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{{Short description|1898 novel by Garrett P. Serviss}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox book
| name          = Edison's Conquest of Mars
| title_orig    =
| translator    =
| image         = Edisons conquest of mars.jpg
| image_size =  
| caption = Dust-jacket from the first book publication
| author        = [[Garrett P. Serviss]]
| illustrator   = Bernard Manley, Jr.
| cover_artist  = Russell Swanson
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series        = 
| genre         = [[Science fiction]]<br>[[Invasion literature]]<br>[[Space opera]]
| publisher     = [[Carcosa#Carcosa House|Carcosa House]]
| release_date  = 1947 (book edition)<br />Magazine serial 1898
| media_type    = Print (hardback)
| pages         = xxiii, 186
| isbn          = <!-- NA -->
|congress=PZ3.S4925 PS3537 .E68 
|dewey=813.49
| oclc          = 2494245
| preceded_by   = [[Fighters from Mars]]
| followed_by   =
}}

'''''Edison's Conquest of Mars''''' is an 1898 [[science fiction]] novel by American astronomer and writer [[Garrett P. Serviss]]. It was written as a sequel to ''[[Fighters from Mars]]'', an unauthorized and heavily altered version of [[H. G. Wells]]'s 1897 story ''[[The War of the Worlds]]''. It has a place in the [[history of science fiction]] for its early employment of themes and motifs that later became staples of the genre.<ref name=Bleiler>{{cite book |title= Science-Fiction, the Early Years |last= Bleiler |first= Everett Franklin |year= 1990 |publisher= [[Kent State University Press]] |isbn= 0873384164 |page= [https://archive.org/details/sciencefictionea0000blei/page/665 665] |url= https://archive.org/details/sciencefictionea0000blei |url-access= registration |quote= Science-Fiction, the Early Years. }}</ref>

The book features [[Thomas Edison]] as the primary character, though neither Edison nor H. G. Wells were involved in its creation (although the 2010 edition published by Apogee Books of Canada includes the credit "written in collaboration with Edison"). Set after the devastating Martian attack in the previous story, the novel depicts Edison leading a group of scientists to develop ships and weapons, including a [[disintegration ray]], for the defence of Earth. Edison and company fight the aliens in space and on Mars, eventually causing a flood that defeats the enemy and forces an end to hostilities. Serviss wrote himself into the story as a professor whom Edison consults; also appearing are scientists such as [[Edward Emerson Barnard]], [[William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]], [[Wilhelm Röntgen]], and [[Silvanus P. Thompson]], and heads of state such as [[Queen Victoria]], U.S. President [[William McKinley]], [[Kaiser]] [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]], and [[Emperor Mutsuhito]].<ref name=Bleiler/>

==Plot==
[[Image:Martian Prisoner - conquest of Mars.png|right|thumb|Martian prisoner, teaching the Earthmen their language. 1898 illustration by GY Kauffman.]]
[[File:Martian - Conquest of Mars.png|right|thumb|"Like men, and yet not like men; combining the human and the beast in their appearance, it required a steady nerve to look at them.... In our eyes their moral character shone through their physical aspect and thus rendered them more terrible!"]]
[[Image:Edisonsconquestofmars.jpg|right|thumb|1898 illustration by GY Kauffman]]
The book is set following the abortive Martian attack depicted in ''[[Fighters from Mars]]'', much more devastating and global than in [[H. G. Wells]]' ''[[The War of the Worlds]]'', though in both works the onslaught is thwarted when the aliens die from bacterial illness. Determining that the Martians will inevitably return, Earth's leaders, including U.S. President [[William McKinley]], [[Queen Victoria]], Kaiser [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]], and [[Emperor Mutsuhito]], unite the world against the common threat and plan an attack on Mars. American inventor [[Thomas Edison]] leads a group of scientists studying derelict Martian equipment; they are able to develop an [[anti-gravity]] device powered by electric repulsion as well as a [[disintegration ray]].<ref name=Bleiler/>

Using this new technology, the allies construct an armada of space ships for the attack. Edison takes some ships to the [[Moon]] on a test run; using the first known fictional depiction of [[space suits]]. There the explorers uncover evidence of an extinct civilization of giants. The armada heads on, discovering a solid gold asteroid being mined by the Martians. The humans fight two space battles against the Martians, suffering heavy casualties but ultimately winning thanks to the superiority of Edison's ray gun compared to the Martians' electric weapons. The humans take a captive, from whom they learn the Martian language.<ref name=Bleiler/>

The humans reach Mars, but in spite of their superior forces they have lost half their men to the Martians' overwhelming numbers. The Martians envelop the planet in a smoke screen, and the humans retreat to the moon [[Deimos (moon)|Deimos]]. During a raid on Mars for supplies, the earth men find Aina, the last of a population of human slaves whose ancestors were captured from [[Kashmir]] in a Martian raid 9,000 years before. During this raid, the Martians also constructed the [[Great Pyramids]] and the [[Great Sphynx]] in [[Egypt]], the latter of which is a statue of their leader. Aina advises Edison that meeting the Martians in battle would be fruitless, and that they should instead attack the dams that channel water from the polar ice. Since most of Mars' cities are under sea level, the flood spreads rapidly, killing most of the Martians and destroying their civilization. Edison and company force a peace with the surviving Martians, and return home to great celebration.<ref name=Bleiler/>

==Aliens==
There are three type of aliens in the book.

The Martians in this version are not like the squid-like Martians described in [[H. G. Wells]]'s story. These Martians are more humanoid with arms, legs and an enormous head with projector-like eyes and bad looking faces. When they rise, they are {{convert|15|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} high. However this is only the male, for the species exhibits [[sexual dimorphism]]. To Earthlings, they appear unpleasant. The Martian women, however, are graceful and beautiful.

The residents of [[Ceres (dwarf planet)|Ceres]] are at war with the Martians. However, they are only mentioned, except for a female slave who is 40 feet tall. The 'Cerenites' are this height due to the reduced gravity of their world.

When Edison's men land on the Moon, they discover that the Moon was, at one point, capable of supporting life. Only a giant footprint is seen, leaving the reader (and the characters) wondering what was once there.

==Legacy==

Serviss' first attempt at fiction, the book was published [[serial (literature)|serial]]ly in the ''[[New York Journal]]''. Serviss went on to write other science fiction stories, arguably making him the first American to write science fiction professionally.<ref name=Bleiler/> An early example of what would later be called [[space opera]],<ref name="visual">{{Cite book|last=Ash|first=Brian|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-SUYAAAAIAAJ&q=Visual+Encyclopedia+of+Science+Fiction|title=The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction|date=1977|publisher=Harmony Books|isbn=978-0-517-53174-7}}</ref>{{Rp|69}} ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' was also a particularly literal "[[Edisonade]]". The book contains some notable "firsts" in science fiction: [[alien abduction]]s, [[spacesuit]]s (called "air-tight suits": see Spacesuits in fiction), [[ancient astronauts|aliens building the Pyramids]], [[space battle]]s, [[oxygen]] pills, [[asteroid mining]] and [[disintegrator ray]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Edison's Conquest of Mars|publisher=Apogee books|year=2005|page=4}}</ref>{{Non-primary source needed|date=July 2023}}

Rocket scientist [[Robert H. Goddard]] read both ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' and ''Fighters from Mars'' and credited them with helping form his early interest in developing rockets for interplanetary exploration.<ref name="Goddard">{{Citation|last = Goddard|first = Robert|title = The Papers of Robert H. Goddard, Volume I: 1898-1924|place = New York|publisher = [[McGraw-Hill Education]]|date = 1970|chapter = "Material for an Autobiography of R. H. Goddard" |pages = 7}}</ref>

Edward Guimont has argued that ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' was an influence on author [[H. P. Lovecraft]]'s [[Cthulhu Mythos]], particular with its use of the ancient alien tropes of massive alien-built ruins.<ref name="Guimont">{{Citation|last = Guimont|first = Edward|title = Lovecraftian Proceedings No. 3: Papers from [[Necronomicon Providence]] 2017|place = New York|publisher = [[Hippocampus Press]]|date = August 2019|chapter = "At the Mountains of Mars: Viewing the Red Planet through a Lovecraftian Lens" |pages = 63}}</ref>

{{Interlanguage link|Robert Crossley|qid=Q55188564}}, in his 2011 non-fiction book ''[[Imagining Mars: A Literary History]]'' on the history of [[Mars in fiction]], commented on ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'' that "As fiction it is hackwork; as a commentary on ''The War of the Worlds'' it is astonishingly impervious to Wells's anti-imperialist motive; but as an example of how cultural and national values get drawn into the Martian myth it is both instructive and appalling."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Crossley |first=Robert |title=[[Imagining Mars: A Literary History]] |date=2011 |publisher=Wesleyan University Press |isbn=978-0-8195-6927-1 |pages=124|chapter=H. G. Wells and the Great Disillusionment |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3TDEDfEPdEC&pg=PA124}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
*[[Thomas Edison in popular culture]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{Cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | author-link=Jack L. Chalker |author2=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd. | year=1998| page=138}}
*{{Cite book | last=Tuck | first=Donald H. | author-link=Donald H. Tuck | title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy | location=Chicago | publisher=[[Advent (publisher)|Advent]] | year=1978|isbn=0-911682-22-8 | page=384}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* {{Gutenberg|no=19141|name=Edison's Conquest of Mars}}
* [http://durendal.org/ecom/index.html Scans of the 1898 and 1947 editions of ''Edison's Conquest of Mars'']
* [https://archive.today/20130505152103/http://www.war-ofthe-worlds.co.uk/edisons_conquest_of_mars.htm Review of book at War of the Worlds Invasion]
* [http://www.early-american-cinema.com/articles/edison_conquers_mars.html Edison Conquers Mars]
* {{librivox book | title=Edison's Conquest of Mars | author=Garrett P. SERVISS}}
* {{Isfdb title|id=20773}}

{{The War of the Worlds}}
{{Thomas Edison}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edison's Conquest of Mars}}
[[Category:1898 American novels]]
[[Category:1898 science fiction novels]]
[[Category:American science fiction novels]]
[[Category:Space opera novels]]
[[Category:Sequel novels]]
[[Category:War of the Worlds written fiction]]
[[Category:Edisonades]]
[[Category:Novels set on the Moon]]
[[Category:Novels set on Mars]]
[[Category:Novels set on Ceres (dwarf planet)]]
[[Category:Fiction set on Deimos (moon)]]
[[Category:Novels about ancient astronauts]]
[[Category:Novels about alien invasions]]
[[Category:Fiction about asteroid mining]]
[[Category:Novels depicting Queen Victoria]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Thomas Edison]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Wilhelm II]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of William McKinley]]
[[Category:Novels first published in serial form]]
[[Category:Works originally published in American newspapers]]