Another brilliant collection from Bradbury, that connects into a larger chronicle of Mars (this is also known as the Martian Chronicles). ( )

Arguably the best example of science fantasy. Some stories are better than others, but Bradbury is doing what he does best here: Making you think. ( )

With this book I discovered his style is very simular to Asimov. they were probably writing for the same monthly SciFi magazines at the time. These are very short chapters set in a semi-log style starting with January 1999. Of man's attempts to settle Mars, the Martians reaction to colonization and the after affects. The content is very dated (as is Asimov) with white men who drink from flasks and smoke cigarettes stepping off rockets and littering and disrespecting Mars. Still fun to read, this is considered a classic SciFi read.

7-2009 ( )

One of the classics of science fiction. This is actually a book of short stories told about the early settlers of Mars. In Bradbury fashion, these have the feeling of folk stories about average people who have strange things happen to them. While the Earthlings settle and explore Mars, the supposedly uninhabited Mars meets and molds them. Great stuff. ( )

Although the dates & the science haven't ages well, Bradbury's spare prose still moves the reader. Some of the individual stories are texture for the main narrative, which has ideas that are still relevant today, as they were nearly 60 years ago. ( )

I'm not a huge science fiction fan and I've definitely moved away from fantasy to a large degree. Yet, all those disclaimers go out the door (or airlock?) when it comes to Bradbury. His stories always go well beyond the typical sci-fi/fantasy. They're darkly humorous and sometimes, just outright hilarious, while being brilliant at all times. This is no exception. ( )

I have this tagged as Science Fiction, but it is probably better classified as Science Fantasy. But what really matters is just how emotional these stories are. It's been many years since I read this, but I still get chills when I think about the story in which the astronauts, seemingly greeted by dead relatives, realized later that it was really Martians reading their minds. Great stuff in this book and I can only hope that my kids will read it. ( )

Ray Bradbury is lauded as one of the best science fiction writers of the 20th century. I've only read a couple of his books now (including the famous Fahrenheit 451), but I would have to agree. Put him and the dearly departed Asimov together in a room, and the very nature of reality might shift!

This collection of short-stories is framed by the meta-narrative of humanity's first encounter with Mars. The stories are tragic and thoroughly human, laying bare the depravity that lies in the human soul.

Bradbury covers a gamut of themes: racism (both human-martian, and human-human), government censorship, war, the transitory nature of human existence, and even environmentalism. The stories themselves are incredibly diverse. The only thing that remains constant is the quality and imagination that underpin each tale. Here's an example: one of the stories features an automated house as the main character—yet he makes it work, evoking pathos in the process!

I found this book in a box of golden age science fiction reprints at a yard sale. It's reinforced an old adage: never judge a book by its cover—buy a book on the strength of the name. This won't be the last Bradbury book in my collection. ( )

A beautiful example of "thinking" sci-fi rather than adventure sci-fi. ( )

Loved it. There are so many ways to look at this book. In this little book that reads more like a compilation of short stories (because that is what it really is) Bradbury manages to criticize everything from colonialism to censorship. A timeless story about mankind’s colonization of the red planet and the trials we face along the way. ( )

A collection of short stories that show off Bradbury's uncanny ability to visualize future societies and humans' interactions with other life forms.

Arguably, the greatest literary 'science fiction' writer, with a genius for creating an atmosphere of place and period, as seen through the eyes of a character - true to the character's age and period and background: from the small towns of forties America, the slums and shebeens of New Mexico and Dublin - and then the places and futures no one had ever imagined before - colonies in space, virtual reality technologies and alien civilisations.
He writes with a rich humanity, almost as the last of the great romantic authors. He is one of the greatest masters in English of the short story format. As a science fiction author, few have matched his originality or the conviction of his created worlds. More than that, his literature is imbued with a rich and deep literary and moral maturity - perhaps this has made him seem old fashioned and out of date with his contemporaries - but his work will stand as great literature.

He has what may be seen as weaknesses - he returns to work the seam of some settings and themes too often perhaps. His signature gothic and descriptive passages are these days perhaps, at times, too indulgent. There's a schmatlzy tint of nostalgia for the small town USA of his childhood (imagined or real). His Dublin (and perhaps his Mexican) episodes, although based on personal experience of those locations, are perhaps too stereotypical and mannered at times. But the pictures he creates stay with you for ever.

He may have written fewer 'great works' than our 'literary giants' or as many stories as a Henry James, but even the titles of some of his short stories have made an impression on people who may have never heard of him, let alone read him - 'Fahrenheit 451' for instance.

My first favourite 'adult' author as a youngster when I discovered the collections 'R is for Rocket' and 'S is for Space' and then 'Dandelion Wine'. While I'd started out reading for myself by beginning with the classic children's serial authors (the ones most frequently seen in the Library hamper that came to the classroom each Friday afternoon) such as W E Johns (Biggles), Arthur Ransome (Swallows & Amazons) and Rachel Crompton (Just William) I'd race from one volume to the next and never return - but Bradbury, I'd read his stories again and again, and I just knew I wanted to write like him one day (and at the same time, think how can anyone write as well as this?).

The great achievement of the Martian Chronicles/Silver Locusts, in addition to its literary merits, is its poetic and revelatory insight into the corrupting and spiritually corroding consequences of colonisation. It's not an explicit message, but all the same, the guilt and shame of an interraction of cultures that trades the artefacts of an ancient culture for the gluttony of a hot dog stand imbues the pages as completely as the dust of the ancient Martians coats the food of the colonists from Earth. Just as the 'British Empire' attempted to dress its conquest cultures in the rags of subservience, the American Empire seeks to brand our cultures so that they conform with its own empty materialism. You can't dance the Ghost Dance just by stealing or faking the costume. ( )

From the Grand Master. Since my teen years I've been slightly proud that a character with my last name threw up in a Martian canal in a story here. ( )

I first read this book back when it was still called "The Silver Locusts". A set of short stories about Martians - a story form of which Ray Bradbury is a master.

This is science fiction at its best. Interesting, profound, appealing to all ages and timeless. ( )

"There's your answer, Captain."
"I don't see"
"The Martians discovered the secret of life among animals.
The animal does not question life.
It lives.
Its very reason for living is life; it enjoys and relishes life. You see -the statuary, the animal symbols, again and again."
"It looks pagan"
"On the contrary, those are god symbols, symbols of life.
Man had become too much man and not enough animal on Mars too. And the men of Mars realized that in order to survive they would have to forgo asking that one question any longer: why live?
Life was its own answer. Life was the propagation of more life and the living of as good a life as possible.
The Martians realized that they asked the question 'why live at all?' at the height of some period of war and despair, when there was no answer.
But once the civilization calmed, quieted, and wars ceased, the question became senseless in a new way.
Life was good and needed no arguments." ( )

http://radiergummi.wordpress.com/2009... ( )

In high school at one point I was given an option of several books on which to do a book report, and being the science fiction fan that I was even then, I of course picked Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles. It is one of those books that has stuck with me ever since I read it, not thrust to the old bookshelf in the back of my brain. The Martian Chronicles is a future history, much in the vein of Asimov’s writing, and deals with human and alien interaction. For much of human existence we’ve looked out at the stars and wondered what or who else was out there, but this one looks a little closer to home, our own solar system, and our nearest neighbor, Mars.

The story itself is a series of loosely connected, yet chronological, vignettes that tell the story of man’s attempts to colonize Mars, despite the Martians who live there. It would take four expeditions to Mars before humans were successful, and that’s only because of the chicken pox, brought by one of the earlier expeditions. The Martians resisted the first three expeditions, the first being only two men killed by a jealous Martian husband. The second were killed by the Martians because the Martians believed they were simply insane compatriots, believable since the first alien Earth arrivals have had an increased number of Martians believing they are from Earth (a belief that likely spawned from the Martians’ telepathic ability and having unconsciously picked up on the minds of the first expedition). The Third Expedition however was treated to a different sort of welcome altogether. The native Martians projected images of the expedition’s family, luring and scattering them into individual homes where they were then killed in their sleep. Read More ( )

I hardly ever give books this high a rating, but Bradbury's short stories about a science-fictional completely captivated me, because they were so imaginative and yet so deep and honest. Something to entertain AND make you think. LOVED this book. ( )

I finished The Martian Chronicles and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. This is my first Ray Bradbury book and I had expected more. I have no problem with the writing--his prose is lovely and his descriptions are excellent. However, I'm not enthralled with his plots or his characters (most of them are pretty "flat"—with a couple of exceptions). Of all the stories I felt one was one incredible story and there were 2 or 3 others that I enjoyed in spite of the above mentioned shortcomings; the rest of the were--as richard would say--meh. And some of them were very predictable after you had read a few. The stories with “connecting” vignettes are supposed to create a novel but most of the stories do not relate much to each other, there is very little character development (and that’s being generous!) and no plot development. There was one story, “The Fire Balloons”, right in the middle of the book (and only in the 1997 version, not in the original) that prompts me to raise my rating to 3 stars. Two others that had interesting plots with memorable characters were “And the Moon Be Still as Bright” and “Usher II”. The final story, “The Million-Year Picnic”, was all right and seems to be an attempt at a resolution of the “novel” but with very little indication as to how the planet came to that point. As a collection of short stories the book was mediocre with a few wonderful exceptions; as a novel it was a mess. ( )

Seeing as I like the short story "There Will Come Soft Rains" and truly love "The Naming of Names," I was very disappointed to find out that this book is only a loosely connected series of short stories ranging from terrible to interesting. My biggest gripe with this book is that it does not contain ALL the Martian Chronicles, such as "The Naming of Names" (there are two short stories, by Bradbury, with THIS name, and a similar concept; the one contained in this book, is NOT the one I love). Over all the book was a great idea poorly executed. ( )

easy, imaginitive, thought provoking reading ( )

I thought I'd read this years ago, but I don't remember it. Anyway, my son read it for school, so I thought I'd (re?)read it, too. Five stars because it's such a classic. ( )

The first time I had read this treat from Bradbury. The collection of shorts tie together seamlessly to produce an amazing collection. All of the stories explore aspects of humanity set in an inhuman environment and lead us to new conclusions about what humanity really is. I won't say much more, because this collection is a classic and has been reviewed by better people than I. ( )

Creepy, to say the least. Prepare to be slightly disturbed, if it doesn't give you nightmares. ( )

A true desert island book. ( )