The very first person to ever write a work of science fiction set primarily on Mars was Percy Greg, whose 1880 novel Across the Zodiac follows a man who travels to Mars and discovers an alien civilization. Since then, the Red Planet has been one of sci-fi writers’ favorite settings. When it comes to space science fiction, what topic could possibly feel more immediate to readers than the neighbor closest to our planet?
But while thousands upon thousands of works of literature over the years have found a substantial portion of their stories set on Mars, a handful of works stand out as particularly exceptional books. Whether we’re talking about an absolutely foundational classic like Robert A. Heinlein‘s Red Planet or a more modern masterpiece like Andy Weir‘s The Martian, there’s a good reason why this setting has charmed writers as much as it has for as long as it has.
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‘The Martian Race’ (1999)
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Image via Warner Books</figure>
Gregory Benford is not only a major figure in modern hard science fiction, but also an astrophysicist and plasma physics professor whose academic background richly informs his work in sci-fi. One of his must-read works is The Martian Race, about a billionaire who funds a private crew to race another group of astronauts to Mars, only for the team to face massive scientific discoveries and a desperate struggle to return home.
It’s one of the best sci-fi books of the 1990s, very well-regarded among critics and hard sci-fi fans alike in spite of the fact that it wasn’t one of Benford’s biggest financial successes. Naturally, this makes it one of the most underappreciated books set on Mars, ideal for people whose favorite kinds of space sci-fi novels are the ones deeply grounded in ultra-realistic physics, engineering, and technology.
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‘Moving Mars’ (1993)
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Greg Bear‘s most awarded novel ever was Moving Mars, a deserving winner of the 1994 Nebula Award for Best Novel. This science fantasy tale is the third, penultimate, and best installment in Bear’s Queen of Angels series, following the involvement of a young Martian woman in a political and scientific revolution as Mars seeks independence from the dominant Earth.
Bear was well-known for taking theoretical physics to their absolute extremes across his oeuvre, and the way Moving Mars takes a premise that sounds like pure magic and expands it on a basis of quantum mechanics should read as absolute bliss to any sci-fi fan. The Martian sociopolitical structure that Bear builds for the book is fascinating, and the character of Casseia Majumdar is among the most compelling protagonists in the history of sci-fi stories set on Mars.
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‘Red Planet’ (1948)
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Robert A. Heinlein is widely remembered as one of the biggest names in the history of English-language science fiction, a true titan of the genre that’s sometimes called the “Dean of Science Fiction.” Though he’s perhaps best known for novels like Starship Troopers, one of the best Hugo Award winners of all time, the YA gem Red Planet is also one of his best books. In it, two young boys and their smart Martian pet uncover a corrupt corporate plot to cancel the seasonal migration of Earth colonists.
Red Planet is a monument to everything that Heinlein did best: writing about hyper-competent young protagonists fighting authoritarianism in a compellingly-built world. Written before scientists discovered that Mars was a cold, dry, airless desert, Red Planet imagines its eponymous location as a beautiful yet rugged frontier-like place, making this a very unique kind of space Western.
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‘Mars’ (1992)
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Ben Bova‘s six Hugo Awards came in the Best Professional Editor category for his work in Analog Science Fiction and Omni, but he was also an author. He wrote the incredible The Grand Tour series, whose fourth installment is aptly titled Mars. It follows a team of astronauts on the first crewed mission to Mars, as they face harsh environmental dangers and political infighting.
This is one of the quintessential hard sci-fi novels about the Red Planet, a cornerstone of modern hard sci-fi, highly informed by Bova’s background as a former aerospace industry executive. Written with tremendous technical and scientific accuracy, as well as an admirable attention to detail in the story’s character arcs and political themes, Mars is a book that any and all lovers of space sci-fi should read at least once.
6
‘Out of the Silent Planet’ (1938)
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There’s really not much of a question as to what C.S. Lewis is best known for, seeing as his Narnia series is among the most iconic fantasy book series of all time. However, Lewis was highly accomplished outside of Narnia too, as proven by gems like Out of the Silent Planet. In it, a Cambridge academic is kidnapped and taken to Mars, with his captors plotting to offer him as a sacrifice to the creatures who live there.
Published 12 years before the first Narnia book, it was the first chapter in Lewis’ Space Trilogy, and it’s perfect for those who prefer their science fiction more old-school and philosophically charged. Full of the same theological themes that would go on to fill Lewis’ most notorious book series, Out of the Silent Planet is a powerful rejection of the materialistic and expansionist science fiction that dominated bookstore shelves back in 1938.
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‘A Princess of Mars’ (1912)
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Edgar Rice Burroughs was an essential cornerstone of modern science fiction and pulp fiction, the creator of one of the most iconic characters of the planetary romance genre: John Carter of Mars. He was featured in 11 books from Burroughs’ Barsoom series, starting with A Princess of Mars, about a Civil War veteran who’s transported to a dying Mars and must rescue a princess to unite the planet’s warring tribes.
Saying that A Princess of Mars is one of the best planetary romance books of all time would arguably be the understatement of the century, because it may very well be the single most foundational and influential book the genre has ever seen. Originally serialized under the title of Under the Moons of Mars, it’s a delightful swashbuckling adventure which basically invented the entire sword-and-planet subgenre.
- The Wachowskis’ 1999 film won four Academy Awards, including Visual Effects and Film
Editing. - Bullet time was shot with a rig of roughly 120 still cameras firing in sequence around the
actors. - Keanu Reeves trained in martial arts for about four months before a frame was shot,
recovering from neck surgery the whole time. - It opened the same year as Fight Club and eXistenZ, in a run of films about not trusting the
world in front of you.
- Mad Max: Fury Road won six Academy Awards in 2016, more than any other film that year.
- George Miller storyboarded the entire film as roughly 3,500 panels before there was a
script. - The chase was shot almost entirely practical in the Namib Desert, with real vehicles and
real stunt performers. - Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth carried the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in 2024.
- Blade Runner 2049 won Roger Deakins his first Oscar for cinematography, on his fourteenth
nomination. - The film also took Best Visual Effects, 35 years after Ridley Scott’s 1982 original.
- Villeneuve shot it on large-format film and kept the fog and rain practical on set wherever
he could. - Three short films by Luke Scott and Shinichiro Watanabe bridge the 30-year gap between the
two movies.
- Denis Villeneuve’s Dune won six Academy Awards in 2022, including Cinematography and
Original Score. - Hans Zimmer turned down Christopher Nolan’s Tenet so he could score Dune instead.
- Dune: Part Two arrived in 2024 and brought in Austin Butler, Florence Pugh and Christopher
Walken. - David Lynch’s 1984 version and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unmade one are both their
own legends by now.
- The 1977 original won six Academy Awards plus a special achievement award for sound effects.
- John Williams’ score was recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra and became the
best-selling symphonic film soundtrack ever. - Andor took the galaxy somewhere colder and earned Emmy nominations for drama series in both
seasons. - The saga now runs across eleven feature films and a growing shelf of series on Disney+.
4
‘Red Mars’ (1992)
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Kim Stanley Robinson‘s Mars trilogy contains three books that are widely remembered among the most important and influential in the modern history of science fiction set on Mars, and that’s for good reason. Red Mars was the one that started it all, following a group of scientists who arrive on Mars to establish the first human colony, but corporate exploitation and political conflicts spark a violent revolution.
This is one of the best sci-fi book trilogies of all time, and it’s also among the ones that arguably peaked with their first entry. The winner of the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1993, Red Mars set an unprecedented new standard in terms of the scale, level of detail, and intellectual depth expected of hard sci-fi stories about our intergalactic neighbor. It’s scientifically detailed, politically complex, and incredibly entertaining from start to finish.
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‘Red Rising’ (2014)
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Pierce Brown‘s Red Rising Saga is among the most acclaimed science fantasy book series of the 21st century, and while most of its installments are sprawling space operas spanning the entire Solar System, its inaugural chapter is almost entirely set on Mars. 2014’s Red Rising is about a low-caste miner who infiltrates the ruling elite to destroy the empire from within after the execution of his wife.
It’s one of the best sci-fi books of the last 15 years, a dystopian YA epic that’s unlike anything else the genre has ever delivered. People whose favorite part of sci-fi set on Mars is the scientifically rigorous hard science fiction are probably better off looking elsewhere. However, those interested in a fast-paced, kinetic, viscerally action-packed revenge tale set on the Red Planet are bound to love Red Rising.
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‘The Martian’ (2011)
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Even though he has only published four novels to date, Andy Weir has already firmly and confidently established himself as one of the current leaders in the space of hard sci-fi literature. His sophomore outing was The Martian, about an astronaut who’s accidentally left behind and presumed dead on Mars. There, he must recur to his scientific mind and wit in order to survive until a rescue mission can be put together.
What follows one of the best opening lines of any sci-fi book is, quite fittingly, one of the best sci-fi books of the 21st century so far. It’s pure “competence porn,” a grand celebration of human resilience and scientific ingenuity that fans of hard sci-fi should find irresistibly fun and charming. With a tone that perfectly balances humor, drama, and scientific rigor, it’s no wonder The Martian has become one of the most culturally dominant fiction books about Mars ever written.
1
‘The Martian Chronicles’ (1950)
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Ray Bradbury is undoubtedly best-known for Fahrenheit 451, one of the most iconic dystopian books in history, but just as worthy of celebration is his fix-up sci-fi novel, The Martian Chronicles. It chronicles humanity’s repeated attempts to colonize Mars, the decimation of the native Martian civilization by an Earthly disease, and the final abandonment of the Red Planet as Earth destroys itself in a nuclear war.
It’s an absolutely enrapturing book, one of the best short story collections ever put together. It’s far and away one of the most culturally significant works set on Mars, and even though some sci-fi fans may prefer full-length novels, it does have a strong claim to the title of “best Mars sci-fi book ever written.” With beautifully poetic prose, some fascinating (and horrifyingly timeless) sociopolitical commentary, and a highly atmospheric vision of Mars, it’s a must-read for all science fiction fans.
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