If you write, or plan on writing space themed Sci-Fi, you must read Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith’s pop-science book A City On Mars: Can we settle space, should we settle space, and have we really thought this through? This non-fiction book takes a humorous approach to many non-humorous problems humanity will face if we ever plan on permanently expanding beyond Earth. I’ve read some reviews complaining about the tone Kelly chose to write with, and those naysayers almost talked me out of giving this book a read. I’m so glad I ignored them!
Let’s Think About Space For Real
I have enjoyed every page of this book and it has truly opened my mind to serious considerations about challenges beyond tech in space. For anyone who believes we are going to colonize Mars in the next decade DON’T READ THIS BOOK because you are already living in a fantasy and reality will only hurt your feelings. This book does not state that colonizing space is impossible. But it emphasizes the idea that we shouldn’t launch blindly into space with the notion that everything will work out if we try really hard and cross our fingers. In short, we need far more research on aspects that we have almost none. Before we let Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos captain us into the final frontier, we should establish some ground rules for these new societies beforehand.
I’m sure the Weinersmiths didn’t write a colonizing Mars book with the Sci-Fi writers as their target audience. But short of space nerds (who like having their hopes crushed), or ambitious billionaires who need a reality check, writers are amongst the most relevant audience.
Learning How to Write Science Fiction
I never intended to write science fiction. My whole Tykhe Universe began as a regular-old, Earth-based conflict that I blasting four light years and several centuries into the void. The setting of the Espial Research Site in Jillian Book II was originally set at Hyalite Reservoir near Bozeman, Montana, while I was attending MSU. I thought it would be fun to tweak the plot and transplant the setting on an imaginary world. So I did. And have spent the better part of a decade correcting my genre naivety.
I didn’t know anything about writing Sci-Fi! My research consisted of binge watching Star Wars as a child and thinking Star Trek was neat. The plan was to avoid all the science-y details and make the ERS location Montana 2.0, where residents are already familiar with the wild remote, plus extreme cold and snow. My world would be terraformed, and I’d give them some new technology. I finished the 2nd iteration of Jillian and quickly realizes that I was squandering the potential to embrace good (or at least better) Sci-Fi.
Reading Sci-Fi
My research methodology was haphazard. I read Andy Weir’s The Martian–no, I’m not going to lie. I watched The Martian, which then inspired me to read it, and all of his other phenomenal books. Just like I watched The Expanse before becoming addicted to James. S.A. Corey’s The Expanse series. I ended up reading a few other science fiction books to up my jargon. This helped a ton.
After reading more science fiction, I realized I should embrace reality too. I picked up a stack of auto-biographies from astronauts. Who better to learn about space, than the select percentage of humans who have actually been there? I then branched out to learn more about the history of space programs throughout the world. It was both incredible and startling. Let’s just say, if you still have a positive outlook on space exploration, don’t read Annie Jacobsen’s Area 51 or Operation Paperclip. Spoiler, both the US and the USSR have a lot of Nazis to thank for making it into orbit.
If you can handle the intriguing and harsh history, Annie Jacobsen is a methodical journalist with bibliographies nearly as long as her books. She is easily one of my favorite non-fiction writers. All of her books are phenomenal. Plus, you’ll learn the truth be Roswell and the “aliens” and how sometimes Top Secret info is kinda boring. Like the carefully guarded secret that the YF-12 Oxcart and SR-71 spy planes used titanium in their construction. Not the sexiest secret out there, I must admit.
Saving Time
After years of researching all sorts of random information about space and space travel, I feel much more confident about writing in my genre. But I really wish A City On Mars was written a decade ago, because it would have provided me direction and saved considerable time. In many ways it summarizes the biggest issues from astronauts and scientists. Kelly Weinersmith discusses so many topics that most narratives (or governments/investors) never consider. Yes spaceships and spacesuits are cool. Relativity and time dilation are wild. But what about the day-to-day?
Topics of A City On Mars
The book will cover everything from social structures, to solar insulation. Is it ethical to experiment on pregnant mothers or children in order to see how they will respond to low g? Who is in control of oxygen production? Should we launch old people into space knowing they are likely going to get cancer from exposure and are already at the end of their lifecycle? Is space mining viable? Why the moon’s surface is basically bits of jagged regolith that is bad for everything. The Martian soil is toxic. No matter how much you work out, you will still lose bone and muscle density in space. Farming is really difficult. Solar power is much less effective the further we get from Earth. It’s easier to build high rise housing than it is a space station. Nuclear power is the best form of energy, period. And much…much more…
Kelly Weinersmith brings humor to these topics much the same way Andy Weir intertwined compelling narrative and learning. Kelly’s husband is responsible for all the artwork, and it was both amusing and effective. If you’re wanting a deeply technical analysis (and hate cartoons), there’s an abundance of doctoral theses that will maintain an academic tone for your heart’s content.
Checklist and Conclusion
I don’t believe that every story about space or planets needs to fall into the rigidity of hard science fiction. But I appreciate a degree of realism. The void is such a opportunistic backdrop. It presents challenges unlike anything on Earth. Why ignore those challenges when they are opportunities for conflict? Remember conflict is the driving force behind captivating your audience.
If nothing else, A City On Mars can serve as an excellent checklist for your world. Why it makes more sense that lunar domes are either underground or have rock filled hulls instead of being made of pretty glass. Adopt a few considerations. All of them. It’s up to you. And for all those non-writers with a fascination with space, it’s still an excellent read that is definitely worth your time.
-Glenn Roush