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

Product Description
The classic work that transformed Ray Bradbury into a household name. Written in the age of the atom when America and Europe optimisitcally viewed the discovery of life on Mars as inevitable, Bradbury's 1940s short stories of a brutal, stark and unforgiving martian landscape were as shocking and visionary as they were insightful. 'The Martian Chronicles' tells the story of humanity's repeated attempts to colonize the red planet. The first men were few. Most succumbed to a disease they called the Great Loneliness when they saw their home planet dwindle to the size of a pin dot. Those few that survived found no welcome. The shape-changing Martians thought they were native lunatics and duly locked them up. More rockets arrived from Earth, piercing the hallucinations projected by the Martians. People brought their old prejudices with them -- and their desires and fantasies, tainted dreams. These were soon inhabited by the strange native beings, with their caged flowers and birds of flame.

Ray Bradbury wrote these short stories in the late 1940s at a time when we knew almost nothing about Mars. Some scientists even thought there were probably canals and the remnants of a dead or dying Martian civilization on Mars. Written as science fiction originally by Mr. Bradbury, our growing knowledge of Mars makes these assumptions science fantasy today. But don't let that shift rob these stories of their power over you.

But Mars was just the setting for a more serious set of questions. Mr. Bradbury was concerned that the world was too full of hate, war, short-sightedness, and greed to amount to much. He despaired as to whether humans would survive the discovery of the atomic bomb. From this raw material of human excess, he stitched together a powerful vision of our choices -- to operate at our best . . . or our worst. He appeals to our better selves in a vivid way that will be unforgettable to you, if you are like me.

The development of the book has an interesting history. Mr. Bradbury was in his late twenties, and had written quite a few short stories. While visiting New York, he showed his short stories to publishers who liked them. The publishers advised him that there was a market for novels, but not much of one for books of short stories. Then one night it hit him, he had the raw material for a novel about Mars if he simply wrote a few transition stories to fit with ones he had already written. He sat up late that night writing the book proposal, and sold it the next day. That concept became The Martian Chronicles.

Mr. Bradbury had recently read Winesburg, Ohio and was impressed by that book with the potential to use a series of stories as a way to tell a community's history. It seemed natural to use that structure for his Martian book.

The book covers a time period from 1999 through 2026, starting with the first manned expedition to Mars from Earth. The American astronauts do find Martians. The complications of the first four expeditions come from the interactions between humans and Martians, and are unexpected and intriguing. The stories explore the implications of a race being telepathic in very revealing ways.

Much of the human colonization of Mars in the book pits those who want to recreate Earth against those who appreciate what is special about Mars. So exploitation versus conservation is one theme in the book. As a backdrop for the stories, you will read about all of the themes of the Westward migration in the United States from the eradication of the native peoples and culture, to excess exploitation of natural resources, to the desire to be free of "civilized" society.

There are wonderful stories in here against racisim, censorship of books (which became the basis of Mr. Bradbury's later book, "Farenheit 451"), and war.

Towards the end of the book is a lovely sequence of three stories about the various meanings of loneliness. I particularly recommend them. The first looks at men and women seeking each other out when there is no other company. The second considers the loss of a family and how to cope with that. The third looks ruefully at the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

The last story in The Martian Chronicles, "The Million-Year Picnic," causes me to shiver and moves me almost to tears every time I think about it. From that story, you will be able to answer the famous question in the book, "Who are the Martians?"

By the way, the book is much better than the movie. If you think you know the story from the movie, I suggest you read the book. If you have a choice of one or the other, I definitely suggest the book.

By the way, years later Mr. Bradbury reviewed this book and commented that the world had turned out much better than he had hoped. He said that would have written a different kind of book on the same subject in the 1970s, but he still had great respect for what the young man he was in his twenties who had written The Martian Chronicles.

The manned exploration of Mars is probably our greatest and most important challenge as a species. Yet, we pay little attention to the question now. I suggest that you use your reading of The Martian Chronicles to help reignite a discussion with those you know of what our goals and methods should be concerning Mars.

Reach for the stars . . . to create the fullest human potential and accomplishments -- morally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically.


BEWARE THIS BOOK IS EDITED!!   September 19, 2002
 40 out of 52 found this review helpful

The William Morrow Hardcover Edition (February 1, 1997) appears to be missing a story. Mr. Bradbury wrote a story where all of the black people get fed up with the south, and the way they are treated, load up the rocket and leave all of the bigots behind. Incredibly some paper pushing editor must have thought this story would offend our sensitivities, and took it upon him or herself to remove it from the chronicles.

Strange that the work of Mr. Bradbury, a champion of free speech, is being edited.

Do not get this version! (I got hosed, but vowed to save my fellow readers from the same fate)!


Nostalgia, melancholy, and well-told tales   June 12, 2005
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

"The Martian Chronicles" is really a series of stories, strung together, telling how humans from Earth first went to Mars, colonized it eventually, and the resulting tremendous culture clash between humanity and the native population of Mars. But, the clash is not a war, so much as a wearing down of one culture by another. To me, it was a retelling of the coming of Europeans to the Americas, and the devastation of the Native Americans, culturally, biologically, philosophically, and through some outright warfare.


Written in the 1940's, with the "future" starting in 1999, Bradbury's masterpiece drips with nostalgia for the small-town, communal, interconnected America that Bradbury loved, cherished, and mourned, as he saw it fading away into modernity. While there are some comic moments, "The Martian Chronicles" are generally melancholic, which is not unusual for the writings of Bradbury. Sad or not, "The Martian Chronicles" shows us the master wordsmith that Bradbury is. If you read this book, don't expect to smile much in the reading of it, but prepare to be wrapped up in these well-told tales, and be ready to do some thinking.


A Masterpiece   May 28, 2001
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

The Martian Chronicles is, in many ways, one of science fiction's most important novels. It's deemed an essential read on almost all notable lists, is the book that broke Bradbury into the mainstream, and was the single most widely read SF book during the 1950's. This book is not a novel per se, but rather a collection of separately linked stories that chronicle, in about as many ways as you can imagine, Man's experiences with Mars, hence the title. Though it covers a span of time from 1999-2026, it is, like all great SF, a commentary on the times in which it was written, rather than the times it is set in. This book is a startling example of human folly. In contrast to much science fiction (from The War of the Worlds onward) the Martians in Bradbury's universe are calm, peaceful, and dreamlike (for the most part, anyway) rather than vicious and malicious. This book shows how humans-arrogant, self-righteous, and irrespectful-can and probably will ruin a beautiful, peaceful planet through ignorance and lack of respect. Also in the book are situations depicting ways in which other races we meet in space may react to us. I found these situations to be highly original and imaginative, sometimes we fail to realize that there are other ways for them to react besides peaceful, cooperative tranquility and war. Sprinkled throughout the seriousness of the stories mentioned above, are lighter, somewhat comical tales that liven up the pace a bit. Through fictional situations, this book also manages to comment on such issues as racism, slavery, social life, marriage, etc. A highly interesting read. Though it is a short read (less than 200 pages) it feels like an epic. By the time you are done with the book, you will feel like you have witnessed a saga, a great work of art, a feeling that few books indeed, much less ones this short, manage to accomplish. The last two stories in the book are startling in their differences. There Will Come Soft Rains is an utterly believable, highly pessimistic, and ultimately thought-provoking piece of work followed by The Million Year Picnic, a contrastly optimistic, hopeful story. These two situations are beautiful in their contrast and a fitting ending to a wonderful book.


Brilliant...a must read for not only sci-fi fans but those..   January 10, 2003
 9 out of 9 found this review helpful

...interested in human nature and the frightening part in us, the future of mankind. Like other classics, it still holds up today without seeming dated.

So many authors, so many books to love...but The Martian Chronicles has remained one of my very favorites that I have read many many times. To the previous reviewer the reason the African American gets ridiculed so much is because he is the first astronaut to "appreciate & learn from" the Martians and for good reason, he is a minority with a racially torured past (racism, slavery, misunderstood etc etc by the establishment). One who could understand and want to preserve it's beauty. It was a statement. I met Ray Bradbury at a small book signing, I mentioned that The Martian Chronicles reminded me of the plight of the Native American people & other cultures in history must have been in the back of his mind when he wrote this. His response was "yes, you're very correct & observant, thank you"... Absolute brilliant author, very kind man (does book signings very often) & of course the auther of such awe imspiring books as The Illustrated Man, Fahrenheit 451 etc.

This is REAL science fiction or should I say thought provoking novels. Always a humanitarian touch, something such dribble these days of very poor (if you want to call it) sci-fi is lacking...God how I miss Rod Serling to give a kick in the pants of Hollywood today...and how I miss the 60's-70's.

ps: If you get the chance, see the film version starring Rock Hudson. 3 part (if I remember correctly, 6 hours) made for TV series. While it doesn't cover the entire book (films rarely do), it does a very good job getting the point across. You'll love the "golden bee gun", the Martians masks & the "sand ships"...