Mars: A Traveler's Guide

by Ruth Nestvold

Red Planet Adventures provides customized tours on Mars. Naturally, they have been optimized for safety. Soon, satellite coverage on the planet will even reach 100%! But what happens in the meantime ... ? "Mars: A Traveler's Guide" was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in January 2008. It was nominated for the Nebula Award in 2009.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

ebook

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Ruth Nestvold has published widely in science fiction and fantasy, her fiction appearing in such markets as Asimov’s, F&SF, Baen’s Universe, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, and Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best Science Fiction. Her work has been nominated for the Nebula, Tiptree, and Sturgeon Awards. In 2007, the Italian translation of her novella “Looking Through Lace” won the “Premio Italia” award for best international work. Since 2012, she’s been concentrating her efforts on self-publishing rather than traditional publishing, although she does still occasionally sell a story the old-fashioned way. She maintains a web site at http://www.ruthnestvold.com and blogs at https://ruthnestvold.wordpress.com.

Reviews

[Graham Downs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful, funny short story about life on Mars. There's nothing else to say, really, without regurgitating the blurb (don't you hate it when reviews do that? Mine used to, but I've stopped) or spoiling the whole thing.

What stopped me from giving five stars was the front matter. I know this e-book was published in the very early days of self-publishing, but it's considered bad form to make the reader wade through loads of front matter in an e-book; it's not nearly as easy to skip through it all as it is in print. Move the licensing notes and review excerpts to the BACK, please.

[McKenzie Braaten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely very different than I am used to. It tells the story of someone visiting this planet through entries. I think this book could be used in different activities such as using context clues to comprehend, or having the students further the story on their own since it is so short.

[Aaron Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read with an original and inventive format.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent story using the device of the help section of the speaking computer to inform us of the situation and background. As to what happens next... this could have been a prequel to The Martian (though set at a later date when space tourism is getting under way).

Well done.
An instance of strong language, but forgivable in the circumstances. Entertaining and concise.
I downloaded an ebook from Instafreebie. This is an unbiased review.

[B.szoke · Rating 1 out of 5]

How in heaven's name did this get nominated for a Nebula award? There is barely anything going on here, and it's written with all the ingenuity of a teenager. I still intend to check out the author's novels, but in the very limited space she had to write, the story never really gets off the ground.

[Thomas James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever but too short.

I suppose it's my own fault for not catching that this was only a short chapter and not a full novel. Still, you captured my attention and then I felt let down when it was already over. Clever but too short. There is a potential story here about how the person overcomes the dangers of Mars to survive. Instead, they are dead already - I guess.