The Martian Chronicles (1950)

I'm sure I read this as a teenager--a long, long time ago, but after I assigned it to my daughter as part of her home schooling, she was telling me about her favorite part, which uses Poe's Fall of the House of Usher as a starting point, and I realized I didn't remember it all. Upon reading the book, I'm not sure I ever read it at all. In any case, it was a revelatory and rewarding experience. First, I realized that this is in no way a science fiction book. Sure, it has lots of rockets, most of which seem to take off from Ohio, of all places, but there is not a word about how the rockets work or type of things you see in a science fiction book. Nor is Mars the Mars of science fiction. Bradbury's Mars is a world of vast canals, air that is thin but breathable by humans, and is inhabited by an old and strange telepathic (and more) race. But that isn't the point either, it is just the background for a story very much rooted in the post-WW2 era of the menace of Communism and what seemed like an inevitable nuclear war. Against this backdrop, Bradbury tells, as a series of horror fantasy stories, of the first failed expeditions to Mars. Once humans do settle Mars, it becomes a nostalgic small town America sort of place, very much like some of Bradbury's other work. But there are sinister undercurrents everywhere, as well as humor, of a very harsh kind at times. By the end of the book, you will have laughed, perhaps shuddered a few times, and been moved in many cases by the story Bradbury tells. Despite all its artificial elements, it ends up being a starkly beautiful version of a future that never was--but could yet be. It's interesting to note that this book, which included several previously published short stories, was published when Bradbury was about 30, yet he was already very old in his thinking and longing for a supposedly better, past time. Somehow, though, it still works. And the Usher story is great. ( )

Keep Mars for Martians
humans destroy everything
no planet is safe. ( )

My favorite novel of all time.

This was the first novel I read by choice when I was 16 and I fell in love with the collection of stories and with Ray Bradbury's writing. It was the first fiction that I connected with on an emotional and ideas level. To this day The Martian Chronicles and I have read it at least 15 times is riveting and beautiful and poetic and everything about it just connects back to my memories as a child just being engrossed by this stunning new thing. ( )

I remember reading this when I was a girl, but I really didn't remember too much about it. Not surprising since that was probably over 35 years ago. I enjoy Bradbury's books because there is always a message. In this book, the message I gleaned was that humans aren't happy unless they're conquering and destroying. We arrive on Mars to the detriment of the Martians who currently inhabit the planet. The Martians try to stop our arrivals, but it's no use...we're relentless. My absolute favorite chapter was April 2036: Usher II. This was a masterful and fun variation on Poe's famous story, The Fall of the House of Usher. ( )

The Martian Chronicles is an amazing collection of interconnected stories about Mars. Human missions to Mars, religious missions to Mars, nervous breakdowns on Mars, etc... Even though some of the tales are outdated by today's views, the underlying values and messages remain the same; they are timeless.

Some of the stories have been released previously, and some have been changed over the years. I discovered, thanks to Wiki, that one tale having to do with race relations, was not included in this collection at all. I'm not sure it really matters, but just know that this anthology is NOT the same as it was upon its original release.

There's not much new I can add to what's already been said about The Martian Chronicles. Ray Bradbury's writing is so simple, yet so evocative-he can get across in just a few words what it takes me paragraphs to say. His observations on human nature are spot on and even though these stories were written back in the 40's and 50's, most of them are still relevant today.

Classics are classics for a reason and this one is truly special. My highest recommendation! ( )