O dövr üçün Marsda həyatın olduğu, yaxud olmadığını sübut edən tutarlı dəlillərin
olmamasını (Y. Qaqarinin Yer orbitinə çıxmasından 10 il əvvəldən söhbət gedir) nəzərə
almaq lazımdır. Təbii ki, kitabı dəyərləndirərkən bunu mənfi cəhət kimi götürmək düz deyil.
Romanda elmi- fantast yazar Martin Gibsonun Ares kosmik gəmisi ilə Marsa səyahəti, Marsdakı
koloniyanın həyat tərzi və ətrafında formalaşan sərgüzəştlərindən danışılır. Kitabın əvvəlləri
əsasən kosmik gəmi səyahətindən (bəzi insanlar üçün sıxıcı sayıla biləcək) bəhs etsə, daha sonrakı
Marsdakı fəsillərdə hadisələr çox tez inkişaf edir. Romanda həmçinin Mars koloniyasının Varen
Hedfildin rəhbərliyi ilə Marsın yaşanılacaq bir yer uğrunda mübarizəsindən də danışılır.
P.S. Kitabın türkcə adı "Şafak Projesi Phobos" dur. Başqa ad seçəydilər kaş. Spoiler' vari ad olub :)
O dövr üçün Marsda həyatın olduğu, yaxud olmadığını sübut edən tutarlı dəlillərin
olmamasını (Y. Qaqarinin Yer orbitinə çıxmasından 10 il əvvəldən söhbət gedir) nəzərə
almaq lazımdır. Təbii ki, kitabı dəyərləndirərkən bunu mənfi cəhət kimi götürmək düz deyil.
Romanda elmi- fantast yazar Martin Gibsonun Ares kosmik gəmisi ilə Marsa səyahəti, Marsdakı
koloniyanın həyat tərzi və ətrafında formalaşan sərgüzəştlərindən danışılır. Kitabın əvvəlləri
əsasən kosmik gəmi səyahətindən (bəzi insanlar üçün sıxıcı sayıla biləcək) bəhs etsə, daha sonrakı
Marsdakı fəsillərdə hadisələr çox tez inkişaf edir. Romanda həmçinin Mars koloniyasının Varen
Hedfildin rəhbərliyi ilə Marsın yaşanılacaq bir yer uğrunda mübarizəsindən də danışılır.
P.S. Kitabın türkcə adı "Şafak Projesi Phobos" dur. Başqa ad seçəydilər kaş. Spoiler' vari ad olub :)
February 18, 2022
Un bel libro di fantascienza, piacevole da leggere.
Clarke intreccia molto bene l'avventura spaziale con la storia del protagonista Gibson.
L'autore, in alcuni momenti, oltreché stuzzicare la fantasia del lettore, riesce anche a creare una certa suspense, rendendo ancor di più il racconto interessante.
Clarke intreccia molto bene l'avventura spaziale con la storia del protagonista Gibson.
L'autore, in alcuni momenti, oltreché stuzzicare la fantasia del lettore, riesce anche a creare una certa suspense, rendendo ancor di più il racconto interessante.
September 21, 2016
British-Lankese author Arthur C Clarke was one of the titans of science fiction when I was young in the 1970s, together with Americans Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein. As I see it, Clarke was at his best from the late 1940s to the end of the 1960s, a period during which he for instance wrote the famous short-stories “The Sentinel” and “The Nine Billion Names of God”. Around 1950, he wrote The Sands of Mars, a sand-in-the-spacesuit novel about one man’s exploration of Mars and of himself, a story of growth and transformation, of becoming an adult and responsible individual.
Clarke possessed a talent I have come to like more and more with advancing age, the ability to write an interesting yarn without introducing violent conflicts or bad-guy characters. The Sands of Mars is a prime example: it deals with saving lives (futuristic medicine), making deserts bloom (well, sort of), and the constructive handling an old mess (no spoiler here). The main character, a science fiction author named Martin Gibson, grows in a credible manner from being immature and egocentric to assuming great responsibility.
I found the novel in a bargain bookshop in my hometown Gothenburg in the late 1970s and it has remained in my bookshelf ever since. I have read it so many times that I can summarize it “on the run”. At the time of the purchase, the novel was about 25 years old and its description of Mars had been rendered obsolete by the detailed photo-mapping of the Red Planet by Mariner 9 in 1972. But that did not matter much, because I liked it from the start.
Clarke sends the reader to a worn-out Mars covered by rolling deserts without exciting topology. Its carbon-dioxide atmosphere is reasonably thick and its dunes are home only to hardy plants — not a Martian in sight. One of the main themes is the interaction between the colonists and the planet, how people’s mindsets get “martianized” while they are busy making the planet more human-friendly.
Another interesting matter that Clarke deals a lot with is the significance of administration and efficient use of scarce resources. Establishing a permanent human presence on Mars is an expensive and time-consuming project and, in order to succeed, it must be managed in a professional and unheroic manner. Therefore production statistics and balance sheets get as important as back-breaking labor. Scientific progress — i.e. in physics, chemistry, and xenobiology — is the underlying key to success and Clarke uses this trope to create suspense: every now and then protagonist Martin Gibson asks himself “What the heck is really going on here?”
Does the novel have any weaknesses? The gender roles are antiquated and the story fails the Bechdel test. But that’s what Europe in 1950 looked like. And it is hard to criticize Clarke here, because he does show how working women participate in the colonization of Mars even though they get almost no speaking parts in Martin Gibson’s adventures. From literary standpoint, the prose suffers from occasional Clarke-isms (quasi-philosophical expressions like “the stream of time”, not-so-funny humor, etc) that disrupt its otherwise smooth flow.
In the 1950s, the readers must have seen The Sands of Mars as a plausible description of what interplanetary colonization could be like. Today, six decades later, the story’s technology is partially outdated (e.g. Martin Gibson uses a typewriter and carbon-copies; radios have tubes instead of transistors) and partially futuristic (e.g. the well-described nuclear-powered passenger ship by which Gibson travels to Mars). But despite its age, the novel remains a piece of solid craftsmanship because it deals with an issue that always is with us: how to build a better world for our children, be it on Mars or on Earth.
Clarke possessed a talent I have come to like more and more with advancing age, the ability to write an interesting yarn without introducing violent conflicts or bad-guy characters. The Sands of Mars is a prime example: it deals with saving lives (futuristic medicine), making deserts bloom (well, sort of), and the constructive handling an old mess (no spoiler here). The main character, a science fiction author named Martin Gibson, grows in a credible manner from being immature and egocentric to assuming great responsibility.
I found the novel in a bargain bookshop in my hometown Gothenburg in the late 1970s and it has remained in my bookshelf ever since. I have read it so many times that I can summarize it “on the run”. At the time of the purchase, the novel was about 25 years old and its description of Mars had been rendered obsolete by the detailed photo-mapping of the Red Planet by Mariner 9 in 1972. But that did not matter much, because I liked it from the start.
Clarke sends the reader to a worn-out Mars covered by rolling deserts without exciting topology. Its carbon-dioxide atmosphere is reasonably thick and its dunes are home only to hardy plants — not a Martian in sight. One of the main themes is the interaction between the colonists and the planet, how people’s mindsets get “martianized” while they are busy making the planet more human-friendly.
Another interesting matter that Clarke deals a lot with is the significance of administration and efficient use of scarce resources. Establishing a permanent human presence on Mars is an expensive and time-consuming project and, in order to succeed, it must be managed in a professional and unheroic manner. Therefore production statistics and balance sheets get as important as back-breaking labor. Scientific progress — i.e. in physics, chemistry, and xenobiology — is the underlying key to success and Clarke uses this trope to create suspense: every now and then protagonist Martin Gibson asks himself “What the heck is really going on here?”
Does the novel have any weaknesses? The gender roles are antiquated and the story fails the Bechdel test. But that’s what Europe in 1950 looked like. And it is hard to criticize Clarke here, because he does show how working women participate in the colonization of Mars even though they get almost no speaking parts in Martin Gibson’s adventures. From literary standpoint, the prose suffers from occasional Clarke-isms (quasi-philosophical expressions like “the stream of time”, not-so-funny humor, etc) that disrupt its otherwise smooth flow.
In the 1950s, the readers must have seen The Sands of Mars as a plausible description of what interplanetary colonization could be like. Today, six decades later, the story’s technology is partially outdated (e.g. Martin Gibson uses a typewriter and carbon-copies; radios have tubes instead of transistors) and partially futuristic (e.g. the well-described nuclear-powered passenger ship by which Gibson travels to Mars). But despite its age, the novel remains a piece of solid craftsmanship because it deals with an issue that always is with us: how to build a better world for our children, be it on Mars or on Earth.
February 9, 2020
second read - 4 April 2012 *** - I last read this 39 years ago. It's hard to believe this 1951 novel was approximately 20 years old then, and approximately 60 years old now. I re-read it now because it was the yahoogroups Hard-SF book of the month for March 2012, and in order to count it in the paperbackswap 2Q2012 SF Challenge as a first novel of a British writer. This could be considered a precursor, set in the same universe, as Clarke's Space Odyssey books.
I'm afraid I remembered next to nothing about the novel from my first read. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting, but probably mostly those were feelings of nostalgia for a past era of science fiction. At this point, even though Clarke aimed for a scientifically accurate description of Mars, distancing himself from the misconceptions of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom, his descriptions seem quaintly optimistic with regards to life on Mars and the Moon.
Some aspects of this novel are probably auto-biographical. The one well-developed main character - a science fiction writer - had a single traumatic female relationship in his past. Two years later Clarke himself had a brief and failed marriage. Given what is generally suspected about Arthur C. Clarke's private life, there seems to be a lot left unsaid in this writing. I also noticed that the colonists of Mars included few or no women whose purpose was other than to be the wives and families of the men. This is so unlike the contemporary science fiction vision of Mars colonization, more like a large military base. It could be Clarke's own military background, or possibly an indication of an over-idealized and unrealistic understanding of women.
I thought the book was well written for its time, but expect it to be of limited appeal now in the 21st century.
first read - December 1973- *** I bought this book in December of my freshman year in college, and read it shortly thereafter.
I'm afraid I remembered next to nothing about the novel from my first read. I enjoyed it more than I was expecting, but probably mostly those were feelings of nostalgia for a past era of science fiction. At this point, even though Clarke aimed for a scientifically accurate description of Mars, distancing himself from the misconceptions of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Barsoom, his descriptions seem quaintly optimistic with regards to life on Mars and the Moon.
Some aspects of this novel are probably auto-biographical. The one well-developed main character - a science fiction writer - had a single traumatic female relationship in his past. Two years later Clarke himself had a brief and failed marriage. Given what is generally suspected about Arthur C. Clarke's private life, there seems to be a lot left unsaid in this writing. I also noticed that the colonists of Mars included few or no women whose purpose was other than to be the wives and families of the men. This is so unlike the contemporary science fiction vision of Mars colonization, more like a large military base. It could be Clarke's own military background, or possibly an indication of an over-idealized and unrealistic understanding of women.
I thought the book was well written for its time, but expect it to be of limited appeal now in the 21st century.
first read - December 1973- *** I bought this book in December of my freshman year in college, and read it shortly thereafter.
August 17, 2023
12/02/2023 (** 1/2)
Romanzo non eccezionale, sicuramente non a pari livello di altre opere di Clarke. Risente sia dell'età (1951) che delle capacità, acerbe, dell'autore, sebbene un gran romanzo di natura e forma estremamente complesso come Le guide del tramonto, arriverà appena due anni dopo.
Le parti più interessanti riguardano le descrizioni di teorie - fantasiose - e pratiche immaginate nel romanzo per la terraformazione di Marte, ossia il processo bio-tecnologico che l'uomo dovrebbe mettere in atto per rendere il pianeta rosso abitabile. Problema non da poco, dato che il pianeta ha un'atmosfera quasi priva di ossigeno, non è dotato di effetto serra (ed è pertanto totalmente esposto alla radiazione solare e a temperature proibitive) e non ha acqua allo stato liquido. Al di là dell'ottimismo profuso a piene mani, frutto di una sbornia tecnologica quasi epocale che di lì a poco sarebbe diventata un incubo con la guerra fredda e la proliferazione delle armi nucleari, il libro è davvero paradigmatico dell'epoca in cui fu scritto, quasi commovente in quanto a ingenuità e fiducia nel genere umano.
Francamente brutte le parti sul background personale e sul vissuto del protagonista Martin Gibson, giornalista inglese che va su Marte per un'inchiesta di costume e finisce per rimanerci a vita, affascinato dal pianeta, dai coloni che lo popolano e dalla civiltà che vi sta nascendo, più volte rimarcata come profondamente diversa rispetto a quella terrestre - gretta, individualista e materialista. Brutte e banali.
Molto meglio le pagine dedicate alla vita su Marte, ai problemi quotidiani dei coloni e all'approccio che questi mettono in atto, ossia cercare di piegare le caratteristiche fisiche e astronomiche del pianeta alle esigenze umane: ci riusciranno, con commovente facilità, con qualche bomba nucleare ben indirizzata, con modalità che sarebbero piaciute a Asimov e molto meno a Simmons, dato che quest'ultimo fa della critica all'hybris umana e alla sua smaccata propensione a piegare e sottomettere la natura ai propri scopi - invece di adattarvisi, come tutte le altre forme biologiche - uno delle critiche fondamentali del suo ciclo di Hyperion.
Un Clarke molto acerbo, che non lascia onestamente prevedere molto di quello che verrà poco dopo (la complessità e la profondità filosofica de Le guide del tramonto, con tutti i limiti derivanti dall'arditezza del romanzo, sono veramente di altro livello).
E' un romanzo fondamentale per la fantascienza in Italia perché è il primo della collana Urania, che uscì da noi già nel 1952, quindi subito dopo l'uscita sul mercato internazionale. Un caposaldo, a suo modo.
Rivedibile e invecchiato maluccio, ma godibile.
Romanzo non eccezionale, sicuramente non a pari livello di altre opere di Clarke. Risente sia dell'età (1951) che delle capacità, acerbe, dell'autore, sebbene un gran romanzo di natura e forma estremamente complesso come Le guide del tramonto, arriverà appena due anni dopo.
Le parti più interessanti riguardano le descrizioni di teorie - fantasiose - e pratiche immaginate nel romanzo per la terraformazione di Marte, ossia il processo bio-tecnologico che l'uomo dovrebbe mettere in atto per rendere il pianeta rosso abitabile. Problema non da poco, dato che il pianeta ha un'atmosfera quasi priva di ossigeno, non è dotato di effetto serra (ed è pertanto totalmente esposto alla radiazione solare e a temperature proibitive) e non ha acqua allo stato liquido. Al di là dell'ottimismo profuso a piene mani, frutto di una sbornia tecnologica quasi epocale che di lì a poco sarebbe diventata un incubo con la guerra fredda e la proliferazione delle armi nucleari, il libro è davvero paradigmatico dell'epoca in cui fu scritto, quasi commovente in quanto a ingenuità e fiducia nel genere umano.
Francamente brutte le parti sul background personale e sul vissuto del protagonista Martin Gibson, giornalista inglese che va su Marte per un'inchiesta di costume e finisce per rimanerci a vita, affascinato dal pianeta, dai coloni che lo popolano e dalla civiltà che vi sta nascendo, più volte rimarcata come profondamente diversa rispetto a quella terrestre - gretta, individualista e materialista. Brutte e banali.
Molto meglio le pagine dedicate alla vita su Marte, ai problemi quotidiani dei coloni e all'approccio che questi mettono in atto, ossia cercare di piegare le caratteristiche fisiche e astronomiche del pianeta alle esigenze umane: ci riusciranno, con commovente facilità, con qualche bomba nucleare ben indirizzata, con modalità che sarebbero piaciute a Asimov e molto meno a Simmons, dato che quest'ultimo fa della critica all'hybris umana e alla sua smaccata propensione a piegare e sottomettere la natura ai propri scopi - invece di adattarvisi, come tutte le altre forme biologiche - uno delle critiche fondamentali del suo ciclo di Hyperion.
Un Clarke molto acerbo, che non lascia onestamente prevedere molto di quello che verrà poco dopo (la complessità e la profondità filosofica de Le guide del tramonto, con tutti i limiti derivanti dall'arditezza del romanzo, sono veramente di altro livello).
E' un romanzo fondamentale per la fantascienza in Italia perché è il primo della collana Urania, che uscì da noi già nel 1952, quindi subito dopo l'uscita sul mercato internazionale. Un caposaldo, a suo modo.
Rivedibile e invecchiato maluccio, ma godibile.
November 7, 2014
This is the first Arthur C. Clarke novel I've read. I can't compare it to his own later novels, but it is interesting to note the differences between Sci-Fi of the 50s to the genre today. Fax machines on an interstellar spaceship? Hillariously quaint! Turning a moon into a sun? Preposterously convenient! While the character-building was well done, and the few passages that were descriptive of the Mars Clarke was guiding us through were eloquent and picturesque, the book as a whole was fairly simple and quickly read. There were a couple of surprises that caught the characters off-guard without the reader catching on from the narration, but otherwise the ending was relatively predictable. If it were written today, I would have rated it lower, but since it was a Sci-Fi novel written in a time before we had even landed on OUR moon, I imagine it was pretty advanced for its time.
December 1, 2015
I'm having trouble putting this into context. When originally published, what sort of book would sit next to it? Something pulpy and ridiculous? Was this revolutionary in its cold fidelity to hard physics and technological understanding of the time? What would I compare this to?
Given Clarke's stringent adherence and reputation, it's tempting to pick at the things he doesn't get right--cigarettes on spaceships, typewriters, administrator-secretaries on Mars, meteorologists on space stations, newspapers in set type--but I later wondered how many of these were deliberate, that suggesting handheld reading/writing/chatting devices with the capacity of several libraries would be a stretch too far for his audience.
Given Clarke's stringent adherence and reputation, it's tempting to pick at the things he doesn't get right--cigarettes on spaceships, typewriters, administrator-secretaries on Mars, meteorologists on space stations, newspapers in set type--but I later wondered how many of these were deliberate, that suggesting handheld reading/writing/chatting devices with the capacity of several libraries would be a stretch too far for his audience.
April 1, 2020
7/10 en 2008.
Un Clarke típico (CF Hard, personajes flojos) que especula allá por el 1955 y que ha envejecido mal.
En otros libros consigue una trama más ágil y un mayor nivel de intriga. Los marcianos de este libro no dan para mucho, la relaciones entre personajes, para menos.
Meto la cuña de siempre: ¡Dios, cómo la goce con el libro Cuentos de la Taberna del Ciervo Blanco de Clarke!
Un Clarke típico (CF Hard, personajes flojos) que especula allá por el 1955 y que ha envejecido mal.
En otros libros consigue una trama más ágil y un mayor nivel de intriga. Los marcianos de este libro no dan para mucho, la relaciones entre personajes, para menos.
Meto la cuña de siempre: ¡Dios, cómo la goce con el libro Cuentos de la Taberna del Ciervo Blanco de Clarke!
May 5, 2020
Turisti su Marte
Martin Gibson ha un carattere relativamente burbero, fa lo scrittore ed è stato scelto come primo turista nel viaggio inaugurale verso Marte dell'astronave Ares, destinata ad un futuro servizio passeggeri fra la terra e il pianeta rosso, pianeta che già ospita una colonia umana; lui non lo sa ancora, ma avrà la fortuna di essere il primo uomo ad incontrare esseri viventi Marziani.
Martin scrive storie di fantascienza ma non ha mai fatto un volo spaziale. Nel corso del viaggio ha modo di conoscere Jimmy, un membro dell'equipaggio giovane e intelligente con il quale instaura una sorta di amicizia destinata a mutare forma.
I personaggi di Clarke sono strumenti a tutti gli effetti, privi di particolari empatie nei confronti del lettore ma assolutamente funzionali e aderenti alla visione che l'autore si augura per l'Uomo e il suo futuro.
Il romanzo ha una struttura semplice, un alternarsi di situazioni/immagini che oggi possono apparire naïf ad altre più 'profonde', in cui si avverte il senso di appartenenza e mistero per un universo che conosciamo ancora poco.
Io non farò in tempo a vedere gli uomini popolare altri mondi, e la cosa mi fa terribilmente incazzare.
Martin Gibson ha un carattere relativamente burbero, fa lo scrittore ed è stato scelto come primo turista nel viaggio inaugurale verso Marte dell'astronave Ares, destinata ad un futuro servizio passeggeri fra la terra e il pianeta rosso, pianeta che già ospita una colonia umana; lui non lo sa ancora, ma avrà la fortuna di essere il primo uomo ad incontrare esseri viventi Marziani.
Martin scrive storie di fantascienza ma non ha mai fatto un volo spaziale. Nel corso del viaggio ha modo di conoscere Jimmy, un membro dell'equipaggio giovane e intelligente con il quale instaura una sorta di amicizia destinata a mutare forma.
I personaggi di Clarke sono strumenti a tutti gli effetti, privi di particolari empatie nei confronti del lettore ma assolutamente funzionali e aderenti alla visione che l'autore si augura per l'Uomo e il suo futuro.
Il romanzo ha una struttura semplice, un alternarsi di situazioni/immagini che oggi possono apparire naïf ad altre più 'profonde', in cui si avverte il senso di appartenenza e mistero per un universo che conosciamo ancora poco.
Io non farò in tempo a vedere gli uomini popolare altri mondi, e la cosa mi fa terribilmente incazzare.
April 7, 2010
Martin Gibson is a science fiction writer and he decides to spend his money on a trip to the red planet which is now becoming colonised. Gibson seems lacking in knowledge of space travel and how things work up there and so Jimmy, a young apprentice, is assigned as Gibson's teacher as it were. The two become friends and soon Gibson is accepted as part of the group (at first he is looked down upon, as just another writer of space adventures). He is invited along on a mission across the planet in a jet and after an accident he discovers something going on and decides to investigate. It seems there are plans afoot that could affect the future of both Earth and Mars.
Sands is a great little story but you can really tell its an early Clarke! Apart from Mars's strange (to us) geology, sorry aerology, it was notable for me in using the old form of the word connection, with an x! I think the last time I saw the word 'connexion' was in a Dickens novel!
Still, all good stuff with drama (a sandstorm), adventure (young Jimmy being amazed by Mars's aerology) and humour, not to mention a bit of relationship controversy!
Sands is a great little story but you can really tell its an early Clarke! Apart from Mars's strange (to us) geology, sorry aerology, it was notable for me in using the old form of the word connection, with an x! I think the last time I saw the word 'connexion' was in a Dickens novel!
Still, all good stuff with drama (a sandstorm), adventure (young Jimmy being amazed by Mars's aerology) and humour, not to mention a bit of relationship controversy!
June 9, 2013
Leggere l'Urania n.1 nell'edizione originale è stato piuttosto emozionante. Emozione doppia: perchè si dà il caso che il nr.1 corrisponda anche al primo romanzo di Arthur Clarke, uno degli indiscussi padri fondatori della SF. Pensare che si potesse scrivere Hard SF nel 1951 lascia sempre attoniti, ma d'altronde, lo faceva già Verne molto tempo prima; e c'è tanto dello spirito, dell'amore per la scienza e del "Sense of Wonder" di Verne anche in quest'opera di esordio di Clarke. Ci sono però anche, molto chiari, i "germi" di tanti dei suoi capolavori successivi, le tematiche principali, le ambientazioni. Leggere le "Sabbie" è irrinunciabile per un appassionato di AC, ma è anche un altro sorprendente esempio di SF con più di 60 anni sul groppone, eppure ancora pienamente godibile, brillante ed appassionante. Lo sarà ancora tra altri 60 anni, anche se magari sembrerà sempre un pò meno hard SF e un pò più "Steampunk"...
September 13, 2020
|3,5*|
Zur Abwechslung mal Science Fiction die sich ganz entspannt wegliest. Es passiert nicht besonders viel im laufe des Buches, es geht viel mehr darum, die Beziehungen zwischen den Charakteren darzustellen und vor allem den Pionier- und Entdeckergeist zu vermitteln, der mit einer Besiedelung des Mars verbunden wäre. Das gelingt Clarke auch recht gut.
Viele technische Details sind heute überholt und auch Clarkes Bild vom Mars ist nicht mehr aktuell aber das verhindert nicht, dass das Buch interessant zu lesen ist. Manchmal ist es auch einfach amüsant, wenn die Charaktere ein Fax von Ihrem Weltraumkreuzer zur Erde schicken.
Zur Abwechslung mal Science Fiction die sich ganz entspannt wegliest. Es passiert nicht besonders viel im laufe des Buches, es geht viel mehr darum, die Beziehungen zwischen den Charakteren darzustellen und vor allem den Pionier- und Entdeckergeist zu vermitteln, der mit einer Besiedelung des Mars verbunden wäre. Das gelingt Clarke auch recht gut.
Viele technische Details sind heute überholt und auch Clarkes Bild vom Mars ist nicht mehr aktuell aber das verhindert nicht, dass das Buch interessant zu lesen ist. Manchmal ist es auch einfach amüsant, wenn die Charaktere ein Fax von Ihrem Weltraumkreuzer zur Erde schicken.
June 5, 2009
Another good one by Clarke. This was his first full length novel.
February 13, 2021
As it is written in the book:
(Science fiction) may sometimes have a social value when its written, but to the next generation it must always seem quaint and archaic.
Not bad at all for a 1951 book.
(Science fiction) may sometimes have a social value when its written, but to the next generation it must always seem quaint and archaic.
Not bad at all for a 1951 book.
July 30, 2017
Tek kelimeyle harika bir kitaptı.. Atmosferine girip dış dünyayı unutturan içine girebildiğim bir kitap oldu.. Alıp götüren kitapları çok seviyorum, keşke sahaftan daha fazlasını alsaymışım clarke, asimov ve bilimum eski kurgu-bilim kitapları :)
January 15, 2024
<"With a new briskness in his step, Martin Gibson, writer, late of Earth, resumed his walk towards the city. His shadow merged with Squeak's as the little Martian hopped beside him; while overhead the last hues of night drained from the sky, and all around, the tall, flowerless plants were unfolding to face the sun."
August 16, 2021
Decisamente acerbo (1951). Già in confronto alle Guide del tramonto impallidisce, e con tutto che quest'ultimo fu pubblicato solo due anni più tardi. La caratterizzazione psicologica probabilmente non è il punto forte di Clarke, ma: 1) non è detto per forza che ciò sia un difetto, 2) quand'anche lo considerassimo un difetto, avrebbe potuto essere compensato da un intreccio solido e appassionante e/o da idee di profondo impatto. Purtroppo, così non è stato, almeno non del tutto. La vicenda è potenzialmente affascinante, ma latita di tensione narrativa. Inoltre, è impregnata di un ottimismo nello sviluppo della tecnologia che ricorda molto la fantascienza americana di quell'epoca e che quasi sicuramente un lettore di fantascienza di oggi fatica a riconoscere nel mondo in cui vive.
Certo, le idee legate alla terraformazione di Marte dovevano essere molto entusiasmanti negli anni '50, ma le ho sentite sviluppate in una maniera molto didascalica e fin troppo ottimistica: per ogni problema c'è una soluzione, e varie volte ho percepito la soluzione di turno come una trovata alla "deus ex machina". E, tra le altre considerazioni, pensare che Clarke si prefigurava l'avventura umana su Marte negli anni '90 del XX secolo, su astronavi che comunicano con la Terra via fax (!), fa riflettere sul fatto che questo libro sia a dir poco figlio del suo tempo.
I problemi principali, che riassumono un po' gli altri, li noto in confronto alle sue due opere lette finora (2001: Odissea nello spazio e Le guide del tramonto): la scarsità di sense of wonder, troppo affogato nell'ottimismo tecnologico e ulteriormente ridotto dal livello delle nostre attuali conoscenze su Marte (ma quest'ultimo non è colpa dell'autore), nonché la totale assenza di tensione metafisica.
Di sicuro si legge volentieri, contiene dei passaggi con un po' di lieve umorismo britannico, ma non è un romanzo imprescindibile nella narrativa di Clarke.
Certo, le idee legate alla terraformazione di Marte dovevano essere molto entusiasmanti negli anni '50, ma le ho sentite sviluppate in una maniera molto didascalica e fin troppo ottimistica: per ogni problema c'è una soluzione, e varie volte ho percepito la soluzione di turno come una trovata alla "deus ex machina". E, tra le altre considerazioni, pensare che Clarke si prefigurava l'avventura umana su Marte negli anni '90 del XX secolo, su astronavi che comunicano con la Terra via fax (!), fa riflettere sul fatto che questo libro sia a dir poco figlio del suo tempo.
I problemi principali, che riassumono un po' gli altri, li noto in confronto alle sue due opere lette finora (2001: Odissea nello spazio e Le guide del tramonto): la scarsità di sense of wonder, troppo affogato nell'ottimismo tecnologico e ulteriormente ridotto dal livello delle nostre attuali conoscenze su Marte (ma quest'ultimo non è colpa dell'autore), nonché la totale assenza di tensione metafisica.
Di sicuro si legge volentieri, contiene dei passaggi con un po' di lieve umorismo britannico, ma non è un romanzo imprescindibile nella narrativa di Clarke.
October 17, 2019
Aunque adolece de ser scifi hard antigua, con todo lo que ello implica, se disfruta sin problemas. De hecho es muy entretenido excepto por una subtrama manida y patillera sobre padres e hijos que se nota metida “de manual” para enlazar personajes, pero que resulta forzada e innecesaria. Por otra parte mete fantasía en medio de scifi hard, lo cual choca, pero si lo superas no pasa nada XD. Está a medio camino entre las 3 y las 4 estrellas, pero al final el viaje mola, con lo cual, se lleva 4.
January 29, 2022
Arthur Clarke explains in a realistic way, as Jules Verne did in his novels, a space trip to Mars and life in a Martian colony built inside a bubble. Some things have become obsolete, like the typewriter and carbon paper Gibson uses to write his articles, or the geological features of Mars, which were not known at the time, but overall the novel holds up very well.
February 3, 2019
Before I get into the meat of my review let me get one thing out of the way right now. This book is almost seventy years old, written before we had any real understanding of what Mars was like. We hadn't even managed to get anything into orbit when this book first came out, so there's bound to be a bit of a separation between the science and technology we know now and what this book asserts. Got that? Good.
The story follows the adventures of sci-fi writer Martin Gibson as he becomes the first tourist to visit Mars. The book is essentially in two halves; the first half tells us about the journey itself aboard the liner Ares, while the second half deals with Gibson's time on Mars and what he finds there. At its core, this is a story of exploration, but as with so much of Clarke's work there are multiple layers to the narrative, and also in common with what I've read of Clarke's work to date this is one hell of a readable story.
With the first half being set on the liner Ares we get to learn a lot about the operation of the ship and her crew. Even with a limited knowledge of spaceflight and interplanetary travel Clarke is able to present a believable and enlightening narrative, which can be a little dry at times but rarely fails to entertain. We're amused by Gibson's first experience of low gravity and freefall, as well as his initial bout of space sickness; we're presented with an awe-inspiring description of the galaxy free of the haze of an atmosphere; we get to share Gibson's first (and only) spacewalk, albeit in a suit that never was. This is Clarke in his element, taking the technical aspects of what was known about space travel at the time and turning them into a fun, enticing story that makes it sound oh so easy.
The second half brings us to Mars, via a brief stop-off at Deimos, and it isn't long before the tone of the story changes. Instead of being an exploration of space travel we're now presented with a frontier tale coupled with a subtle, almost invisible, detective story. The colonists of Mars are up to something, keeping secrets, but Gibson doesn't seem all that driven to find out what. Instead, he seems more interested in discovering Mars for himself, trying to get to grips with the colonist spirit. Here Mars is shown to be an inhospitable wasteland with a poisonous CO2 rich atmosphere. The colonists, for the most part, live under domes in the capital city of Port Lowell. There's a brief exploration of the plant life native to the red planet but mainly the second half focuses on the interaction between the various characters and how they deal with the dangers around them.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, there's a lot that Clarke gets wrong in here, science and tech wise, but that's okay because this is great book despite that. Yes, it is representative of its time, particularly where gender roles seem to be concerned - the very few female characters mentioned are there as props for the male characters to interact with, while all the important jobs are undertaken by men - but it still has a lot to say about human ingenuity. This is typically optimistic fare from Clarke, and one of those books I'd say anyone genuinely interested in the history of sci-fi should add to their reading list.
There's a reason Clarke is considered one of the Grand Masters of science fiction, and this, his first full length novel, goes a long way to show us what that reason is.
The story follows the adventures of sci-fi writer Martin Gibson as he becomes the first tourist to visit Mars. The book is essentially in two halves; the first half tells us about the journey itself aboard the liner Ares, while the second half deals with Gibson's time on Mars and what he finds there. At its core, this is a story of exploration, but as with so much of Clarke's work there are multiple layers to the narrative, and also in common with what I've read of Clarke's work to date this is one hell of a readable story.
With the first half being set on the liner Ares we get to learn a lot about the operation of the ship and her crew. Even with a limited knowledge of spaceflight and interplanetary travel Clarke is able to present a believable and enlightening narrative, which can be a little dry at times but rarely fails to entertain. We're amused by Gibson's first experience of low gravity and freefall, as well as his initial bout of space sickness; we're presented with an awe-inspiring description of the galaxy free of the haze of an atmosphere; we get to share Gibson's first (and only) spacewalk, albeit in a suit that never was. This is Clarke in his element, taking the technical aspects of what was known about space travel at the time and turning them into a fun, enticing story that makes it sound oh so easy.
The second half brings us to Mars, via a brief stop-off at Deimos, and it isn't long before the tone of the story changes. Instead of being an exploration of space travel we're now presented with a frontier tale coupled with a subtle, almost invisible, detective story. The colonists of Mars are up to something, keeping secrets, but Gibson doesn't seem all that driven to find out what. Instead, he seems more interested in discovering Mars for himself, trying to get to grips with the colonist spirit. Here Mars is shown to be an inhospitable wasteland with a poisonous CO2 rich atmosphere. The colonists, for the most part, live under domes in the capital city of Port Lowell. There's a brief exploration of the plant life native to the red planet but mainly the second half focuses on the interaction between the various characters and how they deal with the dangers around them.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, there's a lot that Clarke gets wrong in here, science and tech wise, but that's okay because this is great book despite that. Yes, it is representative of its time, particularly where gender roles seem to be concerned - the very few female characters mentioned are there as props for the male characters to interact with, while all the important jobs are undertaken by men - but it still has a lot to say about human ingenuity. This is typically optimistic fare from Clarke, and one of those books I'd say anyone genuinely interested in the history of sci-fi should add to their reading list.
There's a reason Clarke is considered one of the Grand Masters of science fiction, and this, his first full length novel, goes a long way to show us what that reason is.
July 29, 2020
An enjoyable read, with some nice twists and turns.
September 16, 2021
Pretttttttty "pulpy" stuff. For me, it's not one of his better works. Still, it was an alright-enough-palate-cleanser for me to start the fall.
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