''Rainbow Mars'' is a 1999

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

short story collection by American writer

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are '' Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, '' The Mote in God's E ...

. It contains six stories of Hanville Svetz, five previously published and the longest, "Rainbow Mars", written for the collection. The setting of the Svetz stories is Earth in the distant future. The hereditary leader of the Earth, known as the Secretary General, is an inbred imbecile. In order to maintain the interest of the Secretary, different factions in the capitol use their advanced science to amuse him. Svetz's section uses time travel in an attempt to bring back long extinct animals from Earth's past. Unbeknownst to Svetz and his team, they are actually travelling back into fictional pasts, and returning with mythical creatures.

*"Rainbow Mars". With a new Secretary General who is interested more in space travel than animals, Svetz uses his time machine to visit Mars, which he finds populated by the creations of

Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Best-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and ...

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...

, H. G. Wells, and

Stanley G. Weinbaum Stanley Grauman Weinbaum (April 4, 1902 – December 14, 1935) was an American science fiction writer. His first story, "A Martian Odyssey", was published to great acclaim in July 1934; the alien Tweel was arguably the first character to satisf ...

. The story began as a collaboration with

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

; a number of his ideas remain in the final draft, mainly the use of Yggdrasil. *"Get a Horse!", first published in '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', October 1969. Svetz is sent back in time to capture a horse, but brings back a unicorn instead. *"Bird in the Hand", first published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', October 1970. Svetz is sent to get a roc, but returns with an ostrich, which he reverse engineers into a roc. A co-worker swipes a prototype of the very first automobile, causing a dangerous problem in the present. *"Leviathan!", first published in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'', August 1970. Svetz is sent to capture the largest mythical creature that was ever imagined,

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

. *"There's a Wolf in My Time Machine", first published in ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', October 1970. Svetz falls in love with a woman who evolved from a wolf. *"Death in a Cage", first published in Niven's collection ''The Flight of the Horse'' (Ballantine, 1973). Svetz encounters the

archetype The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that ...

of the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

. *"Svetz and the Beanstalk", an afterword in which Niven discusses the fictional sources for ''Rainbow Mars''.

Notes

External links

Annotations of the stories
{{The War of the Worlds 1999 short story collections Barsoom Short stories set on Mars War of the Worlds written fiction Short story collections by Larry Niven Werewolf written fiction Adaptations of works by Edgar Rice Burroughs Adaptations of works by H. G. Wells Tor Books books Short stories about parallel universes Water scarcity in fiction Roc (mythology) Short stories set in the future Short fiction about time travel

Contents

See also

Notes

External links