Dying Planet

“Dying Planet is an excellent and detailed book. For anyone seeking to understand the fascinating intertwined histories of science and science fiction, and how a ball of rock, just six thousand seven hundred kilometres in diameter and several tens of millions of kilometres away, has exerted such an astonishing influence on our imaginations, it will be well worth reading.” - Charles S. Cockell, Interdisciplinary Science Reviews

“Dying Planet is an impressive study of Mars in the cultural imagination, especially in science and science fiction. . . . Thoroughly captivating and meticulously researched, Dying Planet supplies readers with a generous bibliography of science fiction writing about Mars.” - Kent A. Ono, American Literature

“Dying Planet paves important new ground and highlights the need for more nuanced attention to the history of Mars science and its cultural significance.” - K. Maria D. Lane, Isis

“[A]n exemplary study of science fictional imaginations of the planet Mars, in print, film and radio, and the scientific theories and discoveries that inspired or disappointed readers and writers since the nineteenth century.” - Stephen R. L. Clark, Metascience

“For those looking for a highly detailed, academic and above all, comprehensive discussion of the place of Mars in our culture, this book can come as nothing but highly recommended.” - War of the Worlds Invasion

“[S]cholarly and meticulous; a valuable resource.” - David A. Hardy, Popular Astronomy

“If you have ever stared up into the heavens or through a telescope at the planet mars, then you have undoubtedly let your imagination flow to all the possibilities. Robert Markley uses his imagination while at the same time never drifting too far from the facts that science has learned about the Red Planet over the last one hundred years. Dying Planet is a good read, imaginative and informative without losing itself in too much scientific jargon.” - Lesmond, SliceofSciFi.com

"Dying Planet is a must read for all Martians and Marsophiles." - Thomas J. Morrissey, SFRA Review

"[A] compact, well detailed synopsis of the science and a insightful critique of the literature to provide an in-depth resource for understand how Mars impinges on our human psyche." - Mark Mortimer, Universe Today

"[A] wonderfully nuanced reading of the red planet's cultural history. . . . [T]his is a masterly exploration of the 'interplanetary sublime.'" - P.D. Smith, The Guardian

"[E]xtraordinarily well argued and well researched. . . . Especially strong is Markley's cogent discussion of the culturally contingent nature of scientific knowledge; especially valuable to sci-fi literary study is his comprehensive coverage of 20th-century science fiction concerning Mars, from the work of H.G. Wells et al. to Kim Stanley Robinson's monumental Mars trilogy. This is a unique and invaluable work. Essential." - R. J. Cirasa, Choice

"Fascinating. . . ." - Tony Reichhardt, Air & Space

"Markley writes about Mars as a knowledgeable outsider, weaving in cultural history and science fiction. . . . [T]here are many historical, literary, political, and cultural nuggets. . . ." - David Grinspoon, Scientific American

“Dying Planet is a work of meticulous scholarship documenting the scientific controversies and literary representations of Mars from the early Renaissance to the present. Its comprehensiveness will make it a valuable resource for literary scholars, cultural critics, and scientists interested in the cultural history of this fascinating world.” - N. Katherine Hayles, author of My Mother Was a Computer: Digital Subjects and Literary Texts

“This is both a complete literary history and an exemplary exercise in modern science studies, tracing how a particular science works over the generations to incorporate new technologies, create paradigm shifts, and understand the universe a little more accurately. By combining these in one study, Robert Markley clarifies a great deal about the poorly understood but very important relationships between science, literature, culture, and reality. He also gives us all the latest news from Mars, which keeps getting more interesting. It’s a fascinating story, and Markley is the first to tell it.” - Kim Stanley Robinson, author of Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars