Old Mars

CHRIS ROBERSON

Chris Roberson has appeared in Asimov’s, Interzone, Postscripts, Subterranean, and elsewhere. He’s probably best known for his alternate history Celestial Empire series, which, in addition to a large number of short pieces, consists of the novels The Dragon’s Nine Sons, Iron Jaw and Hummingbird, The Voyage of Night Shining White, and Three Unbroken. His other novels include Here, There & Everywhere; Paragaea: A Planetary Romance; Set the Seas on Fire; Book of Secrets; and End of the Century. Recently, he’s been writing graphic novels, including Elric: The Balance Lost featuring Michael Moorcock’s characters, and two New York Times best-selling Cinderella miniseries spinning off Bill Willingham’s Fables. His most recent book is a new novel, Further: Beyond the Threshold. In addition to his writing, Roberson was one of the publishers of the small press MonkeyBrain Books, which has recently launched a digital comics imprint, Monkeybrain Comics. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon.

Here’s a robust and exciting sea story, complete with pirates and swordfights, except that the seas our swashbuckling adventurers are sailing are not the seas of Earth but the endless sand seas of Mars …