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Summary: Bradbury VS Asimov
Review: With the passing of the master (Isaac Asimov)the question is hardly asked anymore. Who's better, Bradbury or Asimov? The two were both born in 1920 and they made their fame in the forties, fifties, and sixties, writing (and pioneering) a kind of fantastical pulp fiction that would eventually become known as science fiction. In short, the two men were giants of the genre and so their work, their art, naturally invited comparison. I have always loved them both, Asimov for his great ideas and Bradbury for his great storytelling voice. Asimov, the university professor, was trained as a hard science man--physics, mathematics, chemistry. If he had not made his name as a writer, he probably would have designed the first rocket ship that landed on the moon. In fact, we owe him thanks for the word "ROBOT", the rules for governing them (ha-ha-ha, see I Robot), and the fledgling field of robotics itself. Is there a more representative work of science fiction than The Foundation Trilogy? Though Asimov is known primarily in literary circles as a science fiction writer, the great man was a thinker of ideas so varied that his books earned him a place in the Guinness Book of World Records: he is the only author who has at least one book in every category of the Dewey Decimal System. In other words, no matter where you are in the library, you can find a book written by Asimov. Bradbury, on the other hand, is not a scientist. In fact, if you check out some of the stories in the Martian Chronicles, his best collection, you will discover working rocket ships that were built with hammers and nails in somebody's barn. You'll find life forms that are bubbles with voices. You'll find a variety of strange and contradictory rules for space flight. And you know what? None of it matters because Bradbury's appeal, unlike Asimov's, has nothing to do with his grasp of scientific principles and the various real and imagined extrapolations thereof. We read Bradbury because he is a writer first and a scientist second. Bradbury could write a story about ice melting in a cup, and we'd be on page 200, reading with pleasure, before we looked up and said, hey, why the heck am I reading a story about ice melting in a cup? Bradbury explores the humanity of his characters when he writes, as the stories in the Martian Chronicles prove, and he has an absolutely addictive storytelling voice. It's kinda like sitting under a tree with your grandfather and listening to him spin yearns. Time passes before you know it, and you wish he could go on talking forever. So here it is then, Read the Martian Chronicles not for the science, but for the fiction, and you will not be disappointed by the master.
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Summary: Sci-Fi Enchantment
Review: Bradbury took a series of short stories he'd written about Mars that had been printed in magazines and wove them together into one story The Martian Chronicles. Chronicles first went into print in 1950 and has been continuously in print ever since. Bradbury opens the volume with a series of stories about four Earth Expeditions to the Red Planet (Rocket Summer, Ylla, The Summer Night, The Earthmen, The Taxpayer, The Third Expedition, -An The Moon Be Still As Bright). The fourth expedition discovers that the Martians have nearly died out from an Earth disease. Earth colonizes the planet and later discovers that there are Martian survivors of the plague in hiding. The next series of stories take on the various stages of colonization (The Settlers, The Green Morning, The Locusts, Night Melting, The Shore, The Fire Balloons, Interim, The Musicians, The Wilderness) and finally civilization comes (The Naming of Names, Usher II, The Old Ones, The Martian). Then tragedy strikes as a nuclear war erupts on Earth, which causes most of the colonists to return home, while refugees from Earth travel to Mars to get away from the war (The Luggage Store, The Off Season, The Watchers, The Silent Towns, The Long Years, There Will Come Soft Rains, and The Million-Year Picnic). The stories begin in the year 2030 and end in 2057. For Bradbury, an empty page is a canvass on which to take his pen and ply words to paint pictures so clear that they dance in the reader's mind's eye. I can actually hear Bradbury telling me the story as my eyes drift over the pages. These stories will make the reader run the gambit of emotions and give them valuable observations of accepted human behavior to consider from a classic sci-fi master. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Sci-Fi
Review: An interesting tale of how humans interact with another world. The premise of colonization is tertiary to the actual stories that abound in this series written over 50 years ago.The stories themselves are vignettes that tell of life on Mars, but in classic Brabury style, they have other tales to tell. Principle to the first few stories is the human race's 'virus like' defeat of the Martian planet's defenses. Is Bradbury staking an early claim to a title of environmentalist? Another is the constant examples of how humans who are seeking to escape problems on Earth simply recreate them on Mars. Political corrrectness is most definitely lacking in some stories, but the overall brilliance of the series should not be pulled down by overzealous censors. This is an excellent SciFi series that should be read by all who call themselves fans of the genre.
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Summary: Brilliant...a must read for not only sci-fi fans but those..
Review: ...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"...
Rating: 
Summary: A Book to Remember
Review: I'm a freshman in high school and about a month ago we reciceved Martian Chronicles. A majority of the students say the books boring and some of upper classmen(sophmores,juniores,seniors) say this is the worst book in the freshman level. Actually it's not that bad. I like how they have mini stories in the book even though it gets confusing. It's pretty funny of how in 1999 people can go to Mars, but Bradbury had a good imgination.
If you are an African-American who gets offended easily by racial slurs. I'm not sure that this would be the book for you, because in a mini story there is a white man who just criticizes and threatens a character,who is black and uses racial slurs.
Anyway I'll keep this book, it's a book I'll remember for some time.
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Summary: Fantasy disguised as science fiction.
Review: This collection of short stories certainly deserves the classic status it has recieved. Each story in this book is an entertaining read. The settings pull you into a bizzare world were anything is possible.
However, to describe The Martian Chronicles as Science fiction is a bit of a stretch. Bradbury's vision of the future, the late nineteen nineties through the beginning of the twenty-first century, is unremarkable. He describes a Mayberry colinization of the planet Mars, complete with cozy little cottages and hotdog stands. This is completely forgiveable if you go into the book realizing it is really fantasy not science fiction. Bradbury makes up for his lack of futuristic vision with his ability to create intriguing scenarios.
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Summary: Freaky
Review: This book is very scary and that is why I like it. I read this book when I was 17 years old.
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Summary: BEWARE THIS BOOK IS EDITED!!
Review: There is supposed to be 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)!
Rating:
Summary: Timeless magic....
Review: Timeless magic, absolutely perfect, 1 of the 5 greatest books of all time; many of the stories collected here R 5-star worthy (in no particular order: "The Silent Towns," "The Long Years," "The Off Season," "Night Meeting," "The Third Expedition" -- also known as "Mars is Heaven!" -- "The Moon Be Still as Bright," "There Will Come Soft Rains," "The Million-Year Picnic," I'm sure I'm 4getting a couple) -- & the whole is permeated with the eerie dark-nite atmosphere of past-meeting-future that was Bradbury's Mars. The 1st SF book I ever read; even if U've been reading SF 4 years & have never read this, don't worry about it Cming "old" or "hokey" -- I don't think it's dated a bit. There's a lot more here than just nostalgia....
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Summary: FANTASY VS REALITY
Review: When I read Ray Bradbury books I cannot shake off the feeling that reality is constantly replaced with fantasy and fantasy is replaced with reality. What is what and where one becomes the other I do not know. And I do not want to know; I just do not want the book to be over.
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