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Loading... The Martian Chronicles (original 1950; edition 1984)by Ray Bradbury (Author)
Work InformationThe Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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I entered into The Martian Chronicles warily, as I hadn't enjoyed Fahrenheit 451, and here I was again, reading Bradbury. To my utmost surprise, I loved this book. The Martian Chronicles is novel-esque, because the linked short stories, some of them only a page long, joined together to weave a tale of the history of human exploration of and settlement on Mars. It's a saddening story. Having damaged our earth beyond the hope of repair thanks to constant warfare and atomic disasters, mankind heads for the heavens on rockets launched from the interstellar exploration labs in Ohio. Astronauts and soldiers are the first to arrive, then construction engineers, who build earth-like towns all over the face of this planet. Disaster after disaster takes place. The human race is soon in decline, as the towns on Mars shrivel first to shanty towns and then to small assortments of derelict buildings, without infrastructure. I believe that Bradbury, all the way back in the 1940s, when some of these stories were first printed in magazines, was an environmentalist and anti-nuclear energy proponent long before these positions became fashionable. The Martian Chronicles warn of the dangers of atomic energy, of using land unwisely, and of the ruinous tendencies of mankind to spoil the dwelling places we have, whether on Earth or on other planets. Summary: a great book ahead of its time, a visionary novel. I find it especially interesting that less than a year ago, we had our first look at Earth from the surface of Mars - and who knows what's next for our relationship with the red planet in the sky. Possibly my favourite Bradbury work, this is a seriously transcendent piece of literature, that had a disproportionate impact on my writing and critical faculties. It's not perfect, certainly, int its elements of Bradbury's usual flaws as a writer and in its occasional sledgehammer subtlety yet... that's to request something of the book which it is not, which is surely bad criticism. This is wonderful.
"Die Mars-Chroniken" von Ray Bradbury ist ein klassischer Science-Fiction-Roman, der eine Reihe miteinander verbundener Kurzgeschichten enthält, die auf dem Mars spielen. Die Erzählung erstreckt sich über mehrere Jahrzehnte und schildert die Kolonisierung der Menschheit und die Interaktion mit den mysteriösen Marsianern. In den Geschichten werden Themen wie Kolonisierung, kulturelle Auseinandersetzungen und die Auswirkungen menschlichen Verhaltens sowohl auf der Erde als auch auf dem Mars behandelt. Bradburys poetische und stimmungsvolle Prosa schildert die Wunder und Fallstricke der Erkundung sowie die Folgen von Missverständnissen zwischen Erdbewohnern und Marsbewohnern. Der Roman reflektiert über Themen wie Krieg, technologischen Fortschritt und die Zerbrechlichkeit von Zivilisationen. Während sich die menschliche Präsenz auf dem Mars entfaltet, sind die Marsianer vom Aussterben bedroht, und ihre uralte Kultur zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch die Chroniken. "Die Mars-Chroniken" werden für ihren lyrischen Schreibstil, ihren sozialen Kommentar und ihre fantasievolle Darstellung einer Zukunft gefeiert, die Fragen über die Beziehung der Menschheit zu ihrer Umwelt und zu sich selbst aufwirft. Belongs to Publisher SeriesCaminho de Bolso (15) detebe (240/1) — 25 more Gallimard, Folio SF (45) Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy (3410 / 5201) Lanterne (L 371) Mirabilia (7) Mirabilia (7) Máj (20) Nébula (88) Gli Oscar [Mondadori] (195) Reclams Universal-Bibliothek (9058) Science Fiction Book Club (2150) ハヤカワ・SF・シリーズ (3047) ハヤカワ文庫 NV (114) ハヤカワ文庫 SF (1764) 最新科学小説全集 (10) Is contained inFahrenheit 451 - The Illustrated Man - Dandelion Wine - The Golden Apples of the Sun & the Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury ContainsHas the adaptationHas as a student's study guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Leaving behind a world on the brink of destruction, man came to the red planet and found the Martians waiting, dreamlike. Seeking the promise of a new beginning, man brought with him his oldest fears and his deepest desires. Man conquered Mars--and in that instant, Mars conquered him. The strange new world with its ancient, dying race and vast, red-gold deserts cast a spell on him, settled into his dreams, and changed him forever. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The original 1950 edition had the dates in the stories range from 1999-2026; I read the 1997 revised edition that had the dates 2030-2057. One short story ("The Fire Balloons") in my edition was not included in the original, and another ("Way in the Middle of the Air") was dropped, which confused me greatly at first, since I was also listening to the audiobook and it was different. Bradbury wrote an introduction in which he expressed surprise that this book is considered science fiction rather than fantasy because he generally does not use real science. This is true. In some ways, the book is a product of its time, as much of the stories are focused on the possibility of nuclear war. But it's also interesting to read in our present time when thinking about first contact and colonialism, as the first Americans on Mars get the Martians sick, which allows them to essentially take over. It's hard not to think of our own history with the indigenous population of North America, and the implications that still has in our present day. An interesting collection that I'm glad I've finally read. ( )