Rating: 
Summary: Great book.... but AVOID THIS VERSION
Review: I feel that "The Martian Chronicles" is one of the best and most creative works of Science Fiction of all time, but I would recommend buying another copy of it. There was one chapter in the original work that was taken out of this version. Apparently the editors felt its racial themes were too strong, although I feel it was, in reality, speaking out against the racism of the 1950's. Its ironic how Bradbury has always been so outspoken in his writing against censorship of books, and yet his own book was censored.
Rating: 
Summary: The greatest collection of stories you'll ever read.
Review: This collection of short stories compiled into a single-volume novel is the greatest collection of stories you'll ever read. Bradbury writes with stunning conviction, relating the process by which the human machine will explore, inhabit, and assimilate the planet Mars. Limitless imagination and socially relevant themes ripped from the the times include widespread fear of the atomic bomb, communism, etc. Brilliant work that was and still is years ahead of its time. Indeed, NASA's first course of action upon successfully landing rovers on Mars was to name the landing sites. But did they already have names?
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Summary: Sci-Fi With a Human Touch
Review: Regardless of Bradbury's genre, the essence of his prose is very human. In The Martian Chronicles he manages to deliver that ever bitter/sweet feeling of nostalgia. From Springfield, Illinois in his coming of age novel, Dandelion Wine, to a front porch on Mars, Bradbury always touches the human heart. This is why this novel is great; whether on a distant planet or not, you will be moved.
Rating:
Summary: Spectacular
Review: I was originally inspired to read Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles mainly because of the critical acclaim and praise my father said it has received; it isn't very often a science fiction novel is accepted and enjoyed so widely. The most unsettling thing about this novel (or, this collection of short stories) is the fact that there are not any characters or events which Bradbury centers upon. The first chapter, "Ylla," grabs the readers attention very well, though I found myself a bit disappointed when the characters of that chapter did not return. As a whole, however, the overall message and talent bound within the pages of The Martian Chronicles is too important to miss due to something as insignificant as characters. The vast majority of novels out there contain central characters, and many of those very same novels are character-driven. That said, The Martian Chronicles is completely plot-driven. This makes the book not only extremely refreshing, but one need not go through the utter pain of seeing one's favorite character die, because it is very unlikely you would have a favorite character!
My personal favorite features of The Martian Chronicles were the chapters "Usher II," "There Will Come Soft Rains," and "The Green Morning." As is with most Bradbury works, according to my father, the author tips his hat to his favorite authors with excerpts from poems, songs, and even the fabulous parallel to Edgar Allen Poe's The Cask of Amontillado in "Usher II." Bradbury's use of language and description of fantastic settings and creatures was impressive, to say the least. The descriptions of the Martian race were so intricate and unique each time that one could certainly picture the fictitious peoples, as well as their "chemical baths" and "sand ships," the levitating pirate ships with sails of blue mist. The wonderful aspect of science fiction is the new and refreshing imagery introduced, and Bradbury used this to his advantage.
In a nutshell, The Martian Chronicles is not only thought-provoking, but a real fun book to read. The reading level is good for any high school student, and is neither slow nor complicated in the beginning or abrupt at the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Literary achievement in the science fiction genre
Review: "The Martian Chronicles" sounds as if it should be filled with, yes, little green men or some kind of awful battle as in H.G. Wells classic. But instead, you find a boy on a playing field, a summer porch in the desert dust, and the ordinary world where the extraordinary is as much internal as external. Bradbury's style is so literary that many lovers of science fiction don't like what he has to say. But his writing is a lesson in lyricism, and should be read by anyone who likes the art of the short story or novel.
Rating:
Summary: Dated, but a classic in its era
Review: I finally sat down and read this novel -- a collection of loosely-linked short stories, really -- and caught myself comparing it to the sophisticated sci-fi of recent years. If I had kept up that mindset, I'm sure I would have rated it lower. But... Think back (those of you who can remember) to the days when the giants of sci-fi roamed the Earth: Bradbury. Asimov. Anderson. Clarke. Farmer. There was something fundamental, something elemental, about their writing, born of the dime novel and magazine column-inch, that you don't have today. That gritty, anti-Bronte sense where character development didn't matter as much because the writer's energy was going into creating a universe that heretofore didn't exist. Bradbury's Martian Chronicles is all this and more. In some ways, it is a Western, where the Martians are the (dare I say it?) Indians and clutzy Earth Men are the Europeans come to take what was never theirs. Like all great novels, it is a mirror, a dark one at that. All Science Fiction poses a question: if the laws of the Universe behaved thus-and-so, what would the outcome be? The Martians are a sophisticated and cultured race of telepaths and time-travelers, and are about to meet up with homicidal and self-absorbed Man. What will the outcome be? Bradbury doesn't flinch from painting an all-too-likely ending. Four stars, however, because Martian Chronicles, while a classic, has not stood the test of time well. It does owe almost too much to its noble and humble roots, and reads far more like a set of magazine articles than a homogeneous novel. Still, it is well worth reading, and gives a good glimpse into the glory that science fiction used to be.
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Summary: I don't understand why this book is so highly regarded.
Review: I've heard this book referred to as a "masterpiece of science fiction" more than once, often from sources that suggest it isn't simply publishers' hype. After having actually read it, I cannot understand why. Bradbury's characters, by and large, are pretty thin. That might be forgivable if he were writing in order to set a mood or make some kind of interesting point, but his writing style tries too hard to be poetic, and his ideas are mostly pretty trite. There are quite a lot of books that cover colonial insenstivity, nuclear war, and the supposed meaninglessness or self-destructiveness of modern life, and Bradbury's doesn't stick out from the crowd. This could be partly because the book doesn't fully cohere. I know that it is supposed to be a connection of linked short stories, not a traditional novel, but Bradbury seems to have frequently changed his mind about the most fundamental aspects of his version of Mars. I might not mind this if I thought he was trying to make a point by presenting radically different kinds of Martians at different times, but that wouldn't be consistent with his somewhat superifical handling of many of the other ideas in the book. There are several stories in The Martian Chronicles that do succeed, and I suspect I would have been more impressed with it if I had read it when it came out. I can certainly see how it could seem impressive to someone who had read little or no science fiction, or literature in general. Still, it didn't have a lasting effect on me, and it looks pretty anemic next to, say, Ursula K. LeGuin or Gene Wolfe. If you are new to science fiction, I would refer you to one of those authors, or to a number of others. They have more interesting things to say than Bradbury.
Rating:
Summary: this book does not have what it takes to be a classic!
Review: Although it is one of Ray Bradbury's best-known books, The Martian Chronicles does not deserve its status as a "classic". Written in the mid-1940's, the book is doubtless an accurate glimpse of the era--it depicts the idealization of fondly remembered small-town comforts of youth so important to the disillusioned, post-war people of the 40's. And it depicts a vision of the future that is not possible today: heroic astronauts leave the Earth of 1999 (although Bradbury's 1999 lacks vision--the end of oppression of women and minorities is not yet in sight; in fact his 1999 is notably similar to 1946) to land on Mars, a fully habitable planet of vastly intelligent, humanoid aliens. However, their intelligence is itself questionable; Bradbury assures us that their society features innovative thinking, but the Martians of this book are completely incapable of accepting anything defying their common sense, i.e. space ships landing on Mars. I gave this book two stars strictly for its value as a "time capsule". Unfortunately as a work of literature it falls short. There is no plot to speak of, only a series of loosely related events that give an overview of the progression of settlements on Mars. Characters do not recur--each is limited to his or her own vignette. Even the word "character" is an exaggeration, as there is no characterization. There is an overwhelming feeling that Bradbury picked a single personality feature and a single action out of a hat, put them together and called it a character. Bradbury quite possibly meant to book to feel this way--placing his emphasis on the progression mentioned above and the psychological repercussions of this progression on group consciousness as opposed to characters and plot, but the book suffers for it, particularly because the psychological effects are incompletely and unconvincingly described. Without characters, plot, or even a convincing group consciousness, there is nothing to keep a reader INTERESTED. For a more inventive, enticing, and accurate work about human-alien interaction and settlement and their psychological repercussions, read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game--a book that deserves to be called a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: the worst book i ever read
Review: dont read this book if you are looking for a book that is interesting. the martian chronicles was easily the worst non-fiction book i ever read. it is boring and hard to understand. there is no flow and because of when it was written the author is completly wrong about how space exploration has turned out.
DONT READ THIS BOOK
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: People are evil and callous! It's in our nature to go around knocking down ancient sculptures without a thought! What innocent but beautiful alien races could possibly survive our barbarous passage?! Though an interesting read, this book just about overdoes the whole pessimism about humankind thing. Almost all the human characters, even the first astronauts to land, are stupid, ignorant, and impulsive. Sure, there's people like that, but almost all humans in the story are glib thoughtless sorts you'd like to punch in the face. The descriptive language and writing style is brilliant, but sometimes the plot itself is almost too much to deal with. The part where the black people go to Mars is ridiculous. Even as they're leaving for a new life, they are still cowed by some white guy on his creaky porch.
The sequence where this ugly lady chases the last man on Mars all around the planet made me roll my eyes. On the other hand, the Poe chapter and the "There will be soft rains" chapter were particularly interesting. I have very mixed feelings about this book and therefore give it three stars. The book was written shortly after World War II, so like George Orwell, it's not surprising that Bradbury looked to a grim future.
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