Shadow Over Mars

by Leigh Brackett

Nemesis From Terra

Rick Urquhart was going to conquer the turmoil-ridden planet of Mars. He was penniless and unknown, but there could be no doubt that he would rule the Red Planet-the ancient Martian mystic had made the prophecy, there was no way fate could cheat him of his prize.

But there were powerful interests on both Earth and Mars who didn't believe in prophecies-and they were going to undo Rick's future before it had a chance to begin....

Genres: Hugo Awards, Science Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Fantasy

128 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Leigh Brackett was born on December 7, 1915 in Los Angeles, and raised near Santa Monica. Having spent her youth as an athletic tom-boy - playing volleyball and reading stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs and H Rider Haggard - she began writing fantastic adventures of her own. Several of these early efforts were read by Henry Kuttner, who critiqued her stories and introduced her to the SF personalities then living in California, including Robert Heinlein, Julius Schwartz, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton - and another aspiring writer, Ray Bradbury.

In 1944, based on the hard-boiled dialogue in her first novel, No Good From a Corpse, producer/director Howard Hawks hired Brackett to collaborate with William Faulkner on the screenplay of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep.

Brackett maintained an on-again/off-again relationship with Hollywood for the remainder of her life. Between writing screenplays for such films as Rio Bravo, El Dorado, Hatari!, and The Long Goodbye, she produced novels such as the classic The Long Tomorrow (1955) and the Spur Award-winning Western, Follow the Free Wind (1963).

Brackett married Edmond Hamilton on New Year's Eve in 1946, and the couple maintained homes in the high-desert of California and the rural farmland of Kinsman, Ohio.

Just weeks before her death on March 17, 1978, she turned in the first draft screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back and the film was posthumously dedicated to her.

Reviews

[Gabi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gladly give this 1 star as the worst written SF book I've ever read. Filled with talk in platitudes, women referred to as babe or girl and of course falling in love with the hero after 5 minutes. I think I've never really understood what bad pulp means until reading this hot mess.
My only explanation why this showed up on the retro Hugo award list is that they went for author gender above quality.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally reviewed at Fantasy Literature

Shadow Over Mars (1944), also sometimes reprinted as The Nemesis from Terra, was the first full-length novel by space opera author Leigh Brackett. (“Full-length” is relative here, though, as Shadow Over Mars is quite short, only 145 pages in the edition I read.) It is currently in the running for a 2020 Retro Hugo for Best Novel.

The book begins with the hero, Rick, running through a Martian city, trying to evade the agents of the Terran Exploitations Company, who want to press him into slavery in their mines. He ducks into the home of an old woman, who prophesies that she has seen his “shadow over Mars,” and then promptly tries to kill him. The prophecy, which is interpreted to mean that Rick will become the planet’s ruler, makes him a threat to both the colonizing Company and the moribund Martian royal family.

Racism rears its ugly head early on. The Company’s goons are black apelike creatures, rumored to have degenerated from human beings, and colloquially called the “black boys.” Yuck. After meeting these fellows, it’s almost a relief to encounter the dangerous Jaffa Storm, who is also described as black. Sure, he’s the villain, but at least he’s a human, and an intelligent one. (Side note: Storm is said to have been burned black by the sun on Mercury. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to take this literally — if Storm is actually a white guy who just got that sunburned — or if it’s a metaphor for how people evolve with darker skins in sunnier climates. I think it might be the former, based on the little I know about her later hero Eric John Stark.)

As for Rick, his full name is Richard Gunn Urquhart. This is repeated many, many times, and apparently there is a part of me that is 12 years old, because I never quite got over the fact that the guy’s name is basically Dick Gun. The only way to make him more macho would be to surname him Axebodyspray. And oh, is Rick macho. He bulls his way through the action-packed plot by being super tough, both in combat and in endurance of pain. (Not to mention what starts to seem like his signature move, jumping out of moving vehicles.) Two different “dames” fall madly in love with him shortly after meeting him. Very, very macho.

I found myself in the strange position of rooting for him as a person, to escape slavery and stick it to the Company, but not particularly wanting him to end up ruling Mars. He doesn’t have any idea what he’d do with that power if he had it. And is the toughest guy on a planet necessarily the best person to lead it? Somewhere in the second half of Shadow Over Mars, it started to feel like Brackett was asking this same question. The ending, which I thought was perfect and true to the character, seems to support that.

The setting is sparsely described, until it’s not. Let me explain. Brackett’s Mars, especially in the early going, is so light on description that I wondered if there were certain assumptions that a 1944 reader would bring to the book to fill all that in. The answer is yes! (I looked it up.) There was at that time a “consensus Mars” (also a consensus Venus), somewhat based on what the scientific community believed back then, and a reader picking up a book about Mars would already “know” what to imagine. But then Brackett will sometimes drop a really striking image into the story, painting a vivid picture in few words — such as an ancient castle, now crumbling and surrounded by desert, slowly filling up with sand.

Around the time I first noticed “Dick Gun,” I amused myself by imagining that Brackett was actually parodying the uber-macho adventure story. I don’t think that’s literally true, but what I do think is possible is that she had to write something conventional and “masculine” in order to break into the male-dominated SF market at the time, and once she did, she was more free to write what she wanted. Reviews I've read of her later work suggest a Brackett who developed both men and women beyond gender stereotypes, at least more than was common at the time; questioned violence as a universal solution; and wrote in an elegiac way about dead or dying civilizations.

These elements lurk beneath Shadow Over Mars, or maybe occasionally bubble to the surface, and give the impression of an author who was better than this particular book. Shadow Over Mars itself is kind of cheesy (and has some jarring racism in it), but I would be interested in reading some of Brackett’s later work to see how she developed as a writer.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a retro-Hugo winner that perhaps is more famous because the author went on to write Empire Strikes Back (easily the best of the Star Wars movies) than for this book that just was a bit too dated. I mean, it did not age very well. The travels across Mars are not all that convincing even if there were a few interesting moments. Honestly, I was skimming a bit. I'll still give her 3* for effort as it was clearly a difficult thing to be taken seriously as a female sci-fi writer (just ask Alice Sheldon!) back in 1944!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I didn't read this edition, I read the version in the internet archive originally published in the magazine Startling Stories #7, Fall 1944. Brackett was most prolific as an SF author from 1940-1955 (published in the pulp magazines) and, with C. L. Moore, is one of the SF's earliest female authors. Shadow over Mars seems to be her first SF novel and it very much part of the Golden Age in substance. It's part of the space opera sub-genre and is grouped in a further sub-genre of planetary romance (like Edgar Rice Burroughs Martian books). The science in it is that of time period: Venus is a swamp planet and Mars is a desert, both habitable. It has similarity to Burroughs's Martian series with a multitude of Martian races - variety of body types, colors, and physical attributes like fangs, fur, and wings. It has the 1940's typical conceit that humans are better than the older, degenerative Martian races ("Marshies"). The villains of the story are Earth/Venus humans that want to exploit Mars and its peoples; the heroes are good Earth humans who know the natives need Earth human leadership. A point in Brackett's favor is that the Martians are reluctant in accepting Earth human leadership. Stylistically Brackett used language I normally associate with noir and I kept hearing the book's hero Rick as Humphrey Bogartt when speaking to attractive female characters, the human Mayo and the Martian Kyra. I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (Lit Life "classic by female author") and the 2020 Retro Hugo nominations (Best Novel).

[Norman Cook · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book from a scanned copy of its original publication in Startling Stories, Fall 1944, on archive.org. This book was reprinted in 1961 under the title The Nemesis from Terra.

This is a pretty standard space opera, fast paced and without a lot of introspection. The hero is able to get into and out of any kind of difficult situation without trouble. Of course, there's a romantic triangle to untangle, as well as a snarling villain. If you want to turn off your brain for a couple of hours, this is an imaginative, entertaining story; but don't expect great literature.

[Sergio Mars · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cinco relatos y una breve novela, la que da título al volumen (y a la que le fue concedido el premio retroHugo de 1945), que se inscriben en la historia del futuro del Sistema Solar de Leigh Brackett. Historias de aventura, con no pocos elementos tomados prestados de la mitología del salvaje oeste, aunque revestidos con el sentido de la maravilla de la space opera de la Edad de Oro. Historias generalmente simples, aunque bien contadas. Al final no se esperaba más de este tipo de ciencia ficción: que entretuviera y que hiciera soñar con un Marte exótico, antiguo y misterioso, habitado por razas ancestrales y donde un hombre decidido podía labrarse su propio futuro. Objetivo cumplido.
Reseña completa en: https://rescepto.wordpress.com/2020/1...

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3424586.html

Fairly standard but well executed pulp planetary romance / space opera, with desert Mars, swampy Venus and our hero overcoming evil Earth industrialists and perhaps a bit of commentary on colonialism as well.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prophecy has said that Richard Urquhart will cast his shadow over Mars. He just to avoid getting killed until then.

Brackett's strange tale is in part high fantasy, grungy detective noir and pulp science fiction, but blends together well to create an excellent view of Mars.

[Daniel Siegel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Dune, if it were written by a 10-year-old. Hard to take your Tough Guy Action Hero seriously when he keeps yelling "Golly!" every five minutes. Obviously the leading lady falls hopelessly in love with him literally immediately after they meet, and by the way her name is "Mayo". Really bad!

[Dave Bossert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short book and felt very rushed. It also had the feel of a 1950s SciFi movie if you like that kind of vibe. I just had trouble believing that a human and a Martian woman would fall in love with the lead character at first site ... it just didn't seem plausible.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads like a 1960s screenplay, which doesn't surprise me since Bracket was a screenplay writer. The world is interesting, though less "realistic" because it is based on Mars having been populated by martians long before humans arrived, which probably washed in 1961 but today is less compelling. The plot outline is ok, but the book doesn't buy the belief in it with enough character development. The romance is ridiculous. Literally one character falls in love instantly with the hero. Its James Bond-style romance - the girls just love the hero despite literally no reason to.

I tracked this down and read it to completely my Hugo award winners but I figured it wouldn't be great given it was not available except through a print on demand publisher.

[James Knupp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brutal to read honestly. This is another Hugo winner, and I could forgive it winning an award as a product of its time, but this won a retro Hugo in 2020. I gotta ask how? The main character, Rick, is so unlikable and not in a "flawed and realistic" way, he's just genuinely an asshole. The love interest, Mayo, falls in love with him so damn fast, literal declarations of unending love within hours of meeting him and having no conversations of note. Rick's motivation swings wildly back and forth and his decision at the end makes no sense given what built up to it. The only redeeming things to this for me are the internal politics of Mars, which gets swept away pretty quick, and the diverse alien races and their customs.

[Matthew Brand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a product of its time. I feel like the world was very well developed in the author's head, but was constrained by the publishing of the times where it was published in a magazine. It easily could've been a 500 page book to more fully develop the world and characters. As it was, it jumped around startlingly quickly. A bit of a trope with the love story where he barely meets the woman and instantly falls in love.

[Howard Brazee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in 1944 its main character spent his life as a spaceman in our solar system. Mars had old, old races, but humans had power. It is ready to revolt from the businesses ruling it. We read about telepathy and fighting and cigarettes and love.

Modern might know the author better as a screenwriter (her last work was The Empire Strikes Back).

[Sieglinde · Rating 3 out of 5]

This to me was a very outdated story. It follows an ambitious young man who finds himself the subject of prophecy. We learn that he is not unselfish and ma not be the best ruler of Mars. This is a fantasy rather than SF. I found some of the characters well drawn but others were skimped on

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is fine. It moves fast and has lots of action but I never really cared about any of the characters. What earned it 3 stars instead of 2 was that I liked how it questioned whether Rick was fit to lead Mars after it was won, just because he was the one to do it.

[Elenaran · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting idea for a book, but very poorly written.

[Seth Heasley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun "Planetary Romance" reminiscent of the John Carter series, with a nice Han Solo kind of main character.

[Mary Castleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a little hard to follow but interesting.

[Guy Worthey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book itself was full of glitches. I fear that I did not get an authorized copy, but some kind of pirated copy.

[Michael J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't impressed. Dragged. Could barely keep my attention.

[Alotor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is famously the "worst" Hugo winner, and really wasn't that bad. It's a quite straightforward story but I enjoyed the writing even if it was at times a bit confusing.

[Kitty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty short, and mostly action. It took me a while to understand the world. The hero was annoying, but I guess it was a product of its time.

[Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hugo Quest 2020-2024: Ranked #80

Awful Old Misogynistic Pulp Sci Fi with a Darrow Prototype and the Debut (?) of Space Worms!

This is #65 in my quest to read every Hugo-winning novel: this won the Retro-Hugo for 1945. Though it was short, I found it pretty hard to get through! I had to keep reminding myself that the book is almost 80 years old and that sci-fi standards were different then. I understand that Brackett's writing got better over time (including in her contributions to The Empire Strikes Back), but this book is pretty cut-rate pulp fiction at this point. Here are my thoughts:

*Brief Synopsis: Set in Brackett's Solar System of a dusty old Mars and a jungle-ridden Venus, this is the story of Rick Urquhart and his ill-conceived quest to rule the Red Planet. Rick escapes from the mines of the oppressive Terran Exploitations Company with the spy-turned-slavish love interest Mayo, unites the collapsed Martians with the disaffected Terrans, overthrows the Company, undertakes a whirlwind quest to rescue Mayo (of course) from his telepathic arch-enemy, and basically overcomes a whole slew of dangerous situations with his unending supply of misogynist bravado and his surprisingly well-stocked reserves of energy for "one last feat of strength." (Spoiler Alert) At the very end, his personality and motivations do a 180-degree flip and he decides he's not actually all that interested in ruling Mars anyway.

*Complaints: I won't go too far into this, since a lot of it's been covered in what I wrote above. The book was flat and surprisingly tough to get through given how short it was. I didn't like a single one of the characters, and the constant "man strong, weak woman loves man" message was pretty tough to take. And the last-minute change-of-heart that Rick experienced was SUCH weaksauce writing; I was super exasperated by the cheap, shoddy plot device tacked on right at the end just to end the story. There actually isn't too much that's good to say about this book, but I'll share what I've got below.

*What I Liked:
-First of all, it's pretty important to remember where Brackett falls in the long tradition of authors who use Mars as their muse. This book came out 30 years after Burroughs' "Princess of Mars" and about 10 years after Flash Gordon's debut and it preceded similar iconic works like Bradbury's "Martian Chronicles" by 5 years. So this was far from the first time that audiences read about a nearly-naked (or, just as often, fully-naked) barbarian slashing his way across the rusty red landscape and abandoned alien cities, dragging a soppy and just-as-naked love interest behind him. In that sense, this book is a window into Martian-based pulp fiction of the era. It's not fun to read now, but it is representative. Rick's character also fits squarely in the tradition of (better-written) desert planet warlord characters like John Carter (who preceded him) and Paul Atreides & Darrow of Lykos (who both came later). There are strong parallels between all of them, most notably Darrow. The Company's mineral exploitation of Mars is also a now all-too-familiar sci-fi theme from Red Rising, Dune, Avatar, Star Wars, etc.
-Space Worms! I would have said that Dune was the original debut of a massive, nasty Space Worm, but Brackett beat him to the punch here! I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that she was responsible for The Empire Strikes Back's space slug. I just did some cursory research and I can't find an earlier reference to Space Worms than 1945, so for the moment I'm gonna give Brackett the win--she may have pioneered one of the great monsters of the science fiction pantheon!
-Another Good Monster Moment: My favorite vignette in the whole story was Rick's face-off with the ancient Flowers of Valkis who released a sensual perfume to make Rick hallucinate and then guide him down to their lair, where he would become fertilizer. They were really cool siren-inspired monsters--Chapter 13 is the most worth reading!
-Quotes I liked: " He's going to own all Mars in a few years, because of that cursed ore he discovered. Money will make such a big noise in the Government's ears that any yelling the people do won't amount to a penny whistle in a hurricane. And Mars will be just as dead, either way it goes."; "You don't know what it is, Rick, to be young in a dead city, with nowhere to look but back!"; "We're moving heaven and Mars..."

All in all, this is a representative look at an era of sci-fi to which we can all happily bid farewell. That said, the space worms and the siren flowers were good enough to add a second star. :) I'll never read this book again, but it's one more book down on the road to finishing all the Hugos!

[Jonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the earliest releases to win the Hugo award for best novel (though given retroactively). It's not bad, though pretty bare-bones. The story is short, changing settings rapidly. From a mine to an alien drug den to the martian surface to a corporate office. It's an interesting world Brackett crafted here, although I suspect it was tropey even in 1945.

The protagonist, Rick Urquat, isn't really a good person, but is framed as such. One of those kind of stories, where all the women fall in love with him, he makes out with them, does terrible things, and gets the girl. He's terribly self-important, and the weird part is Brackett never pushes back on his pride- in fact, in the conclusion to the story she affirms his vitality. Which is kind of lame.

But it wasn't bad! It's a brisk read, and fun to see what sci-fi was like in 1945. I think the Hugo's gave Brackett this award to recognize her contributions to the genre. There weren't many women writing this type of fiction back then, nor as successfully. Brackett would go on to write the screenplay for the best Star Wars movie. Kudos to her!

[Juan Sanmiguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick Urquhart is on the run on Mars. Can he stay free of the Terran Exploitations Company? What is his role in the future of Mars. A great action adventure story set on Mars.

[Jeff Roche · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leigh Brackets Mars meets film noir.

Enjoyable romp through Leigh Brackets Mars.

If you enjoyed her Stark stories you'll really like this.

You can really feel the hoary age of her Mars in her prose.