The Martian Chronicles

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Summary: A journey into one man's imagination of a future Mars...
Review: at a brief point in my life when I was interested in astronomy and otherworldly planets, this was among one of my favorite books to read in high school instead of listening to my boring teachers. This collection of Bradbury's short stories are quite far fetched from being even remotely possible, which is what makes this book unique in it's own way mixing the fantastic and the sci-fi-istic (is there such a word? now there is :) and sometimes the horrific. Some of the short stories are chained together, usually containing the same characters but all have their own struggles and quarrels. What also makes this Mars-fic book unique is how Bradbury put most of Earth's worst problems on Mars--genocide, pollution, religious fanaticism, greed, censorship, racism, war... you name it. Yet Bradbury also confronts these harrowing realities/possibilities with a glimmer of hope, without being phony about it (as in, he took subjects seriously in this book, instead of making it a mindless action-packed-explosions-and-stunts story. Jules Verne is smiling in his grave). and yes, The Martian Chronicles contains the same style of vivid imagery and mental paintings that Bradbury is well known for. The only complaint I have is that I remember a couple stories I had to read 2 or 3 times before I could understand what's going on. overall, this is a classic piece of literature from an era when it seemed that -everyone- wrote about Mars, only what makes this different is that Bradbury put thought and effort into this work.

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Summary: One My Favorite Writer's Best Works
Review: This is one of the most visually stimulating pieces of work I've ever read. It's good from the first chapter to the end.

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Summary: An accurate science fiction with haunting similarities
Review: Ray Bradbury creates a post-war outlook of the colonization of the Red Planet while at the same time creating an image of military and political upsettings on Earth that ultimately end with a third world war and the decimation of two races.

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Summary: Bradbury's Stories are like Assassin's Bullets
Review: Ray Bradbury's stories are like being shot. It hits you in the heart. This book is definetly one of the greatest works of all time. The prose is beautiful. It has a definite sense of wonder. It explores the depths of the human soul.

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Summary: It reads like a comic book for all ages
Review: If only mars could be as close to us as it is in Bradbury's mind. This is a very well thought out comic book novel for all ages. Though there are no illustrations, the ones that Bradbury writes out for you to develop in your mind are far more real than any drawing that can be added in the book.

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Summary: Beautiful, but incredibly dark...
Review: I absolutely loved the Martian Chronicles the first time I read it, perhaps five years ago. Now that I just finished re-reading it, I'm overwhelmed by all the details, and by the incredible irony of a destroyed alien civilization. From the first page to the last, this book captures me. Hunamity is so incredibly destructive, that even the world itself is destoyed. And humanity is so incredibly stupid, it doesn't see what's coming. Irony abounds, from chapters to the whole book. Humans come to Mars, and are killed by Martians. As a result of their contact, the entire martian civilzation is destroyed by the chicken pox. Of all possible ways to die. The humans who come over, for the most part, have little regard for the ancient cities. The settlers wanted to get away from sifling Earth, but wind up destoying the last few traces of Martian civilization. If you like your view of humanity to always be rosy, forget this book. You'll hate it. But if you're willing to get a glimpse into the possible future, don't pass this book up.

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Summary: Bradbury's best book
Review: I really do feel that this is Ray's best science fiction work ever. These are all different stories about man living on Mars but it has smooth continunity in all the stories. From the doomed first expedition to Mars to the last chapter where a human family prepares to start their new life in one of the Martian cities, each story keeps the reader interested in what happens next. I also like the fact that Ray maintains the large mystery surrounding the Martians. They who survived the onslaught of earthly diseases, remain in the background but never far from the minds of the colonists. Will they befriend the human colonists to their planet? I'm not sure, but from the few appearances they make with the colonists in the stories, I think the answer is Yes.

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Summary: Slow
Review: Every time my opinion of humanity is raised I read these reviews to lower it back down. Martian Cronicals are a series of short stories tied together only in their location, Mars. There is no other plot point. This however adds strength to the book, the examples of humanity andd its ironys are more clearly shone and in great veriety. For the poeple who complane for some reasone or another about being predictable or long winded, I would suggest reading something more your speed, Goosebumps or The Hardy Boys for example and leave serious books to those who earn more then minimum wage.

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Summary: a confusing but interesting novel
Review: I like the way that the book is set up with its suspense level. It keeps you wondering what is going to happen to the earth travlers next. The story is strange, but a good strange. The description in the book is really good. It is so good that you sometimes feel like you are actually there.It also helps you create really good pictures in your head. I dislike the fact that the book takes so long. It takes too long to describe such small things. the book also doesn't flow. Things don't fall together. Some of the things in the book just jump in and then they jump out.It wasn't put together very well. I would recomend this book to people who like strange and out of the ordinary books. However, I wouldn't recomend this book to people that don't like reading about space travel to Mars and life on Mars.

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Summary: reviews as school project
Review: The Martian Chronicles remains one of the great classics of imaginative fiction. Its strong poetic undertones and imagery tramscend the genre. I find it unfortunate that reviews from some schoolchildren in Ohio have reduced this excellent work's overall rating.