Building Red: Mission Mars

by Janet Cannon (Editor), Carolyn Agee (Contributor), Robyn Andrew (Contributor)

The future is now. Technology has finally progressed to the point humankind can begin the colonization of Mars.

Governments, corporations, and rich individuals are all sponsoring groups to tackle the task of surviving and thriving in a harsh and foreign atmosphere.

It’s a test of creativity, intelligence, and social skills; of genetic engineering, breakthrough inventions, and resource conservation. The winners earn the right to incorporate their own little corner of Mars. It’s a fool’s adventure. It’s an impossible dream. It’s a risk that may cost everything, including lives.

But adventures and dreams and risks are where these stories begin.

Genres: Science Fiction

300 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2015

Reviews

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

So close and yet so far – that’s how Mars is right now. Humans on Mars is still a dream, though one that might be getting rapidly closer to reality. In the meantime, writers continue to imagine what that not too distant future will be like. Here we have 18 short stories imagining the first colonization of Mars.


First Wave by Cyndy Edwards Lively
A family gets ready to move to Mars. The chance to be part of the first colonization of Mars is a breakneck competition both for the applicants and the corporations involved. Worth killing for perhaps? Are we creating civilization or leaving it behind, the story asks.

To Dream in Color by Cyn Bermudez
Bermudez gets into the background what kind of people sign up to take a dangerous voyage to a dangerous new world. Being poor and downtrodden makes risks like that look acceptable when there is a possible payoff of a Better Life. Loved all the details of life of the future lower classes.

Exit Interview by Laura Luttrell
Sam just has his exit interview and then he is done done done with the armed forces. The interviewer is making a case for a special type of reenlistment. But the posting wouldn’t be anywhere on Earth…

Betting the Boot by Kara Race-Moore
I wrote this! I had a lot of fun giving my crew on the first manned mission to Mars a chance to cut loose and have a little fun of their own. I think it’s a given that when landing on Mars actually happens it’s going to be very well planned out by the folks back on Earth – but anyone crazy enough to sign up to go to Mars is bound to be the type to push back at least a little against the rules.

Red Camera One by Nick Nafpliotis
This story puts the “real” in Reality TV as participants on a reality show of journeying from Earth to Mars learn that in space, no one cares if you have high ratings.

Last Resort Pioneers by M. T. Reiten
Its really only a matter of time before the Ad Men get their hands on space exploration and repackage it to make it an expensive commodity that everyone will want in order to keep up with the Jones’s. Hotels on the moon and Mars seem a lot less farfetched these days, considering some of the rapid changes commercialism brought to the 20th century.

Descent by Mark Isherwood
There is a lot of time, money and effort poured into landing the first humans on Mars. Everyone focuses on the extremes of success and failure. But what if something more mundane were to happen?

Necessities of Life by Kristin Procter
A story that focuses on the consequences of our actions as a Mars colonizer makes a choice of what is, exactly, necessary for life – and what is, in these circumstances, superfluous. Excellent use of fragmented language to show the main character’s emotional turmoil.

Hell’s Deep by Lloyd Vancil
One of my personal favorites in this collection. A crew on Mars stumbles on a conspiracy that goes back for decades. Hooray for the internet and email for thwarting the men in black!

The Rustle of the Wind by Carolyn Agee
So, the colonists are going a bit stir crazy, and one in particular just wants to feel what it’s like to be outside again.

Growing Skyline by Daniel Stephen Marcus
An architect wants to be a part of building the Martian skyline. Unfortunately, he’s been assigned to a much more on the ground type job. Even worse , he’s got a terrible boss to contend with. Luckily – alcohol to the rescue!

Storm Season by Chuck Regan
The more the main character insists he’s not working for the bad guys, the more it is abundantly clear he is working for the bad guys. Worse – the kind of bad guys who cover their actions in good intentions.

Assassination at the Arcology by William Cureton
A secret Martian colony has a rather brutal recruitment process. Reminded me a lot of the Dharma Initiative.

Repetition by R. L. Andrew
A husband and wife archeology team set out to Mars to learn more about that planet’s past – and end up discovering more about Earth’s past. History, as always, repeats itself.

The Cave in Arsia Mons by Andrew Fraknoi
Dr. Fraknoi brings his real life astronomy degree to the table and makes an excellent use of it when a socially maladroit Mars colonist – who just wanted a goddamned vacation, allright? I was gonna give that rover I borrowed right back, I swear! – accidentally makes one of the most major discoveries in human history. There’s a LOT of speculation amongst the characters, and wow does it hit home. Yep, that’s exactly how’d we react.

The Trespasser by Scott Chaddon
A humorous example of Mars-as-Wild-West as two characters duke it out over rightful claims and a chunk of space rock worth a nice bounty.

The Girl Who Colonized Mars by Bethany Nuckolls
Break my heart, why don’t you Nuckolls? Here, just take it and smash it with a rock! Heart breaking story about the risks involved when a family decides to try and build something new.