Short Fiction Review: Clifford D. Simak’s “Madness from Mars” (1939) and “Hermit of Mars” (1939)

The following review is the 37th installment of my series searching for “SF short stories that are critical in some capacity of space agencies, astronauts, and the culture which produced them.” Some stories I’ll review in this series might not fit or are poor quality. And that is okay. I relish the act of literary archaeology. I’ve added an extra Simak story to round out the post.

I’m on another Clifford D. Simak binge!

Previously: John Wyndham’s “The Man From Beyond” (variant title: “The Man from Earth”) (1934)

Up Next: TBD

Howard V. Brown’s cover for Thrilling Wonder Stories, ed. Mort Weisinger (April 1939)

3/5 (Average)

Clifford D. Simak’s “Madness from Mars” first appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, ed. Mort Weisinger (April 1939). You can read it online here.

In the 1941 article “The Future of Science Fiction,” Clifford D. Simak described the transformative effect of Stanley G. Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” (1934) (and a handful of other stories) on the development of science fiction.¹ He uses the story to explain how SF has achieved “realism” by moving beyond “wooden plots” plot by incorporating a “scientific basis of the story.” I’d suggest “Madness from Mars” is Simak’s attempt to craft a scientifically-grounded and truly alien alien in the Weinbaum mold. I will feature Simak’s early commentary on the genre in a future Exploration Log post. ²

The rocket ship Hello Mars IV, “a tiny gnat of steel pushing itself along with twinkling blasts of flaming rocket-fuel,” approaches Earth after the first successful voyage to the Red Planet. The press christens the ship as a “shining symbol of man’s conquest of the planets” (77). The three previous ships met with disaster. Humanity assumed Hello Mars IV also met a destructive end as years transpired without contact: “man as yet had found no means of communicating over fifty million miles of space”(77).³ However, something seems to be amiss. The ship does not return hails as it approaches Earth’s atmosphere. And something screams wrong with the way the ship lands. And when the hatch opens “A man stepped out — a man who staggered jerkily forward and then stumbled and fell in a heap” (78). He dies later that night. Bloody carnage greets those who inspect the ship. The crew seems to have gone insane and either committed suicide or killed each other. And then there’s an alien, a furry looking alien, an alien that can only “see” and communicate through “ultrasonics” (83). After zoo animals suddenly turn violent, a doctor and a newsman start to connect the dots.

Even in this early story, multiple common Simak themes are on display. There’s a sense that humanity, in a new formulation of Manifest Destiny, cannot but “blindly” grope “always outward” (77). This is the fourth mission to Mars. Massive capital went into its development and launch. Even when scientists discern the nature of potential alien threats, true knowledge of what could happen must be hidden at all costs or else “there’d be no more trips to Mars for years to come” (84).

In addition, Simak criticizes the immediate capitalist urge. After they discover the furry alien on the spaceship, the first thought isn’t whether it is sentient or to pause and marvel at its profound difference but rather to speculate on its commercial value: “Maybe we’ll have fur-trappers and fur-trading posts up on Mars […] Big fur shipments to Earth and Martian wraps selling at fabulous prices” (79). Like the French fur trappers in North America exploring America’s waterways, exploration directly connects to capitalist exploitation. In parallel, the more caring and careful of Simak’s characters worry about the militaristic applications of their discovery: “You know and I know that ultrasonics of the thirty million order can turn men into insane beasts […] Think of what the warmakers of the world could do with that weapon!” (85). And here we return to the deep sense of despair at the inevitability of conquest: others in the blind quest outward will encounter the same alien and make the same discovery and they might use it for war.

As with other stories like “Masquerade” (1941) and “Tools” (1942) from this period, “Madness from Mars” contains brief hints of Simak’s critique of modern capitalism, imagines newspapermen as heroes, and deploys unusual aliens that serve to illustrate humanity’s foibles and destructive tendencies. He actively resists the pulp impulse to depict the alien as evil. While I didn’t discuss it at length in the review, Simak draws his alien with love and care. He attempts to ground the biology of the alien in the reality of Martian conditions.⁴ It’s a deeply sad story.

Somewhat recommended for Simak fans interested in his early literary development. I still recommend “Tools” (1942) as the most visceral and strident of his earliest works.

Graves Gladney’s cover for Astounding Science-Fiction, ed. John W. Campbell, Jr. (June 1939)

2/5 (Bad)

Clifford D. Simak’s “Hermit of Mars” first appeared in Astounding Science-Fiction, ed. John W. Campbell, Jr. (June 1939). You can read it online here.

Kent Clark and Charley Wallace, futuristic versions of 17th-century French fur-trappers in North America’s river systems, hunt for the “Martian beaver” in Mars’ water-less desert canals (10). The pelts fetch astronomical prices back on Earth: “the most valuable fur in the entire Solar System” (10). It’s not clear if this is the same animal furry, and accidentally destructive, animal encountered in “Madness from Mars” (1939) published earlier in the year. Charley’s an old-timer, he’s explored the canals for twenty Martian years. He’s used to Mars’ strange and wondrous sights. Kent, a trapper for five Martian years, still finds fascination in Mars’ unusual differences: “Twilight was an impossible thing in the atmosphere of Mars” (9). The arrival of a spunky women with a dangerous quest interrupts their rituals of hunt and survival. She wants them to chase a myth into the depths of Mad-Man’s Canal, the deepest on Mars.

Unfortunately, “Hermit of Mars” clocks in as the least adept Simak short story I’ve read in the history of the site — it takes pole position over “Lulu” (1957). Perhaps due to the editorial oversight of Campbell, Jr., Simak resorts to a series of unfurling pulp plots, and an entire zoo of unusual fauna, that grow increasingly outlandish and slapdash. In addition, all his scene work setting up the desert canals and technologies of survival come crashing down as all challenges seem to be conquered with incredible, and narratologically lazy, ease. Problems that appear neigh insurmountable are solved in the blink of an eye. Dangers aren’t really dangers. Distances are covered in mere moments. The story unfolds at breakneck speed in a vast variety of different directions in an unsatisfying manner. Simak contributes the type of story that he critiqued in “The Future of Science Fiction” (1941).

Where does Simak succeed? “Hermit of Mars” contains a rare (at least for Simak) strong female character. Ann Smith convinces both Kent and Charley to go with her on a voyage to Mars’ most dangerous place — the depths of Mad-Man’s Canal. The story entirely revolves around her actions and desires. As mentioned above, the way the plot unfolds weakens the effect of her characterization. In addition, the extrapolation of Western myth and historical tropes on Mars provides an anchor the alien and suggest an inevitable return to historical forms of exploitation.

Regardless of the individual flaws of this vision, I did not expect to enjoy my exploration of Simak’s pre-WWII stories as much as I have! Stay tuned for more.

Notes