The 10 Greatest Books Set on Mars, Ranked

Mars has been a favourite setting for science fiction since Percy Greg’s 1880 novel *Across the Zodiac*, and this ranking highlights ten books that show the range of stories the planet has inspired. The article presents them as notable works across the genre, from foundational adventures to modern, scientifically grounded fiction.

Among the books discussed are Gregory Benford’s *The Martian Race*, about a privately funded race to Mars that turns into a fight to get home, and Greg Bear’s Nebula-winning *Moving Mars*, which follows a political and scientific revolution. Robert A. Heinlein’s *Red Planet* imagines a frontier world where young colonists challenge a corporate plot, while Ben Bova’s *Mars* centres on the first crewed mission and its environmental and political dangers.