The Road to Mars
| Written by: | Eric Idle |
|---|---|
| Central Theme: | |
| Synopsis: | |
| Genre(s): | Science fiction, comedy |
| First published: | September 10, 1999 |
The Road to Mars is a Science Fiction novel by Eric Idle.
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Tropes used in The Road to Mars include:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Bowie androids like Carlton are renowned for their eccentricity, but other robots show signs of this as well. They often talk back to humans, and at least one is shown defying orders to protect Carlton from being recycled.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: The narration discusses various theories of comedies; one of them, called "White Face and Red Nose", is very similar to this trope. The White Face commands the respect of the audience and gives voice to their incredulity while the Red nose begs for the audience's comaraderie in his defiance of authority.
- Does Not Understand Sarcasm: While Carlton has an intellectual understanding of concepts like sarcasm and irony, in conversation they're usually lost on him.
- Dude, She's Like, in a Coma: Alex's reaction when Carlton wants him to look at the unconscious Katy's body. Carlton actually wanted him to see the bruises left by her interrogators.
- Famous, Famous, Fictional: Early in the book: "Hamlet and Falstaff. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. Laurel and Hardy. Muscroft and Ashby." Subverted in that Muscroft and Ashby are two of the story's main characters.
- Fantastic Racism: Carlton is denied consideration for a doctorate because the study of humor is considered exclusive to humans. Reynolds calls this "DNAcism."
- Mundane racism and homophobia are implied to still exist as well.
- Fetish Fuel Station Attendant: In-universe, Carlton (an android built to look like David Bowie) is marketed as such. His advertising copy describes him as "a cross between a wet dream and a wank."
- Mohs Scale of Science Fiction Hardness: Hovers around a 3. All space travel and communications are slower than light, and the spacecraft and habitats are all plausible (if not necessarily practical). On the other hand, an entire new branch of physics gets invented, and there are some rather fundamental mistakes.
- No Ending: Appropriate, considering the author.
- The Password Is Always Swordfish: Carlton is trying to break into a computer using the most advanced hacking algorithms possible. Eventually he thinks of looking for a simple word as the password. He explains that password breaking programs have become so complex that it's now possible to fool them by going under their level of complexity with very simple passwords.
- The Prima Donna: Brenda Wooley.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Carlton's theory of humor divides comedians into to categories. The White Face roughly corresponds to the Blue Oni, while the Red Nose corresponds (fittingly enough) to the Red.
- Refuge in Audacity: Booper's schtick.
- Self-Deprecation: Many 20th-century comedians are mentioned, but the only ones that get any real criticism are Monty Python.
- Sound in Space: Played with - Lewis can't hear Carlton shouting for help outside the ship... because the window is soundproofed.
- Straight Man: Onstage, Lewis to Alex. Offstage, Carlton to both.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: Lewis Ashby and Alex Muscroft, respectively.
- Vaudeville: The titular Road to Mars is an interplanetary vaudeville circuit.
- Yiddish as a Second Language: Mrs. Greenaway, the robotic housekeeper on the Johnny Ray, might as well be named Yenta.