Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet

by Hugh MacColl

Mr. Stranger senior's invention propels Mr. Stranger junior on a voyage to explore the planet Mars and encounter its inhabitants.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

319 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1889

Reviews

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a heck of a lot of fun. From spaceship decapitations to yellow mars cake that turns one's skin blue (and is, assuredly, probably, totally not uranium), Mr. Stranger's adventures, both "Marsian" (with an s, how adorable is that?) and earthly are hugely entertaining. There is very little introspection about how a gentleman of England should comport himself on an alien planet, and instead there's a lot of marveling at pterodactyls and then brutally slaying them. (Awesome!) Also, do you want an empty vessel of a wife into which you can pour all of your bullshit ideals about womanhood? Well, then, do I have a blue-skinned beauty for you! It's Overly-Attached-Marsian-Girlfriend! Oh, wait, sorry, "mora fera," or literally "blue face." Yup. It went there.

Basically, at the end of this book, I wanted nothing more than John Carter of Virginia/Earth/Mars/Princess and Mr. Stranger crossover fanfic. If anyone out there is willing to oblige, I have a few specific scenarios in mind:

1) Mr. Stranger and John Carter go to Mars at the same time, but land in different places. Their stories continue apace until they realize that John Carter has fallen in love with a princess of the RED marsians, whereas Mr. Stranger has fallen for a woman from the BLUE marsians. Obviously, this means war.

2) Mr. Stranger and John Carter go to Mars together and never quite get the hang of Marsian gravity. They hop around a lot and everyone laughs and laughs.

3) Stranger/Carter, alone on Mars. Anything can happen, and probably will, if you know what I mean!

4) John Carter is in the giant arena, totally outmatched by the giant Marsian beastie, when who should come to his rescue but Stranger, in his guillotinemobile!! The day is saved/more local fauna are mercilessly slaughtered.

5) John Carter and Tee get into a sharpshooter contest in Mars's first all-planet circus.

6) John Carter and Mr. Stranger form a writing circle where they chronicle their adventures and critique each other's work.

Really, the possibilities are endless. Please respond below with a link to your completed work. Thanks!

[Christian Petrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again another Science Fiction book from the 19th Century via Singularity & Co. I found this story interesting because it was written from a time that the concepts of space and Mars were limited.

If you decide to read this book, you have to accept the fact how the author describes Mars is wrong and he uses a form of transportation that cannot exist, and is flawed. Once you accept these two items, it is enjoyable to read.

Hugh MacColl does describe certain things about space that are accurate. Also, the civilization Mr. Stranger encounters on Mars has devices that are common now, but you find it amazing that someone predicted them.

A good portion of this book feels like a travel book, as the main character explores Mars. What also helps is the author uses the 'natives' word for Mars, so you can sometimes forget it it suppose to be Mars. For something over 100 years old, the writing style is not too bad and holds up pretty well.

I find this as a great example of early science fiction and seeing how someone tried to create something that was not known at the time. If you have a chance to read this, do so from a history standpoint and ignore the false science in it.

[BJ Haun · Rating 3 out of 5]

So let's just get this out of the way from the get go: Mr. Stranger's Sealed Packet is an old book (originally published in 1889), and it reads like it. As such, expect some overly-long description of places and some implied racism.

It took me two attempts to get into this book. The first quarter of the book was enough of a slog to get through that it caused me to put the book down for a number of months. For those of you who got the book through Singularity & Co.'s "Save the Sci-Fi" Kickstarter, you will find the beginning of the book to be very similar to A Plunge Into Space. In fact, the two books are very similar plot-wise, and that may have been part of the reason why I was initially put off by this novel, as I thought A Plunge Into Space was a bit of a tedious read.

However, after the first quarter, the story picks up and it becomes more or less enjoyable. I managed to polish the book off in a few days. While I don't regret reading, I don't think it's going to show back up on my "re-read" list anytime soon.

[Paddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really enjoying this book until it decidedly took a turn for the racist. Very unfortunately this book is thick with English 'higher race' elitism and condescension towards non-white races and cultures. Good read otherwise