James Nicoll is soliciting recommendations for a series of novels about the planets of the Solar System. His first pass:
Mercury:
Venus:
Earth: Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
Mars:
Jupiter: Jupiter Fred and Carol Pohl (ed)
Saturn:
Uranus:
Neptune: Triton, Samuel R. Delany
As you can see, there are some gaps…
Suggestions are welcome, bearing in mind of course that James’s definition of SF pretty much demands MilSpec certification for the bolts holding the rockets together, so it’s a little tough to come up with books that meet his standards. I’m a little more forgiving of dodgy science for the sake of a good story, though, so if you’ve got a swampy Venus novel that you really love, suggest it in the comments.
ATTENTION JONATHAN VOS POST: you are entitled to one (1) sugestion per planet, on average, for a total of eight. Thus, if you are unable to think of a good SF book set on Mercury, you can suggest two set on Mars. You may not, however, post an exhaustive list of all SF novels ever set on Mars in the history of the genre, though you may post such a list on your own blog, and leave a link in the comments here.