In the first of a new teenage science fiction series you'll meet: Mel Oliver - the seventeen year old adventurer who stows away on a spaceship bound for Mars. On Earth he had fled from city to city, working odd jobs, because somebody he didn't know tried to kill him. From one job to another danger followed until he finally decided to stowaway on a spaceship and go to some other planet where whoever or whatever was behind the mystery would never be able to find him. On board the ship he meets - Space Rover - one of the big, specially bred, intelligent collies who is hiding in the depths of a spaceship closet. For some unknown reason Space Rover has stowed away on the ship along with Mel. On the journey Mel and the dog meet two of the strangest persons on board the ship - Bolam Turino - the Martian strongman, raised on Earth, whose massive yard-wide body more than once stands between Mel and death during the rest of the trip and in the strange blister-cities on the Red Planet. Hakin - The marvelous Venusian Rubber Man with a body that can stretch until it is eight feet tall or contract so that it is shorter than the squat form of Bolam Turino. Hakin's unique powers also are an invaluable aid to Mel in helping to unravel the mystery centering about the boy. When someone mysteriously releases the animals of the interplanetary circus on board the ship, Mel and Space Rover's courage in helping to round up the ferocious animals is rewarded when they are adopted by the circus to work at a tumbling act. Practicing for the performance to be given on Mars, Mel meets some of the amazing creatures in the circus - Kabror - the comical, three-legged creature from another world with a very unusual means of protecting itself. The Robot - dressed like a man and used to train a huge Bengal tiger. Engrossed in the wonders of the circus, Mel has little idea that the spaceship is speeding him not only to the circus-performance on Mars, but also to the startling climax of the many mysterious attempts on his life. Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars, the first in a new series of teenage science fiction novels by William Morrison, is sure to be a favorite not only with young people, but also with those who are young no matter what their age.