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Rose For Ecclesiastes

Author: Roger Zelazny

This novelette is one of the best works of fiction that Roger Zelazny wrote. It concerns a poet who visits Mars to learn the language of the Martians. The Martians became sterile a long time before, and though they are a long-lived race they are dying out. The poet becomes infuriated by their fatalistic stance on this. He sets out to translate the Book of Ecclesiastes, which he believes is similar to their religious texts, and he also arranges for the ships biologist to create a rose that he can give to the Martian High Priestess.In the end, he finds himself fulfilling an ancient prophecy and bringing life back to Mars, but at great cost to himself.When the SFWA polled its members on the best sf stories that appeared before the Nebulas began, A Rose for Ecclesiastes was on the list, and it still rates as one of the very best stories about Mars.

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Rose For Ecclesiastes

Author: Roger Zelazny