The Martian Chronicles (The Grand Master Editions)
by Ray Bradbury
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ray BradburyEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1984-06-01
ISBN: 0553278223
Number of pages: 192
Publisher: Spectra
Book Reviews of The Martian Chronicles (The Grand Master Editions)
Book Review: I like Bradbury's writing, don't care for this collection of short stories
Summary: 3 Stars
I was hoping for a whole lot more than what I got with this one. In some ways I enjoyed the book, but in others I couldn't wait to be done with it.
The Martian Chronicles really can't be considered anything but a very loose collection of short stories, many of which were published separately in magazines. In fact we only see one character who appears in more than one chapter, thus making for the characterization to be weak with no bond or familiarization to be had.
On the plus side Bradbury can definitely write well. You see his wit behind the social commentary of the post atomic bomb era and the perception of a interplanetary race as a result. Witty and fun at times, you couldn't help but begin to enjoy the characters. Of course the chapter ended a few pages later and you never saw that character again. His description at times is great: "...her eyes were like two immense eggs stuck into a white mess of bread dough."
In the end the short stories pieced together a semblance to a story and you can come away from it with a feeling of mild satisfaction as you read the last chapter. I would have enjoyed this much more if he would have developed the characters a little more, explored individual time periods (as each chapter is a different month/year) and fleshed out a more coherent plot line. In the end I appreciate Bradbury and would like to read more of his, but I wouldn't recommend The Martian Chronicles.
2.5 stars.
Summary of The Martian Chronicles (The Grand Master Editions)
Collection of stories about man's attempts to explore and settle Mars.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
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