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Today, author Chris Gerrib jets in to tell us about his love for science fiction. Chris's book 'Pirates of Mars' is forthcoming from Hadley Rille Books this month...
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I love science fiction. My love started as a young boy, when I would ride my bicycle down to my small town’s tiny library, there to devour everything they had in science and fiction. To this day, I remember pages from an even-then dated book by Werner Von Braun, illustrated by the Walt Disney people, about building spaceships to go to Mars.
But as I got older, I noticed that fewer and fewer writers were talking about Mars. Much of that was because the more we learned about the planet, the more we learned it was just like Arizona except colder and with a lot less air. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Dejah Thoris would freeze and asphyxiate at the same time.
So, most science fiction writers moved on from Mars. The ones that stayed on-planet, so to speak, tended to focus on the first landing, the first colony, or some other Martian first. Which is fine, I suppose. Except people are first to do something tend to be square-jawed Dudley or Doris Do-Rights, and hyper-competent to boot.
Also known as “boring.” I wanted science fiction with unboring characters. I wanted real people, with warts, farts and bad hair days. Well, in 2001, I just wasn’t seeing that being written. So I said to hell with it, and wrote my own.
That novel, The Mars Run, came out in 2006. It’s a first novel, with all the flaws therein, but I liked the characters so much that I decided to go back to the well. My latest effort, Pirates of Mars, is pretty much what the label on the tin says it is – Pirates, Mars and the goings-on they get themselves into.
My pirates are not Jack Sparrow; for one thing, they all own soap and showers. For another, they’re not nice people. Nor are the people who fight them all 100% Dudley and Doris Do-Rights. But that’s what makes them interesting. They’re ordinary people who’ve found themselves in extraordinary circumstances.
While writing a book about his work with the Phoenix Mars mission, author Andrew Kessler learned how to tell a complicated story–insights that guided his book trailers as well.
Kessler was our guest on the Morning Media Menu today, talking about his new book and his SxSW presentation today. Kessler wrote Martian Summer, a forthcoming nonfiction account of his time working with the Phoenix Mars mission.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview: “Our idea was to mirror the process of writing the book in the videos. We got this footage from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Pretty much anyone can get this footage–you have to jump through some hoops. We took this every day office footage that could be really boring–except for the work being done at it is Mars exploration. So there’s this funny disconnect. We did the same job as the book–we wrapped a POV around the story. We wrapped it in this fun POV that lets you engage with this very complicated story in a very human way. “
So, yes, sometimes I read adult books, too. I heard Mary Roach interviewed on NPR and couldn’t wait to read Packing for Mars. You can hear the interview here. I began reading the print volume, but switched to the audiobook. Below are reviews of both.
Roach, Mary. 2010. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void. New York: W.W. Norton.
Audiobook version read by Sandra Burr. Brilliance Audio. (about 10.5 hours)
In Packing for Mars, Mary Roach proves that it is possible to be both reverent and irreverent at the same time. She gleefully lampoons space agency practices that make easy targets, such as NASA's over-reliance on acronyms (she even makes up one of her own PCLP - "person in charge of lying to the press") or the Japan space agency's requirement that isolated would-be astronauts complete 1000 origami cranes to see if they tire of monotonous tasks or get careless after the first few hundred; but despite her hilarious observations and comic "asides," she is obviously incredibly impressed and awed by the millions of hours of research, testing, and trial-and-error that accompany the seemingly most simple of tasks.
And it is the simple aspects that she investigates in Packing for Mars - body odor (did you know that some people cannot smell it?), flatulence (some foods may generate up to three soda cans full of it - and there’s no window to open!), human waste (astronauts have sometimes been plagued by floating feces escaping the hated fecal bags), drinks (imagine if your drink pouch leaked in your spacesuit and the floating spill threatened to cover your nostrils - it's happened!), food (even a few small, floating crumbs can be enough to damage sensitive equipment) - the list of possible problems is unending. Although ground-based engineering anticipates and plans for most problems before lift-off, astronauts are constantly unearthing (and overcoming) new and unanticipated zero-gravity scenarios.
Although Roach has a light-hearted, easy-reading style, she has clearly done her research. She recounts interviews with Soviet-era cosmonauts (two of them once ate a space-bound research project - onions - yum!), Japanese space agency employees, US astronauts, NASA engineers and scientists, and research subjects in experiments ranging from the effects of weightlessness (subjects lie prone for 3 months!), experimental food intake, and space suit construction. She gamely accepted any opportunities to better acquaint herself with zero gravity living. Roach traveled on NASA's "Vomit Comet," a parabolic flight that makes 28 consecutive parabolas - each providing several minutes of weightlessness. She tried out the zero-gravity toilet, the lunar landscape simulation exercise in the Canadian tundra, and for heavens sake, she even drank her own treated urine. (Human waste is a huge obstacle to overcome in space, particularly if planning a multi-year mission to Mars.)
0 Comments on Packing for Mars as of 11/7/2010 1:43:00 PM
This week my kids and I have been reading about the moon, stars and outer space. Since school is out and we have more time at home, we've been doing additional space-themed activities as time permits. Here are a few:
Sending our names to Mars: Fill out the form on NASA's website to have your name included on a microchip on the Mars Space Laboratory rover that is being sent to Mars next year. You can also check out the US and world participation maps to see how your state or country ranks. As my six year old said, "We're going to Mars!" After registering they were able to print out cool participation certificates.
(Mars, image courtesy of NASA)
Drawing pictures of the sky: This was my four year old's idea. He wanted me to help him draw stars after reading How to Catch a Star (reviewed by me here).
Making Star Finders: Another activity from NASA, this allows you to make a star finder to help identify constellations in the night sky.
(Quintuplet Cluster, image courtesy of NASA)
Checking EarthSky for information on the evening's sky. Tonight, for example, Mars will be visible just north of the crescent moon. We haven't done this (or the above activity) yet because with it being so close to the June solstice, the kids are in bed long before the stars are visible. However, we are going to a wedding this weekend and the boys will surely be up well past their bedtimes so we'll try some stargazing then.
Not a whole heck of a lot to report today. The above concept sketch is from a recent project I picked up recently. Guy watches bird, giant dinosaur watches guy - fairly simple concept, no?
I hit a brick wall in the writing of my novel last night. Suddenly everything that I write is little more than a pile of poop, stacked on top of another pile of poop. Hopefully taking a few days away from it will clear my head and help me finish this thing. I've started so many novels in the past and have ALWAYS had problems when coming down the home stretch. Some of them I ended up finishing, but absolutely hating, while others I never touched again. I really would like to finish this one - so I need to get my act together.
In other wonderful news I have this weird thing growing on my eyelid. It sort of looks like a zit, but not really - it's a bit more like Quato from "Total Recall." I keep waiting for it to grow arms and tell me that I need to "start the reactor," but it hasn't happened yet.
Steve~
0 Comments on New Project, New Sketch, Same Old Me as of 1/1/1900
Ms. Alicia said, on 8/27/2008 8:58:00 PM
Yowza. I hope the eyelid thing gets better soon.
Maybe you could incorporate that into your novel... you know, a giant physical hurdle for your character to overcome.. possibly by plastic surgery.
Hey, it would sell like hot-cakes in L.A. (wait... do people in L.A even eat hot-cakes?)
Ms. Alicia said, on 8/27/2008 9:04:00 PM
Oooh, also... I've been reading your blogs and reading your books for 2 years now!
I think there are big things in store for your career. Big things I tell you. :)
Happy friendiversary Mister Novak!! (wasn't that uber cheesy?)
In a decade or two people may set foot on Mars, though there are many technical obstacles to solve first. Actually the title is a trick question, because humans have already been to the Red Planet many times with the help of orbiters, landers, and robotic rovers. Myhusband Andrew Schuerger and I were inspired to create Messages From Marsby the many scientific discoveries and fantastic photographs taken in the past few years. We sent an international group of kids and a hoverbot on their way… to make their trip quicker and easier, the book is set a hundred years in the future. To see a live preview of the entire book, click on the cover below: To see a larger version, click on the orange eyeballs. Note to authors: For info about how to embed book previews in a blog or web site, please see the end of this post.
There was so much great information we wanted to include that the book kept getting longer and more detailed. After a few debates with the publisher, we finally came to a compromise—instead of the usual 32 pages in most picture books, it has 40 pages. For reviews, Mars trivia, and activities, please see my web site.
The lucky students who have won a trip to Mars learn many amazing facts about the planet on the way. For example, it has the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. They touch down to visit the historic sites of the Viking, Pathfinder, and the Spirit/Opportunity missions. Along the way they send emails home to share what they’re seeing. Readers who are familiar with my Postcards From Pluto: A Tour of the Solar System may recall its similar approach.
As you can see, the artwork consists of real photographs taken on the surface of Mars, with the characters drawn on top. Andy searched through many NASA, JPL, and ESA (European Space Agency) web sites to find great images to use as settings. There's a list of those web sites at the end of the book. One site that is not listed in the book gives updates about the still-workingSpirit and Opportunity rovers.Another fun one is Rock Around the World, which invites kids to mail in rocks to be analyzed using a tool similar to one on the rovers. How cool is that?
By the way, the photographs we used have already been paid for by all of us (the tax-payers, that is) and are generally free for use with proper credit, as detailed in the NASA/JPL image use policy.
Not incidentally, Andy is a scientist who does quite a bit of Mars-related research in his Mars simulation chamber. The chamber is like having a little piece of the Red Planet right inside his lab, which is located at the Kennedy Space Center. In creating this book, it naturally helped tremendously that he is so familiar with the material and knows what he is looking at in the photographs. We ran across several mislabeled images in other books, such as a photograph of Venus mistakenly included in a book about Mars.
An obvious yet often overlooked point is that the facts in nonfiction books should be carefully checked and double-checked. Mistakes can happen in a number of ways… photographs can be difficult to interpret… it’s easy to assume too much… and writers often introduce subtle (or big) mistakes when rewording something. Beware of relying too heavily only on other published books or the Internet. Some sites are very reliable, of course, such as NASA’s. Unless one is very well-informed about a topic, it’s a good idea to enlist an expert to look the project over, if at all possible. Many specialists are happy to help because they want accurate info in circulation about their favorite subject. We showed Messages From Mars to two space scientists to ensure no glitches had crept in.
Speaking of the 4th rock from the sun, did you know another lander is on its way to Mars right now? The Phoenix is scheduled to land in about three months from now, on May 25, 2008. Its mission is to study the soil and ice near the north polar ice cap to find out if the area was ever hospitable to life. While not a rover, it has a built-in camera and weather station as well as microscopes, a gas analyzer and a digging arm to go down as far as one meter. For the latest news on its progress, check here.
Photo credit: Andrew Schuerger Andy played a part in making the Phoenix photographs as accurate as possible. When it lands, Phoenix will take a picture of special colored “targets” that were photographed on Earth prior to launch. This will allow scientists to match the targets and thus get accurate colors in the Martian landscape images. But the targets need a special treatment to artificially age them before they go to Mars, because its harsh UV environment would change their color. So Andy placed the targets in his simulation chamber and zapped them to stabilize their color. Soon, the targets will be on the surface of Mars! If only we could go, too…
Note to authors: How to embed a “minibook” Any picture book available on the Lookybook site may be put on a web site or blog by anyone, not just its author and/or illustrator. Assuming a book is available (if not, ask your publisher about it), search by title or author and go to the book’s page. There will be a row of buttons under it, including Embed this Book. Doubleclick on the button, copy the code, then in Blogger’s Posting window click on Edit Html and paste the code into your post. That's it! (You have to go to Preview mode to actually see anything, it won't show in Compose mode.) A similar process should work with the various web site and blog programs. What will appear on your blog or web site is a minibook—the larger version can be viewed on the Lookybook site. I have no association with them, just love the idea that readers can see my backlist titles, even if a bookstore doesn't have a copy available for them to page through.
0 Comments on Should Humans Go to Mars? as of 1/1/1990
While writing a book about his work with the Phoenix Mars mission, author Andrew Kessler learned how to tell a complicated story–insights that guided his book trailers as well.
(reviewed by me 
That sounds wonderful. I love space pirates.