Product Description
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. Here are the captivating chronicles of man and Mars—the modern classic by the peerless Ray Bradbury.

Amazon.com Review
From "Rocket Summer" to "The Million-Year Picnic," Ray Bradbury's stories of the colonization of Mars form an eerie mesh of past and future. Written in the 1940s, the chronicles drip with nostalgic atmosphere--shady porches with tinkling pitchers of lemonade, grandfather clocks, chintz-covered sofas. But longing for this comfortable past proves dangerous in every way to Bradbury's characters--the golden-eyed Martians as well as the humans. Starting in the far-flung future of 1999, expedition after expedition leaves Earth to investigate Mars. The Martians guard their mysteries well, but they are decimated by the diseases that arrive with the rockets. Colonists appear, most with ideas no more lofty than starting a hot-dog stand, and with no respect for the culture they've displaced.

Bradbury's quiet exploration of a future that looks so much like the past is sprinkled with lighter material. In "The Silent Towns," the last man on Mars hears the phone ring and ends up on a comical blind date. But in most of these stories, Bradbury holds up a mirror to humanity that reflects a shameful treatment of "the other," yielding, time after time, a harvest of loneliness and isolation. Yet the collection ends with hope for renewal, as a colonist family turns away from the demise of the Earth towards a new future on Mars. Bradbury is a master fantasist and The Martian Chronicles are an unforgettable work of art. --Blaise Selby

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 313 reviews)

Youthful Perspective

I loved F451 by Bradbury and wanted to read more of his work. Being a huge sci-fi buff, I figured "The Martian Chronicles" would be a great place to start. The book is definitely well worth the read, and its effects are surprising.

I have to admit that I had trouble with the story at first. Because of the lack of knowledge on the "Red Planet" when the story was written, I had to forget quite a bit of facts (I'm 25). Luckily enough, the story grabs you and keeps you turning pages so that facts don't matter. The book also has an almost romantic quality in its depiction of the future. For example, in 2030+ there are malt shops, soda fountain shops and people still use wired telephones (no cell phones or wireless homephones).

The dialogue is also what you'd expect from a 40's and 50's movie. Again, its sort of romantic. I have to admit tho, this book brought with it an amazing array of emotions... Bradbury is one of the few who was actually able to make me laugh out loud (a spectacle to my co-workers). The authors talent also inspires other emotions in the reader.

Like F451, "The Martian Chronicles" has a message for and about humanity, albeit a different message. I'll never regret reading this book, and I bet you won't either.
August 18, 2008

Classic Bradbury

I read the Martian Chronicles growing up in the early 70's. Bradbury was on of my favorite authors. The book does not disappoint if you love Sci Fi. I purchased this book for my 18 yr old son. He couldnt put the book down and read it through in 3 days. Very unsual for him to stick with a book like that. He raved about the book and is asking for Bradbury's other works.
August 02, 2008

more twilight zone than anything else

Not sure how this qualifies as sci-fi. A collection of short stories, criticism of the government, wars, racism, relation with foreign creatures. Ghost stories, horror, and everything but science. Of course, I'm writing this on the 50th anniversary of NASA, and some of the stories in this book outdate that by 10 years. Worth looking into, but not for everyone. If there is any science, it's the ugly side (atom bombs, etc).
July 31, 2008

Masterpiece

I think I must agree with the reviews in the section that refuse to simply lable this book as "Science Fiction." Truly, this is one of the most fantastic books connected with science fiction ideas I have ever read and is indeed, or should be, classic literature. Ray Bradbury is an amazing writer who uses typical elements of sci-fi to discuss timeless human themes--While at first glance this book may seem to be nothing but a collection of vaguely related stories it is really about the humans who leave their home world in order to escape its pending distruction and yet can never really separate themselves. It is also about the nature of humans to crave adventure and a new, untamed world. Instead of the Old West, we have Mars.

Every single story can stand well enough in its own right, and that is part of the appeal for me. It is a loose chronology of the colonization of Mars, from a few unsuccessful original missions to the humans completely devoted to making Mars their and their posterity's true home. Some are sad, some are hilariously funny, some are terrifying, but each one makes you think and that is the genius of Ray Bradbury.

However, the real magic came when the stories were bound together in the volume known as "The Martian Chronicles." Through reoccuring characters and places and those that maybe only pop up once we see a multi-century journey of humans in a new world just as we have seen this journey on our own planet for eons.
May 07, 2008

A great indroduction to Bradbury's work.

Ray Bradbury is a timeless author. His storytelling borders on poetic. The Martian Chronicles was the first book of his I had ever read. After 15 years I just completed my second reading and am no less moved by his work.

A lot is accomplished in this short work of science fiction and fantasy. Its opening chapters center around Earthmen attempting to land on Mars and communicate with its not so welcoming inhabitants. As the book progresses war on Earth makes Mars either a refuge or an asylum, depending upon one's point of view. The final chapter of this book is particularly moving. The final page, the final few paragraphs send shivers down my spine and cause me to pause in wonder.

As an added side note, there is one chapter titled Usher II and involves a man who constructs a house replete with images and scenes from Edgar Alan Poe's stories. This is just an added bonus to us Poe fans.

I do recommend this to anyone, especially as an introduction to Bradbury's work. While not hardcore science fiction, it definitely has many similar elements that make the genre so compelling.
March 19, 2008

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