Science Fiction

Stowaway to Mars

Stowaway to Mars

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  • Create Date：2022-07-25 06:52:49
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：John Wyndham
  • ISBN：0593450167
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Summary

A space opera set on Mars by one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant—and neglected—science fiction and horror writers， whom Stephen King called “the best writer of science fiction that England has ever produced。”

What if alien life-forms included autonomous， conscious machines？

An international prize is offered to the first man to complete an interplanetary journey。 For British pilot Dale Curtance， it is the ultimate challenge; he must build a ship， assemble a top-notch crew， and beat the Russians and the Americans， too。 Soon the Gloria Mundi heads for Mars。 There’s only one problem: a stowaway named Joan Shirning。

At first， the men resent Joan’s presence。 But they come to realize that she is the only one who has firsthand knowledge of the Martians—or at least the intelligent beings that will one day replace them。 。 。 。

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Reviews

Kerri ，

Review soon！

John Adams ，

Stowaway to Mars by John Wyndham is a hidden gem from this beloved science fiction and horror writer。 Read my review here。https://www。johncadamsreviews。com/sin。。。#StowawaytoMars #JohnWyndham #sciencefiction #Mars #WayBackWhensday #book #Review #Reviews #bookreview #bookreviews #JohnCAdamsReviews #JohnCAdams Stowaway to Mars by John Wyndham is a hidden gem from this beloved science fiction and horror writer。 Read my review here。https://www。johncadamsreviews。com/sin。。。#StowawaytoMars #JohnWyndham #sciencefiction #Mars #WayBackWhensday #book #Review #Reviews #bookreview #bookreviews #JohnCAdamsReviews #JohnCAdams 。。。more

Cal Brunsdon ，

In a futuristic 1985， （imagined by Wyndham in 1935）， a great prize and international fame is offered to the first man on Earth to achieve interplanetary travel， igniting a space race。 Dale， an awarded military hero and pilot， leaves his pregnant wife behind to helm a team shooting for that often-marred red planet， Mars， and things begin with relative success - until the men discover a stowaway， beaten and bruised by the impact of launch。 A mysterious woman who refuses to explain her motives。。Whi In a futuristic 1985， （imagined by Wyndham in 1935）， a great prize and international fame is offered to the first man on Earth to achieve interplanetary travel， igniting a space race。 Dale， an awarded military hero and pilot， leaves his pregnant wife behind to helm a team shooting for that often-marred red planet， Mars， and things begin with relative success - until the men discover a stowaway， beaten and bruised by the impact of launch。 A mysterious woman who refuses to explain her motives。。While an intriguing premise， and extremely prescient in its imaginings of the eventual space race and fame it brought the few of Apollo 11， Stowaway To Mars is unfortunately quite sterile， lacking a great deal of the fundamental strengths John Wyndham typically brings to a novel。 I’m inclined to believe this is due to how early in his career this was written。 For context， Day Of The Triffids （his breakthrough novel） was published in 1951， sixteen years later。 That’s not to say there isn’t some good stuff here。 I think it’s impossible for Wyndham to write a BAD book， and there’s an obvious attempt at the age old “men are from mars” debate throughout the latter section of the novel which finally gives stowaway Joan some sort of agency， but the dialogue doesn’t have that familiar sizzle， and all in all I’d say this is for classic sci-fi completists only。 。。。more

Jase ，

I haven’t read a John Wyndham book for a while， and was pleased to see a few I hadn’t read at the library。 I find that this was written in the 1930’s。With that in mind it’s remarkable how many correct assumptions are made by Wyndham。 He also develops ideas and concepts and follow them through to logical conclusions。 There is a nod to environmental issues， the sceptics calling hoax， and to some extent AI。 It may have been slightly rewritten to take in political issues。 Overall I liked it though t I haven’t read a John Wyndham book for a while， and was pleased to see a few I hadn’t read at the library。 I find that this was written in the 1930’s。With that in mind it’s remarkable how many correct assumptions are made by Wyndham。 He also develops ideas and concepts and follow them through to logical conclusions。 There is a nod to environmental issues， the sceptics calling hoax， and to some extent AI。 It may have been slightly rewritten to take in political issues。 Overall I liked it though the first contact was a little tiresome。 The ending may have been telegraphed a little， but as with all his novels it leaves the reader thinking。 。。。more

Bill ，

I've enjoyed so many of John Wyndham's Sci-Fi novels。 The Day of the Triffids， The Kraken Wakes， The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos are some of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi novels。 Over the past few years， I've discovered his earlier work and tried them as well。 Stowaway to Mars was originally published in 1935 （also under the name Planet Plane under the pseudonym John Beynon）。 It is more a typical space adventure， the journey to another planet， this time being Mars。Dale Curtance an intrepid I've enjoyed so many of John Wyndham's Sci-Fi novels。 The Day of the Triffids， The Kraken Wakes， The Chrysalids and The Midwich Cuckoos are some of my all-time favorite Sci-Fi novels。 Over the past few years， I've discovered his earlier work and tried them as well。 Stowaway to Mars was originally published in 1935 （also under the name Planet Plane under the pseudonym John Beynon）。 It is more a typical space adventure， the journey to another planet， this time being Mars。Dale Curtance an intrepid English adventurer is head of a rocket plane company and is building a ship to compete in a contest to be the first to land on another planet。 When his rocket finally takes off， with a crew of five， they discover a stowaway， a woman Joan， who has snuck onboard for her own particular reasons。 This will， of course become apparent。The story is relatively simple， the build-up to take-off， the actual take-off， the outward journey， the landing and what they discover。。。 and， well， do they successfully return？？？ For you to discover。 As I mentioned at the beginning， unlike Wyndham's later efforts， this is a simpler， more straight-forward story。 If you enjoy space adventures， classic Sci-Fi， you'll like this。 While it's not as perfected as the later works， it's still entertaining， well-paced and just a fun story。 （3。5 stars） 。。。more

Sue Chant ，

Readable but has not stood the test of time as well as his later works。

Mark Speed ，

A not-too-thrilling early novel from John Wyndham。 It was probably cutting-edge in its time but it lacks any of the tremendous feats of imagination that marked his later novels。 The only daring bit is the alien sex in the last couple of chapters。

Igenlode Wordsmith ，

This reminded me of Journey Into Space， with a very similar premise - the British Empire sends out its own rocket in competition with the Americans and the Russians - and featuring similar stock characters， but it's a good twenty years earlier， and rather more literary （as one might expect from the future John Wyndham）。 There are some very picturesque passages of writing in unexpected juxtaposition to the nuts-and-bolts SF of explaining how things work， and some distinctly unexpected choices in This reminded me of Journey Into Space， with a very similar premise - the British Empire sends out its own rocket in competition with the Americans and the Russians - and featuring similar stock characters， but it's a good twenty years earlier， and rather more literary （as one might expect from the future John Wyndham）。 There are some very picturesque passages of writing in unexpected juxtaposition to the nuts-and-bolts SF of explaining how things work， and some distinctly unexpected choices in terms of plot suspense; for instance， the author informs us in a casual aside somewhere around the middle of the book that （view spoiler）[not only do Dale and his crew get back safely， but that they subsequently die in the course of their next space flight， thus both preventing us from becoming invested in them and forestalling any tension as to whether they succeed or not！ （hide spoiler）] It's hard to imagine that this could possibly have been a careless slip on Wyndham's part， since it's information that has no bearing on the plot at that point （and it's of a piece with his drily cynical digs at the heroisms of the genre elsewhere; he seems to take pleasure in subtly undercutting his contemporary readers' assumptions）。 I suspect it may well be a deliberate signal that he is more interested in the moral/philosophical questions， of which in typical Wyndham style there is a good deal of discussion。 The frustration with women who can't or won't take any interest in the routine functioning of machinery is something that comes up in a memorable speech from Coker in "The Day of the Triffids" （where he insists that they are going to have to from now on， because it has become a question of survival rather than being a quaint affectation of helplessness）。 It crops up again here， in a novel that revolves around machine evolution and consciousness， which does make me wonder whether Wyndham had had some kind of personal experience with girls who insisted on playing the "Oh， I couldn't possibly be asked to do that！" card -- note that Joan， like all his other female protagonists， is on the contrary a practical and competent character， and that Dale Curtance， denoted by his physique as a typical hero figure， is in fact portrayed as a publicity seeker with a limited perspective both where Joan and his imperial ambitions are concerned。 He gets sidelined pretty quickly in favour of the unheroic middle-aged doctor， whose sceptical， questioning perspective appears to be the one the author identifies with; the prototype， perhaps of Dr Zellaby or Bocker in the later novels。Other memorable plot choices are having the early space pioneers suffer the fate of Laika， having Joan watch a rocket arrive only to crash fatally， having the cardboard comrade Russians as the voice of reason where space conquest was concerned， having Dale forced into the realisation that the British craft is the inferior one， and having the would-be heroes return with their tails between their legs。 It's not a great book， or great SF， but it's discernibly an ancestor of Wyndham's later speculative fiction， and a case of what happens when you apply literary awareness to the task of approaching pulp fiction material。 （And he was clearly enjoying himself satirising the British press， from newspapers called the "Telegram" and the "Daily Hail" and "Daily Excess" - Telegraph， Mail and Express - to the proprietor "Lord Dithernear"。。。） 。。。more

Harry ，

Where to start with this one？Firstly it's early Wyndham written under his original pseudonym of John Beynon and it's style is very much of the period。 It was written in 1936 but set in 1980。 The British Empire is alive and kicking， although now a Commonwealth and attitudes towards women are very old fashioned。 Minus one star for misogyny。Setting that aside the prescience of the author was astonishing。 It takes in themes of climate change， the disaster that it causes for ecology， the fact that de Where to start with this one？Firstly it's early Wyndham written under his original pseudonym of John Beynon and it's style is very much of the period。 It was written in 1936 but set in 1980。 The British Empire is alive and kicking， although now a Commonwealth and attitudes towards women are very old fashioned。 Minus one star for misogyny。Setting that aside the prescience of the author was astonishing。 It takes in themes of climate change， the disaster that it causes for ecology， the fact that despite all the evidence lots of people believe it's a hoax （see the moon landings！） and the vilification of individuals in the media。 All from the 1930s！Throw in a bit of inter species sex （yes really） and it's a cracking read。 。。。more

Ingmar Boddington ，

This book felt more dated when compared to others by the same author and the first half of the book could have been omitted without impacting the story。 Some interesting ideas mixed in with the dialogue。

Kit ，

Nowhere near one of his best but always interesting to read less well known works of good authors。

Antony ，

A book premised on sexist opinions that whilst contemprarily acceptable are so unfamiliar to the modern reader ad to make it unreadable。

Chris ，

A simple science fiction story written in 1936 so don't expect a lot of science。 The first half of the book feels like a vintage black and white film， with the second half feeling more like Edgar Rice Burroughs。 Some interesting ideas， but not really expanded on。 A simple science fiction story written in 1936 so don't expect a lot of science。 The first half of the book feels like a vintage black and white film， with the second half feeling more like Edgar Rice Burroughs。 Some interesting ideas， but not really expanded on。 。。。more

Eric ，

It is strange reading classic sci-fi sometimes。 I didn't really enjoy 90% of this book but Wyndham introduced some very interesting specualtive ideas closer to the end that I think he wrote very well about。Especially relating to independent machine evolution which Alastair Reynolds wrote brilliantly about in his "Poseidon's Children" series which I read earlier this year。Great to read some early work and see the grounding of the amazing classic science fiction to come。 It is strange reading classic sci-fi sometimes。 I didn't really enjoy 90% of this book but Wyndham introduced some very interesting specualtive ideas closer to the end that I think he wrote very well about。Especially relating to independent machine evolution which Alastair Reynolds wrote brilliantly about in his "Poseidon's Children" series which I read earlier this year。Great to read some early work and see the grounding of the amazing classic science fiction to come。 。。。more

Trevor ，

I did not enjoy this book！ First John Wyndham book I have read that was truly showing it's age。 Dated attitudes regarding women and the deadly competition between nations to explore reflect the era it was written。 Keep reading this author but I would give this a miss！ I did not enjoy this book！ First John Wyndham book I have read that was truly showing it's age。 Dated attitudes regarding women and the deadly competition between nations to explore reflect the era it was written。 Keep reading this author but I would give this a miss！ 。。。more

Bionic Jean ，

“A flash stabbed out between the tail fins。 The great rocket lifted。 She seemed balanced upon a point of fire， soaring like the huge shell she was into the blue above。 Fire spewed from her ports in a spreading glory of living flame like the tail of a monstrous comet。 And when the thunder of her going beat upon the ears of the crowd， she was already a fiery spark in the heavens。”Stowaway to Mars was written in 1935， by the author “John Beynon”， right in the heyday of the pulp era in science ficti “A flash stabbed out between the tail fins。 The great rocket lifted。 She seemed balanced upon a point of fire， soaring like the huge shell she was into the blue above。 Fire spewed from her ports in a spreading glory of living flame like the tail of a monstrous comet。 And when the thunder of her going beat upon the ears of the crowd， she was already a fiery spark in the heavens。”Stowaway to Mars was written in 1935， by the author “John Beynon”， right in the heyday of the pulp era in science fiction。 It was his second novel， and falls squarely into this genre， being only really worth reading in the context of this author’s later works。 Stowaway to Mars was first published in book form in 1936， under the title “Planet Plane”， which describes the story just as well， but is less of a spoiler。 It had been serialised in various different magazines， under each title。In 1972， three years after the author had died， the publisher settled on “Stowaway to Mars” as the title for the reissued novel。 It was then finally attributed to the author who had by now become a household name。 He was the inventor of the Triffids， had redefined chrysalids， the kraken， and the existing village of Midwich， and had written several astoundingly original and thoughtful Science Fiction novels。 He was， of course， John Wyndham。John Wyndham’s birth name was “John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris”， and he began writing at the age of 22 in 1925， after making several false starts in various careers。 By 1931 he was selling short stories and serials to American science fiction pulp magazines。 Most of this early work was published under various pseudonyms， such as the “John Beynon” of this novel， “John B。 Harris”， “John Beynon Harris” and “Lucas Parkes”。 In 1951， the writer was to use “John Wyndham” for the first time， for the novel that was to make him famous: “The Day of the Triffids”。 His pre-war writing career of pulp fiction was perhaps deliberately not mentioned in the book’s publicity， so most people mistakenly assumed that this was the debut novel of a new writer。After this success， the author kept the nom de plume “John Wyndham”， and went on to write and publish six more novels。 However， when he died in 1969， some of his unsold work began to appear， and much of his early material such as “Stowaway to Mars” was also reprinted under this more famous name。 Whether this is what he would have chosen， is debatable。 Why did he choose so many names？ Was it to keep his more serious work separate from the pulp？ Or was it perhaps to enable him to publish the same story in different American magazines， under a different name and title？ There certainly is a remarkable different in quality between the pre-war works such as Stowaway to Mars and the later ones。 The exemplary Science fiction author Christopher Priest puts it very well:“The stories that Wyndham sold before the war， the ones as Beynon or Beynon Harris， were not particularly well executed and were of their period， not giving much idea of what the writer might later become capable of producing。 They were for the most part adventure stories about rocketry， death rays， voyages to other planets， lost races living in subterranean worlds， and so on。These were， in fact， the very subjects which were to haunt science fiction writers for years to come。 Stories about Martians chasing young women wearing no more than a bathing costume and a fish-bowl over their heads created what seemed to be an obsession with unlikely scientific developments or incredible beings from other worlds。 Wyndham’s early work is not substantially different from that of other writers of the period， although some might feel they were told and written slightly better than the average stories。All the evidence is that in his later years Wyndham was uncomfortable with his early stories， even embarrassed by them。“But as pulp goes， Stowaway to Mars is not all bad。 It is superior in that it is better written than most pulp; it just has more sensational appeal than a serious novel。 The first chapter reads more like one from a guntoting gangster novel， for instance， than the quiet literary voice we recognise as John Wyndham’s。The story is about a daredevil aircraft designer Dale Currance， who is addicted to speed， and cannot resist an opportunity to create a rocket which will take him to Mars。 If he accomplishes this， he will win the prize being offered to the first man to complete an interplanetary journey。 But in chapter 1， a mysterious stranger seems determined to scupper these plans。 After a shooting， we then move to chapter 2， a domestic scene， and meet Dale’s wife， Mary。Of course Dale’s pregnant wife is horrified by the whole enterprise。 Dale had promised her that he would stop the daredevil aeronautics。 Now he is planning something far more dangerous and unknown， undertaking a journey not even to the moon， but to another planet in our solar system。 Her maid （a signal to English readers that this is a privileged upper middle class family） brings her breakfast in bed， and as she reads the news， she faints （as befits women in these types of novels）。Throughout this novel， John Wyndham polarises males and females， making males obsessed by machines， and females either in fear of them or using them reluctantly， considering them a necessary evil。 It’s not really clear why he emphasised this so much。 Was it perhaps because this is how the readership of the day saw things， so he was playing to a stereotype？ Or was he consciously raising the issue of， as one character calls it， “sex-antagonism”？ Only a few short years later， plenty of females were to be employed in the mechanical sector， for the war effort。 The fact that they were reluctant to give up these jobs to the returning male soldiers， after the war had ended， is well documented。 Whatever the reason， here we have an example of the species: machine-hating woman:“[Mary] had fled to the quiet Dorset countryside， where only an occasional gyrocurt with its white sails whirling as it sauntered along amid summer clouds reminded her of the reign of machines。This was a man’s world， women walked unhappily and fearfully among its gears and flywheels， making shift with dreams and snatching what little joy was spared them。 The machines were the hateful dictators of men and women alike。 Only men could be so dense as to think that they themselves were the rulers …“The author uses multiple points of view， although some of these are types rather than individuals。 Here he ostensibly sympathises with Dale’s wife， but the thinking behind it is misconceived。 Also， we see the omniscient narrator’s views here， with a different female character:“The part she had cast herself for was that of a young man and an equal， and she did her best to play it。”We see far more subtlety in this writer’s later work。 In fact this character， Joan， is described with more nuances。 She is a studious person， who stands apart from the squabbling men。 Joan is a far cry from the “bathing costume and a fish-bowl over their heads” female in pulp， as described by Christopher Priest。 Nevertheless， there are quite a few points where a modern reader might want to throw the book across the room。 For instance although she does not bother to find out knowing how much oxygen she has with her on Mars， she conveniently finds that she has a lipstick to write （view spoiler）[ a crucial message to the Martian she has just met （hide spoiler）] with。 She does not have a pen or pencil， or any means of wireless communication—but she does have the essential personal grooming tools—as she hastily combs her hair at one point。 Of course she does。 She’s a woman。To be fair though， the men do not fare much better in the realism stakes。 They all stand around on Mars smoking cigarettes！ Not even considering for a moment whether the planet’s atmosphere would enable this， what happened to the oxygen masks we were told they were all wearing？ Did they literally disappear into thin air？ No wonder John Wyndham was embarrassed by these early works。 This may be so-called “soft” science fiction， but it still does not excuse gaffes like that！One episode must have been quite shocking in 1935， and remains unpleasant， whatever your gender and inclination。 （view spoiler）[ Two of the crew members—the “good guys”— independently try to rape Joan。 What’s more， this is considered only natural since she was an attractive women， and: “How， with your figure and your face you can solemnly expect five normal men for twelve solid weeks to …”。 （hide spoiler）] I cannot decide who should feel more insulted by this offensive nonsense！ It is not explicitly detailed; in fact one episode happens offstage and is merely referred to， but it is unnecessary， irrelevant， and objectionable。So back to the story， which is set in the then future of 1982。 It is no spoiler to say that there is a trip to the planet Mars， even though in our fictional world， nobody has actually landed on the Moon yet。 There had been a successful manned rocket trip round the Moon by a Richard Drivers in 1969:“The story of that amazing man’s persistence in the face of a jeering world when three of his friends had already crashed to their deaths upon the Moon， and the tale of his lonely flight around it are among the deathless epics of the race。”In fact it is remarkably prescient for a novel written in in 1935， since as we know with hindsight， 1969 was the actual year of the first Moon landings。 In Stowaway to Mars， that manned space flight had led to the Kreutz prize being offered。 The American millionaire Mr。 Kreutz had said:“If man can reach the Moon he can reach the planets。”So there wasn’t really any need to land on the Moon at all， and our heroes bypass that part of the Space Race。 Big things are expected of the son of David Curtance， “the man who made the Gyrocurts—the Flivvers of the Air—the Multi-Millionaire， the world’s paramount mass-producer of aircraft”。 The world is not disappointed， and the press （headed by the wonderfully named “Lord Dithernear”） have a field day。 They have their courageous hero， and Dale Curtance picks his own team to crew the rocket。 All five men view themselves as pioneers。 The others are Geoffrey Duggan， the youthful assistant pilot and navigator， Froud， the cynical， keen-eyed journalist， James Burns， the slightly belligerent engineer， and the nervous medical Doctor Grayson—who was quite an elderly space traveller， at 56。 Plus， as we know from the title there is a stowaway。We have the machines Science Fiction authors love to invent: police gyrocurts， charaplanes， “Machines of every kind from the dainty gyrobus， all with the early morning sunlight glancing from brightly painted bodies beneath swirling white sails”。 We have plane-parks and car-parks。 And we have the rocket， sited on Salisbury Plain:“The ‘Gloria Mundi’ gleamed in the sunlight。 She towered on the level plain like a monstrous shell designed for the artillery of giants; a shapely mass of glistening metal poised on a tripod of three great flanges， her blunt nose pointing already into the blue sky whither—if all went well—she would presently leap”。Overt references are made to H。G。 Wells， Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ stories and predictions。 There are even mentions of lesser known classic SF works such as J。J。 Astors’s “Journey to Other Worlds”， or 19th century astronomers such as Giovanni Schiaparelli。 There are throwaway wry lines such as “Somebody would have to invent an automatic acceleration control”， as all the crew become unable to breathe， and pass out under the increased speed through the atmosphere。 We have macho posturing parried with sardonic wit。 It all adds to the entertainment， and is highly enjoyable。“which of the storytellers was nearest the truth[？] Wells， with his jelly-like creatures， Weinbaum， with his queer birds， Burroughs， with his menageries of curiosities or Stapledon， with his intelligent clouds？”Sometimes we seem to be on the verge of serious discussion， such as when the comparative merits of ideographic and alphabetic writing are postulated。 However， the physical journeys to Mars and back again are breezily dismissed with:“I cannot do better than to refer you again to “The Bridging of Space” which Dale has crammed with vast （and to me， indigestible） quantities of mathematical and technical information。”Granted this is for verisimilitude。 Referring to a fictitious book written by a character in the novel， reinforces the conceit that the author is telling factual events。 However， it is also a cop-out！The stowaway is not seeking publicity， but has a good scientific reason for being there。 （view spoiler）[ She is Joan Shirning， the daughter of John Shirning， a professor of Physics at Worcester University。 Her father had come by:“a metallic casing， roughly coffin-shaped and supported horizontally upon four pairs of jointed metal legs 。。。a remarkable machine which he could not understand either in principle or operation。 As far as he knew， it was unique”John Shirning came to the conclusion that it might even be a machine of extra-terrestrial origin:“a kind of remote control mechanism operated and powered from its place of origin … sent to establish communication between us and its maker， and， in effect a kind of transmitting and receiving station made portable”But it seemed to be sentient:“a machine that could think for itself”。He and Joan had managed to communicate and work with it。 Word got out， but before any proof of the machine’s existence could be made， the machine self-destructed， leaving no trace。 John Shirning’s reputation， which had been rapidly deteriorating once the gossip got out， was now at rock bottom。 John Shirning left the university， and he and his daughter tried to live anonymously， away from the ridicule。 But their work has continued， and Joan now feels that she will be able to communicate with the Martians on landing。What they find is not at all what they expect。 There are two races co-existing; one of humanoid creatures， and one of machines。 Although they cooperate， and there is no war， the humanoid race is declining。 This is an Old World， and it is dying。After an unpleasant and rather clumsily staged episode， in which one of the crew takes Joan off into the bushes to have his wicked way with her （and the others just watch helplessly） Joan is carried off by a Martian—machine variety—and meets one of the humanoids。 “Vaygan” has volunteered to meet her， in case she bears any bacteria which might infect the remaining humanoid Martians。 The two fall in love。 They have to really， given the type of book this is， and as the cynical reporter Froud said earlier， where you have a woman you have Romance。“The unexpected appearance of any girl is always Romance”。The machines on Mars repair themselves endlessly， with:“a kind of mechanical cannibalism … a kind of dream made of Lewis Carol and Karel Capek rolled together”。And what of the humanoids？ “Vaygan” is the only one we meet。 He lives in “Hanno”， the largest of the seven cities。 Before its demise， it had been home to five or six million inhabitants。 But many thousands of years ago， the water on Mars had become scarcer and scarcer。 All the Martian nations worked together to make “the great canals which kept our soil fertile for many generations”。 But this was still only a temporary measure。Joan of course is on her own when she meets Vaygan。 （This is the cue for the hair-combing vanity episode。） The inevitable predicted romance happens。 Despite the fact that she initially thought of him as a huge “queer creature”， with big ears， penetrating eyes and a red skin， （not to mention the kilt） they fall in love。 （hide spoiler）] The result is a perfect opening for a sequel。 Indeed， there was a sequel， although it is only a novella in a book of short stories。The story has been diverted on to this strange relationship， （view spoiler）[ where Joan unsuccessfully tries to learnt the Martians’ oral language， and Vaygan teaches her by a kind of mind-meld。 Other spaceships arrive， including their competitor， the “Tovartitch” of the USSR。 Typically， there is some competition as to who will place the flag， and an exciting action sequence。 Not only the Russians but also the Americans land a rocket on the moon shortly after the “Gloria Mundi”， but sadly it crashes， with all on board lost。 （hide spoiler）] Eventually the “Gloria Mundi” returns home。The ending is not particularly dramatic for most of the characters。 Indeed it rather tails off， except for a final devastating—and revealing—sentence。 （Please note， what follows is a huge spoiler）:（view spoiler）[ “Joan had died giving birth to her child。 But the tale of Vaygan’s son belongs to a different story。” （hide spoiler）]Pulp fiction is defined as “popular or sensational writing that is regarded as being of poor quality” The term “pulp” means a soft， wet， shapeless mass of material。 It derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed—throwaway reading matter。So am I going to read the sequel？ You bet I am！ Yes it has faults， and some parts make the reader cringe。 But despite all this， it is by John Wyndham， and shows a nascent idea of his remarkable prescience， imagination， and exploration of ideas。“Stars like diamonds， bright and undiffused， shone in brilliant myriads against a velvet blackness。 Bright sparks which were great suns burnt lonely， with nothing to illuminate in a darkness they could not dissipate。 In the empty depths of space there was no size， no scale， nothing to show that a million light years was not arm’s length， or arm’s length， a million light years。 Microcosm was confused with macrocosm。” 。。。more

Adrian ，

I'm guessing that it has to be getting on for forty years since i last read this book， and although thats quite a while it was still an enjoyable read。 Dated ， well yes， it was written nearly 90 years ago， but given some of the concepts， it does not feel that old at all。The book centres on a race to be the first men to reach the planet Mars。 Now unlike our reality where space flight was originally only affordable by the richer nations， in this book it is the wealthy private individuals who own c I'm guessing that it has to be getting on for forty years since i last read this book， and although thats quite a while it was still an enjoyable read。 Dated ， well yes， it was written nearly 90 years ago， but given some of the concepts， it does not feel that old at all。The book centres on a race to be the first men to reach the planet Mars。 Now unlike our reality where space flight was originally only affordable by the richer nations， in this book it is the wealthy private individuals who own corporations that paved the way to the moon and now are racing to reach Mars first。 First and foremost amongst the challengers is the Brit， Dale Curtance who was in this reality the first man to the moon。 Despite someone from maybe one of the rival factions trying to sabotage Dale's rocket， Dale is the first to take off for Mars。 However， a few days into the flight， a stowaway is discovered on board。But this turns out to be the least of Dale and his fellow travellers issues。 Mars turns out not to be the quiet peaceful place that was expected。 A series of adventures follows， a kidnapping， a hijack， aliens， rogue robots， 2 further spaceships arriving， before Dale and his crew eventually get off the planet heading back to earth。An enjoyable if not too taxing story， that is in some ways typical Wyndham。 although the book focusses primarily on the "hero" Dale Curtance， the real hero of the book as in most of Wyndham's book is his female lead， which in this case， is Joan Shirning。 Daughter of a ridiculed professor whose career was ultimately destroyed after he spoke about discovering an alien machine from Mars， （view spoiler）[Joan stows on board to prove her father right （hide spoiler）]。As I said this is not too taxing but in some ways it is amazingly prescient regarding Wyndham's view of the future 1970s and and 80s， to him at the time， almost 50 years in the future。A fun read， although not as good as some of his later books like The Chrysalids or Midwich Cuckoos。 。。。more

Armin ，

Interesting thoughts of robotics and "machines" that will take over the world someday and nice insight of the thinking in that way。 But I didn't liked the storytelling。 It was a bit sloppy。 The book wasn't that interesting for me， until Joan was introduced， which was somewhere before 50% of the book。 The beginning had to much attempts to create unnecessary drama and the ending fell a bit short on expectations。 Interesting thoughts of robotics and "machines" that will take over the world someday and nice insight of the thinking in that way。 But I didn't liked the storytelling。 It was a bit sloppy。 The book wasn't that interesting for me， until Joan was introduced， which was somewhere before 50% of the book。 The beginning had to much attempts to create unnecessary drama and the ending fell a bit short on expectations。 。。。more

Oleksandr Zholud ，

This is an interplanetary travel / first contact novel originally published in 1936， by John Wyndham （here under pen-name John Beynon）， the author more known for his after the WW2 works such as The Kraken Wakes， The Midwich Cuckoos and The Day Of The Triffids。 I read is as a part of monthly reading for May 2021 at The Evolution of Science Fiction group。The story starts with a playboy millionaire Dale Curance from England。 He is a son of a man， who made rockets/planes as commonplace as Henry For This is an interplanetary travel / first contact novel originally published in 1936， by John Wyndham （here under pen-name John Beynon）， the author more known for his after the WW2 works such as The Kraken Wakes， The Midwich Cuckoos and The Day Of The Triffids。 I read is as a part of monthly reading for May 2021 at The Evolution of Science Fiction group。The story starts with a playboy millionaire Dale Curance from England。 He is a son of a man， who made rockets/planes as commonplace as Henry Ford made cars; he has a bunch of record flights under his belt。 And now he plans to visit Mars。 It is 1981， there were some （mostly unsuccessful） space flights， but in 1969 a guy named managed to take his rocket right round the Moon and bring it safely back to Earth （note that it almost in line with the real life - Apollo 8 （December 21–27， 1968） was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit， and also the first human spaceflight to reach another astronomical object， namely the Moon， which the crew orbited without landing， and then departed safely back to Earth）。 Dale gathers four other men （a biologist， a journalist， an engineer and a young guy） and starts to Mars。Soon they find away that there is a mysterious young woman trying to free ride on their ship。 In the beginning they see her as a crazy girl， who watched to many romantic movies， but in reality she has what to give to the expedition， namely the Martian written language！The book is quite simple and straightforward， but there are some interesting tidbits。 For example， characters show knowledge of main SF of the period， referencing Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley， H。G。 Wells， Jules Verne， Edgar Rice Burroughs and Olaf Stapledon among others。 Usually such fandom allusions are found in much more recent SF texts。 Also out of 5 men in the ship there were 2 （40%）， who tried to force themselves on the women。 Moreover， a rape attempt is a significant plot twist， which surprised me in such an old book。 TL;DR While nothing spectacular， it is quite strong for the period it was written and may be of interest to people， who want to know more about development of the SF genre。 。。。more

Ed Erwin ，

Better than the typical SF novels of the 1930s。 By no means an essential read。 Wyndham's more famous later novels are supposedly much better。 I should someday get around to those。BTW: I read the e-book version ASIN B004MPQB7U by Old LandMark Publishing。 I'm glad they made this available as an e-book。 But the number of mistakes was atrociously high。 It was obviously converted from text by optical character recognition and many mistakes were not fixed。 The computer had particular trouble telling t Better than the typical SF novels of the 1930s。 By no means an essential read。 Wyndham's more famous later novels are supposedly much better。 I should someday get around to those。BTW: I read the e-book version ASIN B004MPQB7U by Old LandMark Publishing。 I'm glad they made this available as an e-book。 But the number of mistakes was atrociously high。 It was obviously converted from text by optical character recognition and many mistakes were not fixed。 The computer had particular trouble telling the difference between the characters lL！iI1 and just freely mixed them。 。。。more

Sasha ，

This book did not hold up for me。 I very， very seldom abandon books， but I couldn't get through this one。 I found the wife character to be almost vehemently offensive - I know it's from a different time but I just couldn't deal with it， or the wildly crazy technological misunderstandings。 This book did not hold up for me。 I very， very seldom abandon books， but I couldn't get through this one。 I found the wife character to be almost vehemently offensive - I know it's from a different time but I just couldn't deal with it， or the wildly crazy technological misunderstandings。 。。。more

Marco den Ouden ，

John Wyndham wrote this novel under the pseudonym of John Beynon。

Jack ，

This was written almost two decades before the books which Wyndham is （rightly in my opinion） celebrated for， and is very of it's time in terms of socio-political and gender outlook， but also as a sci-fi book outright， fitting firmly into the pulpy 'adventure story' tendency that seemingly dominated the decade。 It's not entirely without merit but I would advise anyone new to Wyndham to look for the books which were published in the 1950s。 This was written almost two decades before the books which Wyndham is （rightly in my opinion） celebrated for， and is very of it's time in terms of socio-political and gender outlook， but also as a sci-fi book outright， fitting firmly into the pulpy 'adventure story' tendency that seemingly dominated the decade。 It's not entirely without merit but I would advise anyone new to Wyndham to look for the books which were published in the 1950s。 。。。more

andrew m conway ，

Didn't get the illustrated version shown here so no Colin Hay， just a Wyndham classic。 Didn't get the illustrated version shown here so no Colin Hay， just a Wyndham classic。 。。。more

Alan Sharp ，

Any list of the most popular British science-fiction novels of all time would have to include Day of the Triffids。 Massively influential on the entire genre of post-apocalyptic fiction， adapted for movie and TV （twice）， and the famous opening scene has been either homaged or lifted wholesale， depending on how you see it， by movies including 28 Days Later and Open Your Eyes。Indeed， several of Wyndham’s other novels may well make such a list， and in terms of British writers of the genre， probably Any list of the most popular British science-fiction novels of all time would have to include Day of the Triffids。 Massively influential on the entire genre of post-apocalyptic fiction， adapted for movie and TV （twice）， and the famous opening scene has been either homaged or lifted wholesale， depending on how you see it， by movies including 28 Days Later and Open Your Eyes。Indeed， several of Wyndham’s other novels may well make such a list， and in terms of British writers of the genre， probably only Wells and Clarke would feature higher。 Most of his reputation is based on seven highly regarded novels written in the 1950s and early 60s。 But many people are unaware that he had had an earlier writing career。Two decades before， prior to going away to fight in the Second World War， Wyndham had published a series of novels and short stories under the name John Beynon， of which this， originally titled Planet Plane， was one。 Retitled and repackaged after his death， it was released in its current form to cash in on his better known name （also a pseudonym） in the 1970s。It is， admittedly， much less sophisticated than his later work。 Very much of its time， it is a Boys Own adventure story which hasn’t aged particularly well。 Initially it centres around Dale Custance， a speed obsessed playboy clearly intended as a substitute Donald Campbell， even sharing the same initials。 Custance takes up the challenge of an American institute to win a prize to be the first to travel to another planet， a prize consisting of the very Austin Powers-ish sum of One Million Pounds。 It is 1981 and humanity is still arguing about whether space travel is even possible， but Custance builds his amazing space plane， the Gloria Mundi， and assembles an intrepid five man crew。 Aside from himself， taking the journey will be a co-pilot， an engineer in case things go wrong， a ship’s doctor and a journalist along to record the whole adventure for posterity。However， no sooner have they slipped the surly bonds of Earth than a sixth crew member is discovered hiding in the ship’s store room， and their unexpected companion turns out to be… shock， horror… A WOMAN！At this point， and considering the era in which this was written， received wisdom would expect the book to become colossally sexist， and it is to Wyndham’s great credit that in fact it only become mildly so。 In fact Joan， the stowaway in question， goes on to take centre stage in the rest of the novel and shows herself to be the most intelligent and resourceful of the crew。 She is also the only one given a proper three dimensional characterisation， the rest essentially consisting four homogenous British stiff-upper-lip types and the obligatory cowardly screwup。 Nonetheless， misogyny does certainly rear its ugly head on a number of occasions， sometimes condescendingly so such as when the men discuss how the reason few women become leading scientists or engineers is because they are too genetically predisposed to spend all their time thinking about having babies。 Other occasions go beyond the condescending though， particularly an attempted rape that is brushed off as “only to be expected under the circumstances。”Overall， I would say that while it is interesting to see the nascent Wyndham at work， it is hardly necessary for the enjoyment of his later work。 It is sometimes pompous and full of cod-philosophy， but it is relatively short and rattles along at a decent pace。 Really though， it is one for Wyndham completists only。 。。。more

Jeff Lewis ，

As a fan of John Wyndham I find "Stowaway to Mars" a major disappointment。 In defence of the author it was wrote in 1936 under the name John Benyon。 It's hard to know how it was viewed at the time because it certainly hasn't aged however major kudos for predicting that space rocket would go around the dark side of the moon in 1969。 Unfortunately it's all down hill from that moment on。 In 1981， British astronaut Dale Curtance attempts to win the Kuentz price of £1，000，000 if he can reach Mars and As a fan of John Wyndham I find "Stowaway to Mars" a major disappointment。 In defence of the author it was wrote in 1936 under the name John Benyon。 It's hard to know how it was viewed at the time because it certainly hasn't aged however major kudos for predicting that space rocket would go around the dark side of the moon in 1969。 Unfortunately it's all down hill from that moment on。 In 1981， British astronaut Dale Curtance attempts to win the Kuentz price of £1，000，000 if he can reach Mars and come back。 During the flight on his rocket ship; the Gloria Mundi he discovers a stowaway in form of Joan Shirning， the daughter of a famous professor who is trying prove her father was right who had discovered Martians had been to Earth。 There was an issue with weight but didn't stop the crew bring arms， ammunition and whisky。 Whats follows their arrival on Mars just boggles the mind but it should be given a wide berth。 。。。more

Pauline Chamberlain ，

A good classic sci fi book by one of the best authors in this genre

Frank Jacobs ，

One of John Wyndham's first attempts at SF， and very pulpy at that。 Mainly interesting because of the retro-futurism: the 1930s looking ahead at the 1980s。 The sexism is shockingly antiquated， but the anxiety about machines taking over from humans is surprisingly modern。 One of John Wyndham's first attempts at SF， and very pulpy at that。 Mainly interesting because of the retro-futurism: the 1930s looking ahead at the 1980s。 The sexism is shockingly antiquated， but the anxiety about machines taking over from humans is surprisingly modern。 。。。more

ΑΝΤΥ ΒΡΟΣΓΟΣ ，

Ο Τζων Γουινταμ είναι ένας μύθος της Ε。 Φ。 Ο συγγραφέας μεταξύ αλλων του The day of the Triffids και του The Midwich Cuckoos （οι δύο ταινίες με τιτλο the village of the damned ηταν βασισμένες σε αυτό το μυθιστορημα） είναι ένας συγγραφέας must read για τους φίλους του είδους。Το συγκεκριμένο μυθιστόρημα ομως， που γράφτηκε με το ψευδώνυμο John Beynon και εκδοθηκε το 1936， δεν είναι μια από τις πολύ καλές στιγμές του。Βρίθει σεξιστικων， μισογυνικων αλλά και συντηρητικων γενικώς στερεοτυπων που θα ζήλ Ο Τζων Γουινταμ είναι ένας μύθος της Ε。 Φ。 Ο συγγραφέας μεταξύ αλλων του The day of the Triffids και του The Midwich Cuckoos （οι δύο ταινίες με τιτλο the village of the damned ηταν βασισμένες σε αυτό το μυθιστορημα） είναι ένας συγγραφέας must read για τους φίλους του είδους。Το συγκεκριμένο μυθιστόρημα ομως， που γράφτηκε με το ψευδώνυμο John Beynon και εκδοθηκε το 1936， δεν είναι μια από τις πολύ καλές στιγμές του。Βρίθει σεξιστικων， μισογυνικων αλλά και συντηρητικων γενικώς στερεοτυπων που θα ζήλευε και ο Μπογδανος。 Μοιάζει γραμμένο βιαστικά ενώ η κεντρικη ιδέα που πραγματευεται είναι πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα και άξιζε μεγαλύτερης προσοχής και καλύτερης ανάπτυξης。 Πιθανολογώ ότι οι μεταφράσεις και η επιμέλεια στο πόδι ολης της συγκεκριμενης σειράς βιβλίων του Λυχναριου φέρουν μια ευθύνη για το αποτέλεσμα， αλλά η κυρία ευθύνη βαρύνει σίγουρα τον συγγραφέα。Πρόκειται πάντως για ένα βιβλίο που δείχνει εμφατικά， αν διαβάσεις και τα επόμενα του， την εξέλιξη του συγγραφέα， προς το καλύτερο ευτυχώς。 Η ιδέα του πολύ πιθανά να επηρέασε λιγο τον Κινγκ για το Trucks。 。。。more

Jillian ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 TW: Sexual assaultI was very surprised that this was something I’d need to caution people about with such an ancient， crumbling sci-fi。 I generally expect rampant sexism and misogyny from things like this （and was not disappointed on that front unfortunately）， but attempted rape was definitely a surprise。 It was also a surprise how John Wyndham dealt with this particular plot point， leaving the other men standing around uncomfortably， deciding to let things just play out and hoping the woman cou TW: Sexual assaultI was very surprised that this was something I’d need to caution people about with such an ancient， crumbling sci-fi。 I generally expect rampant sexism and misogyny from things like this （and was not disappointed on that front unfortunately）， but attempted rape was definitely a surprise。 It was also a surprise how John Wyndham dealt with this particular plot point， leaving the other men standing around uncomfortably， deciding to let things just play out and hoping the woman could look after herself。 Ugh。 Eww。 Gross。 FFS。 Sadly it felt authentic， albeit completely unnecessary for the story。Apart from this particular incident， and some very boring lecture/sermons about how uteruses somehow inexplicably prevent women from understanding technology and how humans in general are superstitious about “The Machine”， this book was very funny！ I had to keep double checking that it was written in 1935， some of the concepts still feel very relevant。 1。 It’s 1981 and the UK is still enough of an international powerhouse that it has reasonable aspirations of winning the space race， and yet still doesn’t get that sticking a flag in the ground doesn’t make it “yours” just because you say so。2。 The Commies in Russia totally want to spread the socialist agenda to Mars and the tabloids are all over it3。 Everyone has a personal helicopter4。 No one has landed on the moon yet but there’s a measly million pound prize on offer to anyone who can make it to another planet and everyone is scrambling to win it 5。 Mars sends artificially intelligent robots to Earth on scouting missions and decides they don’t want anything to do with us6。 Shock horror， women can do SCIENCE but only under sufferance。 Joan is literally a linguistic genius but all these dickheads can focus on are her lady bits。 Sigh。 7。 There’s a lot of guns in space。 A LOT。 What could possibly go wrong？ If it wouldn’t make the collective brains of Hollywood explode to have a British rocket be the first on Mars， this could make for a very interesting movie。 The cannibalistic robots in particular， and the desolate Martian cities would be fun to see on the screen。 There’s lots of thought provoking ideas about artificial intelligence and the relationship of humanity to technology that could be explored further， but in a completely different way to how movies like The Matrix etc。 dealt with it。 It’s definitely not his best work， but I’m really enjoying working my way through the back catalogue。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Stowaway to Mars

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Stowaway to Mars&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Stowaway to Mars&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0