ISBN 0-330-32104-8 (UK pbk)

"In the not-so-distant future, the US Government, bankrupt and desperate, has auctioned off its agencies to private enterprise. NASA is now a Disney subsidiary; the Nixon Orbital Space Station is a family theme park. Space still hides some secrets, and one of them is about to be launched on an unsuspecting public: the Mars ship, Mary Poppins , built before the market crash and secreted in high orbit.

"Movie mogul Markson uses fast talk, creative accounting and out-and-out blackmail to persuade two of the original Mars team to pilot the spacecraft on her maiden voyage to Mars. With two bona fide certified Hollywood Stars, and a brilliant -- if eccentric -- midget cinematographer, Markson plans to shoot The Movie of All Time..." [jacket blurb, UK pbk, 1992]

"Mars, a movie set and astronauts for extras! Terry Bisson strikes again, illuminating us with his rock 'n' roll anarchist sensibility, making it plain that the answer to all the Big Questions is None of the Above. Better check your dicktracy and climb aboard the Mary Poppins. This is one trip you don't want to miss." --Lucius Shepard.