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The Mars Mystery

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An asteroid transformed Mars from a lush planet with rivers and oceans into a bleak and icy hell. Is Earth condemned to the same fate, or can we protect ourselves and our planet from extinction?

In his most riveting and revealing book yet, Graham Hancock examines the evidence that the barren Red Planet was once home to a lush environment of flowing rivers, lakes, and oceans. Could Mars have sustained life and civilization?

Megaliths found on the parched shores of Cydonia, a former Martian ocean, mirror the geometrical conventions of the pyramids at Egypt's Giza necropolis. Especially startling is a Sphinx-like structure depicting a face with distinguishable diadem, teeth, mouth and an Egyptian-style headdress. Might there be a connection between the structures of Egypt and those of Mars? Why does NASA continue to dismiss these remarkable anomalies as "a trick of light"? Hancock points to the intriguing possibility that ancient Martian civilization is communicating with us through the remarkable structures it left behind.

In exploring the possible traces left by the Martian civilization and the cosmic cataclysm that may have ended it, The Mars Mystery is both an illumination of our ancient past and a warning--that we still have time to heed--about our ultimate fate.

343 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

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1541 people want to read

About the author

Graham Hancock

126 books4,094 followers
Graham Hancock is a British writer and journalist. His books include Lords of Poverty, The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis (released in the US as Message of the Sphinx), The Mars Mystery, Heaven's Mirror (with wife Santha Faiia), Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization, Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith (with co-author Robert Bauval), Supernatural: Meeting with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind and Magicians of the Gods. He also wrote and presented the Channel 4 documentaries Underworld: Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age and Quest for the Lost Civilisation. His first novel, Entangled, was published in 2010.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
Profile Image for Bea.
23 reviews7 followers
February 7, 2008
This is about where I started to figure out that Graham Hancock was full of crap. But this stuff is really good fuel for the imagination.
1 review
October 29, 2013
Graham Hancock's The Mars Mystery is a nonfictional book that as titled, is a mystery. Hancock spills out secretive information that is exclusive from scientists and operations in NASA. The textual evidence will make you shiver when you here about what surprises Mars beholds.

Since this book has no story line or characters, Hancock explains the research that scientists have discovered and uncovers what the truth actually is. He starts out by laying down some background information on Mars. After he makes sure you are familiar with Mar's biome, he breaks into the very interesting and creepy information everyone wants to hear. Hancock lists and talks about multiple conspiracies that people have different opinions on. Throughout the book, Hancock stays neutral and lets you decide what is real.

Hancock uses symbols to relate facts that are similar to Earth. He describes figures, shapes, and natural formations being similar to Earth and believes there is still life on Mars. He explains myths that the common person would wonder about. The symbols used creeps you out how accurate and precise they are. He connects the past to the present in the seem-to-be ancient world. The symbols used keeps you interested on everything he talks about.


My personal intake on this book is that it has very interesting facts, but it's amazing how Graham Hancock stays completely neutral throughout the book. He gives information out to the reader but never gives his opinion on the factual evidence saying if he thinks it's real or not. This book is one of the best books that I have read because all of the facts in the book are off of another planet, and some things are unbelievable! This book gives your mind a complexity of new images. It will make you think beyond reality and create a different interpretation in your head.

If you enjoy mysterious and interesting books, then this would be a great choice for you. Don't overlook this opportunity as you could learn some very edgy facts about Mars.
Profile Image for The Overflowing Inkwell.
271 reviews31 followers
July 9, 2024
Wow this was rough.
Skimmed most of it; the Author's Note says Hancock only wrote portions of this book and it turned out that portions I enjoyed most were the bits he didn't write. Whoever read this (library!) book before me thoroughly enjoyed themselves, having written notes all over: I spent more time trying to decipher it (someone had erased it all) than I did reading the book text. They were thoroughly Raelian or similar, constantly notating 'Nibiru' and Enlil all over, and writing 'Missiles!' next to the passage debating what might have eroded the Face on Mars, lol.

Felt outdated given the possible outcomes of asteroids and the paths they might or might not take, photographs of better quality becoming available, etc. A great portion of the book is given over to descriptions of asteroids who are large enough to end life on our planet and on what those impacts would look like, which felt useless to read so I skimmed them. It felt like fear-mongering, just to scare people with something they have no control over. Of course, Hancock (and possibly the other authors?) believe that if we just came together with the power of love and magic and comradery, we as a race would develop tech to shoot down asteroids and prevent further impacts altogether.

As usual, Hancock overestimates the human race when he says post 2000 he doesn't think that we would panic if presented with hard evidence of actual aliens the way we would have in 1960. Believing something as an extension of logic--there must be more life in the universe--is quite different from seeing actual aliens crashed in their spaceship should such a thing ever occur, and I think we absolutely would go into a panic. But Hancock thinks we're mature and responsible enough to have hallucinogens freely available for any consenting adult to traipse through the Otherworld at their leisure with zero negative side effects on our society, so I suppose he would have that assessment of human behaviour here, too.

Definitely a book you can skip altogether; of the books I've read from Hancock, this one ranks right at the bottom of the pile.
Profile Image for Dominic De.
Author 8 books19 followers
March 19, 2018
For me, the jury's still out on whether the formations on Mars create a completely compelling case for intelligent activity.

But the case is sure compelling.

Whether we're looking at the Face, or the arrangement of blocks, straight sides, and lines, and mathematical relationships between them, it seems ridiculously apparent that it is man-made, or built by an intelligence.

Until more data, and functioning theories about how ancient man could have travelled that distance, my mind stays open. Hancock's 'Supernatural', along with the heritage of spiritual clarity provided by Catholic theology, paint a clear enough picture to bypass the need for aliens. It's possible, but not necessary.

As a 'species with amnesia', I think we have more digging to do. And I hope that Elon Musk shakes up our comfort zones. I think we're in for a fun ride in the next few decades.
Profile Image for Diane Rodrigues.
18 reviews5 followers
March 27, 2020
Don't believe everything you can read in this book. But some of the ideas are really fun to read, just because they are crazy.
Profile Image for Dark-Draco.
2,407 reviews45 followers
November 14, 2014
Ancient civilisations - conspiracy theories - the death of planets - physics - mathematics - what more do you want from a book? I have never read a book by this author before, but have read things that are similar, and I have a guilty secret - I love this branded mix of popular science, wild theories and dire threats for the future.

The book starts off with a discussion about Mars and why it shows tantalising evidence that life once flourished there, but it is now a dead, dusty planet. The discussion has two main parts - that the stripping of Mars' crust was due to several high impact, high velocity comet strikes and that the enigmatic structures (nicknamed 'The Face', 'The City' etc) that have been photographed by unmanned explorers, are actually artificial. As the book progresses, the science and theories focus on more on the possibility that future comet strikes could target Earth, just as they have in the past, bringing the end of the ice-age and the start of the current human civilisation (current, because these authors believe that a more ancient civilisation once ruled on Earth and they were wiped out in the accompanying flood, fire and ultimate climate change). Throw in a couple of rants about why scientists seem to overlook the obvious (!) and why governments aren't doing enough to track these near-Earth projectiles, and you have an interesting read.

I do have niggles ... less about the theories put forward, which I'm more than happy to except with an open mind and a deal of thinking, but with the structure of the book. There is a lot, and I mean a lot, of repetition. Not everything is dealt with in chronological order and it jumps about a bit, repeating itself whenever it strays too far from the original train of thought. I also hated that the fascinating photos and diagrams were never referred to at the appropriate point in the text (ie. 'refer to figure 1...'), so I ended up puzzling over paragraphs, only to find a photo a few pages on that explained it perfectly!

However, overall, I really enjoyed reading it. The authors have a clear theory that they have found evidence to support. They freely admit that it is a theory. I liked the foray into maths and physics ... its been a while ... and it is written a way that is easy to understand.

As to the overall threat to planet Earth and the exploration of Mars ... I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.
Profile Image for Alexandria.
116 reviews17 followers
July 18, 2016
In The Mars Mystery , Graham Hancock seems to express more curiosity about the possible previous life and civilization that may have inhabited Mars than NASA who are currently sending astronauts to the planet. Weird? I thought so too. Hancock uncovers a plethora of information from various scientists about Mars from the fallen Martian pieces to the famous "Face of Mars". Hancock doesn't go down the "ALIENS!" route with this book I initially thought but he does provides evidence there has been some form of life on Mars before something devastating happened on that planet.

This book is great for those who are interested in Mars and space exploration in general.

I can't wait to read more of Hancock's books after reading this one.
2 reviews
February 14, 2010
A truly phenomenal book. This book has opened my eyes to the possible fate of this planet and has made me think twice about the discoveries made on the surface of Mars. Once again, Graham Hancock has put his excellent research skills to good use and backs up his findings with sound evidence and mathmatical correlations that imply great intelligence behind these structures. I was gripped by this book and simply couldnt put it down. This is the first book i have ever read in three days
Profile Image for Lois.
250 reviews26 followers
July 8, 2007
I consider this book part of my esoteric collection. I am always searching for meaning, and although this book doesn't provide any spiritual meaning, it does give some good factual information about Mars and the planets. If you are heavily religious you might want to discount this book as it might upset your thinking.
Profile Image for Astrila.
196 reviews
June 10, 2008
I really like Graham Hancock. He's probably the most famous archeo-astronomer, and his documentaries are great, too. This book seems to be reaching at times, but he seems to realize that and just offers his analysis without forcing belief. Very interesting analysis of the Martian pyramids. A must read for archeo-astronomers.
Profile Image for Ken.
536 reviews6 followers
November 11, 2014
This book views Mars as a corpse for astronomers to study. It was once capable of sustaining life, but a massive comet "killed" it, resulting in the dead planet we now see. The rest of the book is a detailed analysis of the comet threat facing the Earth - apparently we're overdue for one - and urges us to take action to watch the skies and put our technology to use to prevent it.
39 reviews3 followers
January 20, 2019
The research is well done, but the side tracking and focusing on asteroids and comets was a bit much

I am usually a big fan of Graham Hancock, but was kinda disappointed with this book. He brings out the questionability of NASA , which at this point everyone knows it only released information with a sieve and the validity of what's released is questionable as well.
1,157 reviews11 followers
February 5, 2016
I love Graham Hancock, because he forces me to think. I think he is a little far out there on this one though! The conclusion is that there was a civilization on Mars that ultimately came to Earth. Huh?
3 reviews
November 28, 2017
An interesting book. However the whole "mars mystery" part ends after the first 200 pages (as many readers have mentioned). The next 130 pages can be labelled as the comet mystery. I enjoyed it though.
Profile Image for Bryan Elkins.
22 reviews12 followers
January 7, 2009
Oh man, once again, the body of evidence is overwhelming, it just took this guy to put it all in one place. Again!
This book scared the shit out of me.
9 reviews2 followers
January 12, 2010
Awesome! Really interesting if you are into ancient civilizations/questioning the universe :o)
Profile Image for Sharon.
285 reviews4 followers
June 13, 2012
It's a deeper then usual, more science jargon then usual Hancock speculation of what happened to kill Mars.
Profile Image for Fr. Thomas Sandberg.
31 reviews
May 12, 2013
good start detailed middle interesting final. beware the Gnosticism snuck in there outta left field. definitely not what I thought the book was about.
Profile Image for Margaret.
22 reviews
July 2, 2012
"Comets really do hit planets..." Mars het deurgeloop, die Maan ook en meer onlangs Jupiter. Wat laat ons dink dit hou nie 'n dreigende gevaar in vir ons nie?
Profile Image for Othello Gomes.
Author 2 books18 followers
May 30, 2021
Really intriguing to see multiple perspectives, especially that of a reporter's/journalist's on the anomalies and mysteries of Mars.
Profile Image for Ddwfly.
43 reviews2 followers
June 17, 2025
📚 The Mars Mystery – Graham Hancock
Menguak Misteri Mars dan Koneksi Rahasia ke Bumi

Dalam The Mars Mystery: The Secret Connection Between Earth and the Red Planet, Graham Hancock mengeksplorasi kemungkinan bahwa peradaban kuno di Mars pernah eksis sebelum planet tersebut mengalami kehancuran global. Melalui analisis struktur aneh seperti Face on Mars dan formasi di Cydonia, Hancock berargumen bahwa fitur-fitur itu bisa jadi peninggalan makhluk cerdas, bukan sekadar kebetulan geologis.

Ia memperingatkan bahwa misteri Mars tidak hanya menyimpan kisah masa lalu planet itu, tetapi juga menjadi cermin bagi nasib planet Bumi sendiri. Jika manusia tidak belajar dari bencana kosmis yang mungkin melanda Mars, kehancuran serupa bisa terjadi di Bumi.

Gaya penulisan Hancock sangat cocok bagi pembaca yang terbuka pada hipotesis non-konvensional. Ia menggabungkan narasi sejarah, mitologi, dan sains spekulatif dalam satu alur yang berani. Bagi kamu yang menyukai eksplorasi seperti arkeologi luar angkasa, buku ini menghadirkan perspektif segar yang menantang pemikiran arus utama.

Lebih dari itu, The Mars Mystery juga menyinggung kemungkinan adanya hubungan rahasia antara Mars dan Bumi—sebuah ide yang tidak hanya menarik bagi ilmuwan alternatif, tetapi juga bagi siapa saja yang haus akan pemahaman baru tentang asal-usul peradaban.
252 reviews7 followers
June 8, 2022
I first read The Mars Mystery 20 years ago and like all of Graham Hancock's books, it's worth rereading.

The orbiters of the 1976 Viking lander missions to Mars detected a face-like feature on the surface in the Cydonia region which suggested that it might be artificial. The book discusses the Face and the other surrounding features that also suggest artificial origins. The face-like mound being artificial is controversial with most of the astronomy community saying it's a natural feature. The book features compelling data that it's not.

In addition to the Face there are two nearby compelling features as well, a circular structure named the 'tolus' and the DM (Di Pietro Molenaar) pyramid.

The book mentions the fractal analysis work of computer scientist Mark Carlotto, which was also discussed in Carlotto's book "The Cydonia Controversy". Having seen various images of the Face over the years what's most compelling is that it's a highly symmetric with rectilinear features. Natural features do not draw straight lines as can be seen in all images of the feature. All natural forms are fractal which this feature is definitely not.

Hancock makes an ironical point re: the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence. SETI had been searching the electromagnetic spectrum for 50 (now 60) years looking for a signal and has never detected anything. In a bit over 20 years of sending probes to Mars some very compelling physical things have been detected. The astronomy community continues to cling to the SETI approach.

The book also suggests a coverup by NASA which would not surprise me since all government agencies are fundamentally dishonest.

The book addresses a larger issue as well; that Mars seems to have been 'killed' by a giant comet or asteroid impact. This explains why roughly the northern hemisphere is around 2 miles lower than the approximate southern hemispher; the oceans and atmosphere and the upper crust were blown off into space.

My opinion is that the evidence at this point strongly suggests that the Face and surrounding area are artificial. They may not be but we really should take a much, much closer look.
Profile Image for NHC Gonzo Division.
31 reviews2 followers
July 1, 2020
We’ve long suspected Mars may have once harboured a civilisation like ours. We know now it certainly harboured water/life in its past. If there was a civilisation on Mars then this book portrays all the evidence that would suggest such a thing. All presented scientifically and openmindedly. A very interesting read that will expand your mind across the cosmos, and across the epochs of human existence. I adore Graham Hancock, he achieves very important work despite all the opposition from stuffy dogmatic academic types. This is the sixth book by Hancock that I’ve read, and I recommend them all. If you’re not familiar with the author start at ‘Fingerprints of the Gods’ and work your way from there...
Profile Image for Omar Caccia.
69 reviews
August 1, 2019
La parte iniziale sulla storia delle missioni spaziali è interessante. La parte sulla geometria sacra anche. Il tentativo di dimostrare che tale geometria sacra ricorre in costruzioni marziane che sarebbero, secondo l'autore, di origini artificiali e costruite per "lasciare un messaggio" a noi esseri umani è ridicolo. Il libro è del finire degli anni 90, ricerche successive hanno mostrato che non c'è niente di misterioso nel misterioso "volto di Marte" o nelle pseudo piramidi di Cydonia. Ciò non toglie che Marte continua ad affascinarci ancora oggi. Per chi volesse approfondire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwl4S...
702 reviews2 followers
May 20, 2023
like many books on non-mainstream ideas, the author starts out strong and present fascinating information that truly enlightens. After that, a lot of material not necessary and not as well convincing is included and the arguments get weaker. Despite that tendency, there are some important ideas presented by Hancock here and in other books that I think deserve attention. I recommend the book, and Fingerprints of the Gods to those who like to stretch their minds.
1 review
March 23, 2022
Although some of the concepts presented in the book can now be scientifically rebutted such as the "Face", other arguments presented are fascinating and echo Hancock's other works about ancient
civilizations. He goes in depth into the some of the anomalies that surround Mars that are still relevant today.
Profile Image for Jamie.
14 reviews
March 25, 2023
The information is out of date in 2023, however the warnings about Near Earth Objects is relevant. The mysterious cataclysm of Mars needs to be studied if we are to avoid one here on Earth. We have the technology, but only lack the will to enact it in order to prevent such a disaster to our own planet. Indications of Intelligent Design gives evidence that there was an intelligent species on Mars at some point and the astronomically small odds of those occurring naturally are an indication that we should pay more attention to the meteors and asteroids Earth has a chance of colliding with.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews

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