No introduction this post, we're heading straight into the reviews.
“How to Become a Mars Overlord” by Catherynne M. Valente
Read in Year’s Best
SF 16 (2011), edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
“How to Become a Mars Overlord” is written as a seminar
intended on providing guidance to people interested in conquering the prized
planet, Mars. Valente is more interesting in recreating a sense of wonder and
yearning for the red planet than she is in telling a story. All of her examples
of Mars overlords are pastiche or echoes of pulp stories featuring the titular
planet. If they’re not recognizable as a creation of another author, then
they’re created by Valente with that same spirit in mind. The whole thing is
very inventive and full of energy but it’s done in a style that doesn’t work
for me.
