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Summary: Its glory has faded with time...
Review: The first time I read this book, a few years ago, I loved it and I worshipped Ray Bradbury. I found it profound and funny and sad and everything a good book should be and then some.The second time I read it...not so much. Maybe I'm getting older and more cynical. His bright-eyed enthusiasm and innocence is still refreshing, but the bemoaning of All We've Ruined gets a little old. And I find it a little disturbing that he repeatedly kills off the boring close-minded characters... like they don't deserve to live. And we haven't lost our imaginations and this planet isn't done for -- yet. Amazing how such an enthusiastic optimist can have so little hope. There are still gems and beauty here. The best thing about it is that it's not at all what you expect from the title(an effect clearly lost the second time through) and the absurdity of man is wonderfully funny at times. I guess I mostly just wish it didn't harp on the same things story after story. [...]
Rating: 
Summary: Best Science Fiction Book of All Time
Review: After reading Fahrenheit 451 in my high school English class, I was quick to ask my teacher what other books by Bradbury that he would reccomend. He told me to check out the Martian Chronicles...and so I did. When I started reading the book, I thought nothing could touch the breath taking sci-fi epic that I had just read by Bradbury...but I was wrong. The Martian Chronicles starts out with a bang and ends with an unusually happy ending. In between, you are taken on a roller coaster ride of climactic events; and although the book is broken up into several separate mini-stories, all of them intertwine with each other brilliantly. What puts Bradbury's work above other science fiction writers is that although his books are fictional, they have a great deal of real life meaning. Several parts of this book depict how the ignorant humans are so quick to ravage a vast world's ancient history and land. "The rockets set the bony meadows afire, turned rock to lava, turned wood to charcoal, transmitted water to steam, made sand and silica into green glass which lay like shattered mirrors reflecting the invasion, all about. The rockets came like drums, beating in the night. The rockets came like locusts, swarming and settling in blooms of rosy smoke. And from the rockets ran men with hammers in their hands to beat the strange world into a shape that was familiar to the eye, to bludgeon away all the strangeness." (Page 78-'The Locusts') Bradbury uses his excellent way with words to artistically describe the futuristic destruction of a world, which all relate to one common principle, the same principle many of his books relate to: We are afraid of what we don't understand. Bradbury paints an eerily familiar picture in this book and reminds us how eager humans are to destroy anything that is strange to us. The way that he explains the human condition is way ahead of his time. In summary, The Martian Chronicles is nothing short of incredible. There are no dull parts in it; you will want to keep reading it until you're done...then you will want to read it again and again. Bradbury uses language extremely well to convey to us the flaws in human thinking. This book is a must read for anyone in high school or older, whether you're a fan of science fiction or not. It's my all time favorite book, and if you spend a measly 6 bucks, you will see why.
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Summary: I, Mars
Review: Ray Bradbury wrote a lot of short stories set on Mars. 'The Martian Chronicles' collects most of them together in one book (missing out 'I, Mars', in which the last man on Mars automates a town in order to combat loneliness, and 'Dark they were, and Golden Eyed') arranged so as to form a loose story which, in typical Bradbury style, is actually about America, and not Mars at all. Bradbury is a writer first and a sci-fi writer second, and if you're expecting endless descriptions of nuclear propulsion you probably won't like this book. Because of this, it's one of the few sci-fi books from the period that hasn't dated. It's also one of the ultimate downers, but in a good way - the general tone is one of loneliness and despair, without being doomy. It's a shame that, judging by the lack of reviews, this book is so obscure nowadays, especially compared to his contemporaries Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, neither of whom have aged as well.
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Summary: A surprisingly great book.
Review: I began "The Martian Chronicles" as an assignment for an English class. This was required Summer reading, and my peers who had already completed the book were quick to tell me how boring, pointless and confusing it was. As I read the first few chapters, I was sure it was going to be one of the worst books I would ever read. I am glad to say that I was plesantly surprised. I was truly drawn to this futuristic tale, and there were chapters I loved so much that I read them again and again my favorite being "There will come soft rains". It's easy to see why this book is such a classic. I highly reccomend it.
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Summary: "The Martian Chronicles" - a student review
Review: We, an English course at a German Gymnasium, rate the book, The Martian Chronicles, a two because the structure of the book seemed quite confusing to us. Despite this fact we all liked the first couple of chapters a whole lot since the idea of settling a foreign planet was shown in an exciting way. After reading half through the book most of us put it away because from now on the stories got boring... Most of us found the effort of reading 308 pages a waste of time!
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for sci-fi lovers, but hard to get into
Review: At the beginning, it was very confusing, because I had no idea what was going on. The first time a "main character" was about to be killed(in the first story) I thought, he can't die now, it's only page 5(or something like that). Then he died, and I was like, well, what is the rest of the book supposed to be like then?! I soon found out that there were many different stories. I don't particularly like sci-fi novels, but this one was pretty entertaining, I have to admit. It was kinda neat how when the author wrote this book(around the 1950's, I think) he thought that by the year 2000, people would actually be visiting and living on Mars. If you liked Fahrenheit 451, you'll like this book.
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Summary: One of the best Science Fiction works
Review: I read Martian Chronicles not knowing what to expect. I had found it on a list of books i had to chose from, read, and write a report on. At first I found some of the stories (or chapters, or diary entries if you wish to call them that) quite odd. The one involving the man who met the martians that would manifest strange things like nude flame women that would crawl out of their mouths. Yet as odd as it was, I couldn't put it down. I just kept reading, and in the end, I enjoyed every moment of it. It's one of those books that really gets you thinking. It helps you realize the brutality of the human way, and that is an important thing for all to be aware of. Because of that, I rate it as one of the best science fiction books of all time. One of sci-fi's most noted autors, Phil Dick, said that science fiction isn't science fiction becuase it has spaceships, takes place in the future, and has advanced technology. That is simply just a story that takes place in the future where technology became more abundant. He said that science fiction is much more deep and always has a metaphor of some sort, a relationship with life itself, that makes it much more deep in meaning. This story is a shinning example of that. I recomend Martian Chronicles to anyone and everyone. Even if you don't know how to appreciate great science fiction, you may still learn from it for what it is. Ray Bradbury's writing style itself would also warrant you to getting this book. He's an excelent author that can not only weave an incredible tale, but he can do it in such a way that the words flow smooth like wine and never sound awkward, always welcoming you to continue on with the journey that he has set forth on paper. Now that I've told you how great it is, GO GET THIS BOOK!
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Summary: These "Chronicles" constitute an essential sci-fi classic
Review: Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" is, in my opinion, one of the indispensable classics of 20th century science fiction. The book tells the story of human colonization of Mars--a Mars marked by the remains of a dying indigenous civilization. One can read the book as a metaphoric meditation on human history, or as a straightforward tale of an alternate reality. But however you approach it, the book is brilliant. "Chronicles" consists of a series of interrelated short stories. The overall feel of the book is that of an epic saga, but it is an epic told in brief, intimate fragments. Particularly fascinating are the tales which capture the complex relationships between the human colonists and the native Martians. "Chronicles" is at times whimsical, at times painful, at times ironic. But Bradbury's vision is always rich in compassion and insight. This is truly one of those science fiction masterworks which both transcends and ennobles the genre. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: The Martian
Review: This was more than just a science fiction novel, it was a philosophical analysis of life- here on Earth and beyond. It makes you think more than anything. What is the meaning of life? Life itself. I enjoyed this work and couldn't stop reading until I was finished. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Chronicle
Review: I gave this novel a five out of five because i think this book is a great science fiction novel. This novel leads the reader through journal like chapters and explains all misterious things that could happen if the human race tries to colonize Mars. This novel gives the senerio that we are not alone in the universe. Earth sends a shuttle to Mars, hoping to colonize it. After a few weeks on Mars they lose radio contact. To find out what happend to the first crew, and of coarse see if we can start colonizing on Mars, they send up a second team. The second team lands and finds out there is life on Mars. When they land they expect a huge welcome, but did not even get a smile from the martins if they looked at them. They start talking o the martians ask who they could talk to about the significance of their journey. They end up finding that person to talk to and he does nothing. Like he heard it all before. So he gave them a place to stay, which the astronauts soon found out that it was an insane asylum and later were killed. The novel continues on with stories just like this one and leaves the reader in suspense. I hope this will help your decision in whether or not to read this novel.
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